Australian Community Development Blog

Community Engagement - Some Resources

Here's a list of some great resources on community engagement provided by the Queensland Government's Online Learning Program.

A Merry Xmas to all. And may 2008 be a great year for all Australian communities.

Why Has Participation Become So Important to Community Development?

If you have read the title on this image, you might be thinking "What have productive workplaces got to do with community development, engagement and participation? "

The answer is that they have a lot to do with one another. Ultimately what we're talking about is group change and the principles are the same no matter what type of group. (Of course, the way you apply  the principles  may well differ depending on the group and circumstance but the principles remain the same).

To answer the question of why participation and engagement have become so important in community development, you need to understand how society has evolved and continues to evolve.

There are many (and possibly an infinite number) of ways of describing this but one of my favourites is provided by Marv Weisbord in the book featured above.

For a full understanding you need to read the book but here's the evolution that Marv noticed in the way we manage groups:

Experts Solve Problems (1900) - Everybody Solves Problems (1950) - Experts Improve Whole Systems (1965) - Everybody Improves Whole Systems (2000+)

The 2 aspects of this are (1) a focus on improving the whole system instead of problem solving (the glass half full instead of half empty), and (2) a focus on everybody working collaboratively to effect change rather than getting the answers from experts.

So the answer to the question posed in the title of this post is "Because that's the way we have evolved.  The most effective change requires collaborative effort.

Are there any other benefits to understanding this evolution provided by Marv Weisbord?

Well, there's probably a number but here's the one I suspect is the most significant for most people. (No research data just my suspicion.)

The idea of focusing on problems and the idea that experts have the right answers is so heavily ingrained in our psyche that from time to time we forget. We forget that its important to focus on the positive and we forget that the best way to effect change is through collaborative effort.

Committing this evolution to memory helps you remember. Every time you think about an initiative, you AUTOMATICALLY begin thinking about those 2 aspects.

And getting participation and commitment to action around an initiative is like chalk and cheese compared with just implementing an experts advice - no matter whether the issue relates to youth development, economic development, sustainability, transport, health, mental health, poverty, education or broader issues like community strategic planning or community visioning.

Learn this evolution off by heart and it will automatically have you thinking about getting "Everybody Improving the Whole System".

13 Steps to Community Engagement

Communities sometimes struggle with effective engagement. Below are 13 steps that have helped other communities.

Not all steps will necessarily suit all situations so you may wish to pick and choose. (Note that the first 3 steps are what I'd call foundational rather than action oriented).

1 - Adopt a Marketing Mindset

2 - Do it Properly or Not At All

3 - Don't Engage for the Sake of Engagement.

4 - Prepare a Pithy Positive Passion-filled Purpose

5 - Form a Planning Group

6 - Identify Your Stakeholders (the 'Whole System')

7 - Identify Your Major Stakeholder Groups

8 - Identify Stakeholder Group Needs

9 - Use Appropriate Messages Based on Stakeholder's Needs

10 - Use Appropriate Channels Relevant to Each Stakeholder Group

11 - Describe the Initiative in Your Communication

12 - Build Credibility for the Initiative

13 - Offer Incentives If Necessary

More detail on each of these steps is available in our free report The Facts About Community Engagement - 13 Steps To Raising the Right Crowd.

If anybody has any others, lets hear them.

Australasian Facilitators Network

The stated purpose of this network is to "share a passion for facilitation and participatory practices in pursuit of better communication, understanding, collaboration and learning in workplaces, communities and the world at large."

(Not a bad ideal by any standards).

It achieves this through:

• the AFN email list (moderated by Bob Dick at Southern Cross University)
• local networking sessions
• AFN Annual Conference
• shared resources

I'm a member of the network so I stand to be accused of bias but I think its a great resource for anybody interested in community development generally and facilitation particularly.

More information is available on the AFN Website.