--- title: 7 Steps to Repair Relationships For Stronger Community Engagment description: What should you do when history, tensions or conflicts get in the way of ongoing community engagement that is in any way authentic and meaningful?  image: https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Photos/Image%20Library/Repairing%20Relationships.jpg --- [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=200&height=47&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) # 7 Steps to Repair Relationships For Stronger Community Engagment Posted on July 4, 2019 [By Lisa Attygalle](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/lisa-attygalle) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![Repairing Relationships](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Photos/Image%20Library/Repairing%20Relationships.jpg?width=300&name=Repairing%20Relationships.jpg)What should you do when history, tensions or conflicts get in the way of ongoing community engagement that is in any way authentic and meaningful?  Perhaps the community feels a sense of consultation fatigue, or that past engagements felt tokenistic, or maybe they felt excluded entirely. There is a lack of trust in your organization’s ability to engage in an open and honest way. Perhaps your organization had some former practices that weren’t in the community’s best interest, but you are striving to do things differently. You try to engage but the community still holds this baggage. And you feel like you’re on your back foot. What do you do next?  Liz Weaver and I [recently hosted a webinar](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/bridging-the-gap-repairing-relationships-community-engagement?hsLang=en-us) where we explored how to move forward. As we reflected on the situations that we and members of our network have experienced, we landed on the following 7 steps as a starting place. **1. Develop relationships ** Understand the layers within a community. Establish connections. Go out of your way. Pay attention to people and their preferences. Be humble.   - Read the Vitalyst Foundation’s [Pre-Engagement methodology](http://vitalysthealth.org/wp-content/uploads/VitalystSpark-PreCommunityEngagement.pdf)    **2. Build trust ** Understand that your past experiences may have created turf. Realize that progress moves at the speed of trust and take the necessary steps to re-build trust.  - Read [Turf, Trust, Collaboration and Collective Impact](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/turf-trust-co-creation-collective-impact?hsLang=en-us) for the theory and strategies for building trust    **3. Show up vulnerable and ready to learn ** Acknowledge that you **will** make mistakes, that you have a lot to learn from and with this community, and seek to learn from them, and on your own.  - Use the [Ouch, Oops Framework](https://www.jmu.edu/uwc/tutor-resources/Microagressions.pdf) to work together to understand unintended negative impacts    **4. Treat people as unique human beings ** Don’t let being cautious (e.g., being too formal, too afraid to offend) get in the way of engaging with people as individual human beings.  - Consider some of the key questions of [Appreciative Inquiry](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/appreciative-inquiry?hsLang=en-us) to ask rather than assume    **5. Design Authentic Processes** Put yourself in the shoes of the community members and then ask: What are the benefits of engaging? What’s on the table? How are you truly listening? How are you closing the loop?  - Read the [Case Study](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/case-study-authentic-engagement-a-learning-journey?hsLang=en-us) about Poverty Solutions Halifax’s learning journey towards authentic engagement  - Read [Community Engagement: A Foundational Practice of Community Change](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/paper-community-engagement-a-foundational-practice-of-community-change?hsLang=en-us) to learn how to build community ownership and leadership for long-term sustainability and success    **6. Seek ways to give up power ** Power is the ability to affect an outcome. Acknowledge that you hold power and find ways to share it. Aim for transformational experiences rather than transactional ones.   - Watch [this webinar](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/overcoming-power-privilege-community-change?hsLang=en-us) with George Aye on Power and Privilege  - Attend the [Community Change Festival](https://events.tamarackcommunity.ca/community-change-festival?hsLang=en-us), happening in the Vancouver area Sep 30-Oct 3, where we’ll be exploring power and privilege further with George Aye  ** 7. Work together ** Understand that the community is the solution, not the problem. Suspend any thinking that you have “the answer”. Recognize context expertise. Involve deeply. Work together with the community to co-design solutions. Provide ownership.  - Read [The Context Experts](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/the-context-experts?hsLang=en-us) which discusses how to increase the authenticity of community engagement and eradicate tokenistic community engagement through the meaningful involvement of context experts.  - **S****ave the date** for a workshop, coming up November 13-15 in Toronto, on how to effectively facilitate innovative forms of community engagement, such as co-design, lived experience advisory councils, and hackathons  **Take Your Learning Further:** - **Listen** to the full webinar where Lisa and Liz discuss [how to repair relationships for community change](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/bridging-the-gap-repairing-relationships-community-engagement?hsLang=en-us) - **Invest** in your Community Engagement practice at the upcoming [Community Change Festival](https://events.tamarackcommunity.ca/community-change-festival?hsLang=en-us), coming to Vancouver, BC September 30 - October 3 Topics: [Community Engagement](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/community-engagement), [Lisa Attygalle](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/lisa-attygalle), [Blog](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/blog) ![Lisa Attygalle](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Photos/Staff%20Photos%202026/Lisa%20Attygalle%202.jpg) ### By [Lisa Attygalle](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/lisa-attygalle) In her role at Tamarack, Lisa works with cities and organizations to improve the way they engage with their communities. Over the last seven years, her work has focused on creating engagement strategies for municipalities and organizations, integrated communications planning, and the use of technology and creativity for engagement. Lisa constantly advocates for simplicity in infrastructure, frameworks, and design and loves applying the principles of marketing, advertising, loyalty, and user experience to community initiatives. ## Related Posts [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/campfire-tegan-mierle-widescreen.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/putting-residents-and-community-at-the-heart-of-climate-action?hsLang=en-us) #### [Putting residents and community at the heart of climate action](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/putting-residents-and-community-at-the-heart-of-climate-action?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/teerth-dhudshia-ambassador-bridge-reflection-windsor.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/windsor-essex-s-community-safety-and-well-being-plan?hsLang=en-us) #### [Windsor-Essex’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/windsor-essex-s-community-safety-and-well-being-plan?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/photo%20for%20diversity.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/the-gifts-of-strangers-understanding-the-benefits-of-diversity?hsLang=en-us) #### [The Gifts of Strangers: Understanding the Benefits of Diversity](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/the-gifts-of-strangers-understanding-the-benefits-of-diversity?hsLang=en-us) [![BACK TO THE LATEST](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs/cta/cta/default/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829.png)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs/cta/cta/redirect/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829?hsLang=en-us) [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=3401&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) ### Tamarack [Home](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) [Latest](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest) [Events](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/eventlisting?hsLang=en-us) [Donate](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/donate?hsLang=en-us) [About](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/whoweare?hsLang=en-us) ### Follow Us [** ** ](https://www.facebook.com/TamarackInstitute) [** ** ](https://twitter.com/Tamarack_Inst) [** ** ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tamarack-institute-for-community-engagement)   In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth we honour and acknowledge that our work occurs across Turtle Island (North America), which has been home since time immemorial to the ancestors of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples. ### Subscribe Be in the know. 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