Community Engagement Practices and Techniques
Obtaining Community Support for CSR Initiatives
Sep 22, 2009
Organisations can have an impact on the community in both positive and negative ways. Community engagement practices provide an opportunity for organisations to consult with stakeholders from the community in order to understand how the business operations impact the community.
Planning Community Engagement
Prior to starting a community engagement project, a period of planning should be undertaken in order to determine:
- the objectives of the engagement;
- the scope of the engagement;
- which stakeholders will be engaged;
- capacity of the stakeholders to be engaged; and
- level of involvement required from stakeholders.
Level of Involvement in Community Engagement
Organisations have a choice as to how involved they would like to stakeholders to be in the community engagement process. Passive involvement is a one way relationship where the organisation provides information to the stakeholders about their business practices. More active forms of involvement in community engagement include community consultations and active participation.
The capacity of stakeholders to be involved needs to be determined when deciding on the appropriate level of involvement in community engagement. Stakeholders’ knowledge, resources, access and time are all considerations.
Passive Community Involvement – Information Sharing Tools
Information sharing tools available for businesses to use include:
- advertising and media stories
- briefings, community meetings and press conferences
- newsletters and fact sheets
- displays and fairs
Information sharing tools are useful in creating awareness and driving the community engagement project however they provide limited opportunities for stakeholder feedback and the development of strong relationships between organisations and stakeholders.
Community Consultation Techniques
Participation in community consultations provides organisations with the opportunity to commence relationship building with stakeholders. Community consultation techniques that can be utilised include:
- discussion groups and workshops
- survey research
- open days
- participation in internet forums
Active Participation – Inviting the Stakeholders In
Community engagement techniques that focus on active participation provide opportunities for stakeholders to contribute to the planning and decision making process of the organisation.
Active participation techniques include:
- action research
- advisory committees
- community reference groups
- focus groups; and
- participatory editing.
Active participation techniques are useful however it is important to ensure that the stakeholders are representative of the community and have the skills, knowledge and resources to contribute to the planning and decision making process. It is a wise idea for organisations to provide stakeholders participating in advisory committees, focus groups and other active participation techniques with training in planning, decision making and any other relevant skill.
Effective community engagement practices require planning to determine the objectives of the engagement and the capacity of the stakeholder groups to participate. Community engagement practices range from one-way information sharing projects including advertising and media coverage through to inclusive participation in planning and decision making via advisory committees, community reference groups and participatory editing.
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