Community Engagement – New Insights and Learnings from Practice

Cavaye J¹*

1. Cavaye Community Development, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

The emphasis on community engagement in Australia and internationally in the last several years has lead to considerable mechanisms, training, projects and practice. This builds on extensive, but largely intuitive, community engagement practice over previous decades. This paper reflects on the learnings and insights gained from a wide range of community engagement experiences and practice in Australia to inform the ongoing development of engagement processes. It draws on examples of practice including Community Renewal, Learning Communities, economic development projects, natural resource management planning, local government and a broad range of contact with communities and government.

Community engagement is not a matter of one “best practice”, but rather a flexible process of interaction based on key principles. Examples of practice in a wide range of settings reinforce the following principles of good engagement:

• Continuity and sustainability of engagement,
• Trust and local relationships,
• Opportunities for deliberation,
• Dealing with anger and the legacy of poor previous engagement,
• Providing tailormade opportunities for various stakeholder groups to participate,
• Coordination and avoiding overconsultation,
• Joint influence over issues,
• Community “hubs” and existing communication linkages.

Important aspects of engagement that also emerge are:

• understanding the engagement “needs” and aspirations of community members and groups,
• engagement between community members and organisations within communities,
• the development of networks of engagement, rather than engagement between two actors

The paper discusses implications for agencies, organisations and communities in improving engagement practice including:

• Principles, values & assumptions,
• Structures, services & mechanisms,
• Skills and improved practice,
• Organisational and community culture.

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