What is community engagement

…the process of working collaboratively with and through groups of people

affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to
address issues affecting the wellbeing of those people. It is a powerful vehicle
for bringing about environmental and behavioral changes that will improve the
health of the community and its members. It often involves partnerships and
coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence systems, change
relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies,
programs, and practices (CDC, 1997, p. 9).

Community engagement can take many forms, and partners can include
organized groups, agencies, institutions, or individuals. Collaborators may be
engaged in health promotion, research, or policy making.

Community engagement can also be seen as a continuum of community

involvement. Figure 1.1 below, modified from a diagram originally drawn by
the International Association for Public Participation, illustrates one way of
thinking about such a continuum. Over time, a specific collaboration is likely to
move along this continuum toward greater community involvement, and any
given collaboration is likely to evolve in other ways, too. Most notably, while
community engagement may be achieved during a timelimited project, it
frequently involves — and often evolves into — long-term partnerships that
move from the traditional focus on a single health issue to address a range of
social, economic, political, and environmental factors that affect health.