What to know
For engagement to occur, consider principles 3 and 4. Community engagement efforts are built through trust and respect. Going to the community allows practitioners to establish rapport and trust with the community. It’s important to accept and respect the communities’ right to self-determinism to engage or not engage in activities.
Section Overview
The second section of principles to consider for community engagement include principles 3 and 4.
"Go to the community, establish relationships, build trust, work with the formal and informal leadership, and seek commitment from community organizations and leaders to create processes for mobilizing the community."
Engagement is based on community support. The literature on community participation and organization discussed in Chapter 1 illuminates this principle. Positive change is more likely to occur when community members are an integral part of a program's development and implementation.
It is essential for those engaging a community to adhere to the highest ethical standards. The rights, interests, and well-being of individuals and communities must have the utmost priority. The community must be educated about any potential for harm through its involvement with or endorsement of an initiative. Doing so will ensure they can make an informed decision. Failure to act ethically is not an option.
"Remember and accept that collective self-determination is the responsibility and right of all people in a community. No external entity should assume it can bestow on a community the power to act in its own self-interest."
Just because an institution or organization introduces itself into the community does not mean that it automatically becomes of the community. An organization is of the community when it is controlled by individuals or groups who are members of the community. This concept of self-determination is central to the concept of community empowerment. The dynamic can be quite complex, however, because communities themselves may have factions that contend for power and influence. It should be recognized that internal and external forces may be at play in any engagement effort.
The literature on community empowerment strongly supports the idea that problems and potential solutions should be defined by the community. people in a community are more likely to become involved if they:
- identify with the issues being addressed,
- consider them important, and
- feel they have influence and can make a contribution.