According to the Engagement Triangle in the seminar video, social care workers may intend to

engage with communities for the purpose of making decisions, building capacity and sharing
knowledge. We might engage to carry along communities on a decision that is proposed to be
taken on an issue. Involving community members helps them feel included and strengthens the
power and impact of the decision, guaranteeing that actual change happens. Another reason is
capacity building that helps to share knowledge so that members of vulnerable communities can
be empowered with agency to change their conditions. In the process of doing this two, the third
reason, relationship strengthening, naturally happens cementing the bond between social
workers and community members which helps their cause forward.
Of the seven key foundations for engagement (transparency, recognising expertise,
understanding power, establishing ownership, ensuring contribution, diversifying perspectives,
closing the loop), what stood out the most is the understanding of power. This is because
cognisance of the structure of power at play accelerates impact by grounding action in reality
rather than a solipsistic idea of what it takes to provide social relief to a community. In
community practice, I would use the personal resource of identify the barriers and get to their
roots, isolate influencing figures or thought structures and utilize rhetorical power to correct it.
This power of language would be deployed through letters and petitions to policy makers to
enlighten them on issues and expand their frames of reference in thinking about the issues, so
vulnerable communities interests’ can be well-addressed.
In trying to correct the power, I might run into cultural barriers and low accessibility of services.
In response, I would undergo a cultural competency training and collaborate with community
organizations and government agencies to provide additional support services and at large seek
policy reform.