Community Engagement is the process by which citizens are engaged to work and learn together on behalf of their communities to create and realize bold visions for the future. Community Engagement can involve informing citizens about your initiative, inviting their input, collaborating with them to generate solutions, and partnering with the community from the beginning to tackle community issues. Community Engagement increases community cohesion and allows for the community to have ownership over the outcomes that will ultimately impact them.
Tamarack is uniquely positioned to act as a bridge between theory and practice. We apply the theory to community contexts and teach and coach organizations, municipalities and groups to engage their communities meaningfully. We stress the importance of approaching engagement with an outcomes-based lens, of always involving context experts, and to provide community ownership of solutions whenever possible. We are leaders in applying community engagement to systems-thinking in order to work collaboratively for community-wide change.
By Paul Born
Community Conversations is an inspiration and a guide to mobilize the ideas, skills and passion of community organizations, governments, business and community members.
By Lisa Attygalle
A paper that discusses how to increase the authenticity of community engagement and eradicate tokenistic community engagement through the meaningful involvement of context experts.
By Tamarack Institute
This resource is a comprehensive list of community engagement techniques that can be selected based on the level of engagement you are conducting. Techniques include a description, helpful resources as well as factors to consider and are organized by level of engagement - inform, consult, involve, collaborate and empower
By Tamarack Institute
Consider the top 100 people and organizations in your community that could help you realize the change you want to see. Imagine that they were working together to change the community. This would be a dream come true for many communities. The easiest and least effective way for partnerships to emerge is to just let them happen. Use this Top 100 Tool to develop a strategy to identify and build strategic relationships in your work.
By Sylvia Cheuy
In 'Community Engagement: A Foundational Practice of Community Change', Sylvia discusses what community engagement actually is and how it is the core idea for change. She also explores why the nurturing of community ownership and leadership in any change effort is essential for its long-term sustainability and success. This paper will give you different perspectives to consider and questions that will spark ideas.
By Tamarack Institute
This article provides a brief overview of the term 'community engagement'. It features the following concepts: community engagement can be passive or proactive; community engagement as a process; community engagement empowers communities; community engagement is not limited by time; community engagement favours multi-sectoral collaboration; and, key community engagement criteria.
By Lisa Attygalle
This Tamarack publication explores how new technologies are lending fresh perspectives and putting power back into the hands of communities.
By Centre for Public Involvement
This document summarizes the state of the art in public engagement, and relates these lessons and innovations to the Edmonton experience. The first section describes the key elements of productive engagement and what it can accomplish. The following three sections focus on the techniques and assets that contribute to the practice, culture, and structure of engagement. The final two sections explore how to put all this information together in visions and plans for public engagement in Edmonton.
A Community of Practice for community engagement leaders committed to sharing and learning from one another to enhance our engagement initiatives.
March 4-5 | Toronto, ON
This 2-day workshop will include a step-by-step approach to designing inclusive collaborative gatherings that meet the needs of your community, an exploration of best practices in community engagement and innovation, and a set of principles and techniques to guide facilitation and help troubleshoot tough situations.
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