NSTP-CWTS2STUDYGUIDE2–COMMUNITYENGAGEMENT

LEARNING
OBJECTIV
ES
After studying this module, you, as a learner,
shouldbe ableto:
1) Definecommunity engagement; entitiesand the citizens, it can lead to improved
2) Understandtheconditionsof outcomes forcommunities.
collectivesuccess;
3) Differentiate the types of
communityengagement;
4) Identify areas in which community
engagementmadeapositiveimpact;and
5) Illustratethecommunityengagementcontin
uum.

TOPICOU
TLINE
1. WhatisCommunity Engagement
2. Conditionsof CollectiveSuccess
3. TypesofCommunityEngagement
4. AreasinwhichCommunityEngagementMad
eaPositive Impact
5. CommunityEngagement Continuum

OVERVIEW
This module lets you understand the
importanceofengagingwithyourcommunity.Ithelps
yourealizethatwhengovernmentorganizationsand
publicdecision-
makingentitiesseekouttheaspirations,concernsand
valuesofcommunities,who,inturn,sharetheiraspirati
ons, concerns and values with governing

StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page1of6
 Figure 1. https://teachingcommons.unt.edu/teaching-
essentials/engaged-learning/incorporating-community-
engagement-your-course

LESSONPROPER
MODULE 1: LESSON 2 – PEOPLE
ANDPRACTICES

I. INTRODUCTION
Withthecontinuingriseindeepeningandexpan
ding public engagement not only locally but
alsoglobally, the importance of community
engagement hasbecome pivotal for well-functioning,
twenty-first
centurydemocracies.Constructiverelationshipsbetwe
encommunitiesandtheinstitutionsofgovernmentmak
ecommunity engagement not only desirable, but
necessaryandviableasitislikelytoleadtomoreequitabl
e,sustainable public decisions and improve the
livability
oflocalcommunities.Thisisoneofthereasonswhycom
munityengagementisimportantforindividuals,public
organizations,and governments alike.

StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page2of6
 DISCUSSION weengovernmentorganizationsandcommunities,
andanapproachthat
guidestheprocessofthoseinteractions.
WHAT IS
COMMUNITYENGAG
EMENT?
Communityengagementisbasedonthedem
ocratic idea that everyone who is affected by an
issuethat impacts their community should have a
say in
thedecisionmakingaroundit.It,moreover,holdsthepr
omisethat public participation can influence
decisions that affectthe provision of services,
future visions and sustainabilityofourcommunities.
People,governmentsandorganizationswork
collaborativelytocreate
andrealizesustainablevisionsfortheircommunity’sfu
ture.Forgovernmentsandorganizations, it’s about
working with, and listening to,communities to build
long term relationships and
developmeaningfulsolutionstocomplexissues.Byde
epeningtheserelationships,ideally,thevalueofinclusi
vityiscentral,wheregovernmententitiescreatedialo
guewiththevery diversityoftheircommunities.
In recognizing the needs and aspirations of
allparticipants,communityengagementpromotes
theideathat, through intentional interactions
between
governmentorganizationsandcommunities,commu
nitymemberscan
– and do – influence policy making. That is,
communityengagement’s promise is to better
engage community tohelp make better public
decisions. It is, thereby, both
anorientationtowardtheimportanceofcommunitym
embers’livedexperiencetoinfluenceinteractionsbet
StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page3of6
Simplyput,community nizations.
engagementseekstoengagecommunitytoachievesus
tainableoutcomes,equitabledecision-
makingprocesses,anddeepenrelationships and trust
between government organizationsand
communities.
Withanemphasisoncollaborationandtheprom
ise of influence on decision making, the
importanceofcommunityengagementisclearasitdrive
ssocialtransformation. It promotes advocacy that
not only
workstoraiseawareness,butpassionate,locally-
informedvoicescan be
heard–especiallyduringelectiontime.
As voters, communities have the power to
maketheir voices heard. And elections represent a
significantopportunity to drive change. Advocacy
campaigns are
attheirmosteffectivewhenlocalgovernments,municip
alitiesandcouncilsactivatecommunities,mobilizing on
issues that impact their everyday lives.
Foritisinthelocal,placed-
basedarenathatcommunitymemberscan have
theirmostdirectimpact on policy.

CONDITIONS
OFCOLLECTIVESUCCESS
The Stanford Social Innovation Research
showsthat successful collective impact initiatives
typically havefive conditions that together produce
true alignment
andleadtopowerfulresults:acommonagenda,shared
measurementsystems,mutuallyreinforcingactivities,c
ontinuouscommunication,andbackbonesupportorga
StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page4of6
1. COMMONAGENDA mainaligned, it also enables the participants to
hold each otheraccountable and learn from each
Collectiveimpactrequiresallparticipantstoh other’s successes andfailures.
avea shared vision for change, one that includes a 3.
commonunderstandingoftheproblemandajointapp
roachtosolving it through agreed upon actions.
Take a close
lookatanygroupoffundersandnonprofitsthatbelieve
theyareworkingonthesamesocialissue,andyouquic
klyfindthatitis oftennotthesame issueatall.
Each organization often has a slightly
differentdefinition of the problem and the ultimate
goal. Thesedifferences are easily ignored when
organizations workindependently on isolated
initiatives, yet these
differencessplintertheeffortsandunderminetheimp
actofthefieldasa whole. Collective impact requires
that these differencesbe discussedandresolved.
Every participant need not agree with
every
otherparticipantonalldimensionsoftheproblem.Infa
ct,disagreements continue to divide participants in
all of
ourexamplesofcollectiveimpact.Allparticipantsmus
tagree,however, on the primary goals for the
collective impactinitiative as awhole.
2. SHAREDMEASUREMENTSYSTEMS
Developingasharedmeasurementsystemis
essential to collective impact. Agreement on a
commonagenda is illusory without agreement on
the ways
successwillbemeasuredandreported.Collectingdat
aandmeasuring results consistently on a short list
of
indicatorsatthecommunitylevelandacrossallpartici
patingorganizationsnotonlyensuresthatalleffortsre
StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page5of6
 MUTUALLYREINFORCINGACTIVITIES gisticalandadministrativedetailsneededfortheinitia
tiveto
Collective impact initiatives depend on a
diversegroup of stakeholders working together, not
by requiringthat all participants do the same thing,
but by
encouragingeachparticipanttoundertakethespecifics
etofactivitiesatwhich it excels in a way that supports
and is coordinatedwiththeactions ofothers.
4. CONTINUOUSCOMMUNICATION
Developing trust among nonprofits,
corporations,andgovernmentagenciesisamonument
alchallenge.Participantsneedseveralyearsofregularm
eetingstobuildup enough experience with each other
to recognize andappreciate the common motivation
behind their differentefforts. They need time to see
that their own interests willbe treated fairly, and that
decisions will be made on thebasis of objective
evidence and the best possible
solutiontotheproblem,nottofavortheprioritiesofoneor
ganization overanother.
5. BACKBONESUPPORTORGANIZATIONS
Creatingandmanagingcollectiveimpactrequir
esaseparateorganizationandstaffwithaveryspecifics
etofskills to serve as the backbone for the entire
initiative.Coordinationtakestime,andnoneofthepartic
ipatingorganizationshasanytospare.Theexpectationt
hatcollaborationcanoccurwithoutasupportinginfrastr
uctureisoneofthemostfrequentreasons why itfails.
The backbone organization requires a
dedicatedstaffseparatefromtheparticipatingorganiz
ationswhocanplan, manage, and support the
initiative through ongoingfacilitation, technology
and communications support,
datacollectionandreporting,andhandlingthemyriadlo
StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page6of6
functionsmoothly.Strive hassimplified enience.Adedicateddigitalengagementspacebey
theinitialstaffingrequirements for a backbone ondthelimitationsofsocialmedia–withstridentmea
organization to three roles:projectmanager,data suresofdatasecuritythatcombatincreasingcomm
manager,and facilitator. unitymistrustofsocial media – ensures everyone
has safe access to
makemeaningfulcontributionstoissuesimpactingt
heireveryday life.
TYPES OF
COMMUNITYENGAGEME
NT
Generally,therearetwotypesofcommunitye
ngagement:traditionalanddigital.
Traditional, “in person” or what is
commonlycalled “face to face” community
engagement can take
theformofcitizen’sjuries,citizen’sassembliesorpublic
meetings and consultations, for instance. These
connectpeople and build relationships in a hands-
on
environmentwhileaccessinginformationnecessaryf
orcommunitymemberstohave theirsay ontheissues
athand.
This also includes going to certain places
likethoseofthemarginalizedsectorstopersonallyrea
chouttothem.
Ontheotherhand,digital-
firstcommunityengagementcaninclude,amongothe
rthings,participatoryforums, online community
panels and digital
storytelling,enablingdeeperquestionstobeaskedoft
heissuesathand.
While traditional, face to face engagement
haslimitedparticipants,onlinecommunityengagem
entenablesmorepeopletohavetheirsay,attheirconv
StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page7of6
 previouslyunappreciatedcausallinkscanbei
dentified

Figure 2.https://mediacause.com/11-tips-building-an-engaged-online
-community/

AREAS WITH POSITIVEIMPACT

THROUGHCOMMUNITYENGAGE
MENT
A recent review of the literature on
communityengagement identified nine areas in
which
communityengagementmadeapositiveimpact(Stale
y,2009).Althoughthisstudyfocusedonresearchpartner
ships,manyofitsfindingsarerelevanttocommunityeng
agementin general. The nine areas and the
corresponding benefitswere as follows:

 Agenda—Engagementchangesthechoicean
dfocusofprojects,howtheyareinitiated,andth
eirpotentialtoobtainfunding.Newareasforcoll
aborationareidentified,andfundingthatrequir
escommunityengagementbecomesaccessibl
e.
 Designanddelivery—Improvementstostudyd
esign, tools,
interventions,representation/participation,da
ta collectionandanalysis, communication,
and dissemination canbe implemented. New
interventions or
StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page8of6
 throughthecommunity’sknowledgeoflocalc outcanmakeiteasiertoparticipateinthema
ircumstances. The speed and efficiency of ndbringbenefitstoparticipants.
theprojectcanbeenhancedbyrapidlyengagi  Community
ngpartnersandparticipantsandidentifyingn organizations—Theseorganizations
ewsourcesofinformation. cangainenhancedknowledge,ahigherpro
 Implementationandchange—Improvemen fileinthecommunity,morelinkages
tscanbemadeinthewayresearchfindingsare
usedtobringaboutchange(e.g.,throughnew
orimproved services, policy or funding
changes,
ortransformationofprofessionalpractices),a
ndcapacity for change and the
maintenance of long-termpartnerships
canbe expanded.
 Ethics—Engagementcreatesopportunitiest
oimprovetheconsentprocess,identifyethical
pitfalls, and create processes for resolving
ethicalproblemswhentheyarise.
 Thepublicinvolvedintheproject—Theknowl
edgeandskillsofthepublicinvolvedintheproj
ect can be enhanced, and their
contributionscanberecognized(possiblythr
oughfinancialrewards). These efforts foster
goodwill and
helplaythegroundworkforsubsequentcollab
orations.
 Academicpartners—Academicpartnerscan
gain enhanced understanding of the issue
understudy and appreciation of the role
and value ofcommunity involvement,
which sometimes resultin direct career
benefits. In addition, new insightsinto the
relevance of a project and the
variousbenefitstobegainedfromitcanresulti
nincreasedopportunitiestodisseminateitsfi
ndingsand theirwideruse.
 Individual research
participants—Improvements in the way
studies are carried

StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page9of6
 with other community members and entities,
andnew organizational capacity. These
benefits cancreate goodwill and help lay the
groundwork forsubsequentcollaborations.
 Thegeneralpublic—Thegeneralpublicislikelyt
obe more receptiveto the researchand
reapgreaterbenefits fromit.

COMMUNITYENGAGEMENTCO
NTINUUM
Community engagement can take many
forms,andpartnerscanincludeorganizedgroups,agen
cies,institutions, or individuals. Collaborators may be
engagedinhealthpromotion,research,orpolicymaking.
Community engagement can also be seen as
acontinuum of community involvement. Figure 3
below,modifiedfromadiagramoriginallydrawnbytheI
nternationalAssociationforPublicParticipation,illustra
tes one way of thinking about such a
continuum.Over time, a specific collaboration is likely
to move alongthis continuum toward greater
community involvement,and any given collaboration
is likely to evolve in otherways, too. Most notably,
while community
engagementmaybeachievedduringatime-
limitedproject,itfrequentlyinvolves—andoftenevolve
sinto—long-termpartnershipsthatmovefromthe
traditional focusonasingle health issue to address a
range of social, economic,political,and
environmentalfactorsthat affect health.

StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page10of6

Figure3.https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/communityengagement/images/figur
e1.1_lg.jpg
LEARNING
ACTIVITY
Objective:Reflectonthecurrentsituationofourcomm
unitiesandcome upwitha realisticplan.
Task: Taking into consideration Lessons 1 and 2 of
StudyGuide No. 2, compose an essay on how do
you think
youandthegovernmentcouldimproveoncontributin
gmeaningfully and participating fully to ensure
livability ofcommunities.
SUMMARY
Meaningful,inclusivecommunityengageme
ntisimportant,evencritical,tocommunitywell-being.
Buildingontheideasofempowermentandparticipati
on,people’swell-
beinginvolvesparticipatingmeaningfullyinallaspect
sofone’slife.Communityengagement, then, ensures
that community members
haveaccesstovaluedsocialsettingsandactivities,fee
lthattheyare able to contribute meaningfully to
those activities,
anddevelopfunctionalcapabilitiesthatenablethemt
oparticipate fully.
REFERENCES
https://www.bangthetable.com/why-is-
community-engagement-important
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/collective_impact
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/communityengagement/
pce_what.html
https://teachingcommons.unt.edu/teaching-
essentials/engaged-learning/incorporating-
community-engagement-your-course

PREPAREDANDCOMPILEDBY:
Dr. Noel L.
GuevaraDr.JerryC.

StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page11of6
Dichoso
DanikkaKrystaC. Guevara

StudyGuide2–Module1-Lesson2-PeopleandPractices|Page12of6