Glossary

Activity – ‘program component consisting of various measurable, tangible and recurrent tasks whose common feature is the pursuit of an objective within a specialized fi eld of activity. Examples include: training; seminars; conferences; discussion workshops; group activities drafting of documents; dissemination of information; design of materials; etc’⁸

Antecedent variables – are infl uences that are present before the program begins and are likely to influence the outputs and outcomes. Examples include the type of community, individual characteristics, and existing relationships

Attitude – ‘a settled opinion or way of thinking’¹⁴

Baseline data – initial data on key variables relating to a community or a program that is collected prior to an activity commencing. This data is compared against data on the same variables which is collected after the program has fi nished. This is done in order to identify potential outcomes of the program.

Causation – a relationship between two variables such that one (the independent variable) can be claimed to have caused the other (the dependent variable). Causation can be assumed when: a) there is a correlation or association between variables; b) the independent variable (the cause) occurs before the  dependent variable (the effect); c) there is a clear pattern across a number of experiments or cases and other potential causes (variables) have been excluded.

Coding – the act of sorting and classifying qualitative data by assigning a number or symbol to different items of information based on categories and classifi cations. This can allow quantitative analysis of qualitative information.

Community Capacity – ‘the interaction of human capital, organisational resources and social capital existing within a given community that can be leveraged to solve collective problems and improve or maintain the well being of the community. It may operate through information social processes and/or organised efforts by individuals, organisations, and social networks that exist among them and between them and the larger systems of which the community is part.’⁹

Community engagement activities – individual community engagement activities ranging from information provision activities, such as websites or brochures, to consultation activities, such as public meetings and individual discussions, to active participation activities, such as citizens’ juries

Community engagement program - a unifi ed suite of community engagement activities being undertaken by a unit, division, or agency as part of a particular policy, strategy, service or program development or delivery function

Correlation – when the data on two or more variables have a mathematical relationship.

Diversity – differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice and other human differences¹⁰

Evaluation –‘a process of inquiry that facilitates learning by asking critical questions to help inform decision-making’¹¹

Evaluation framework – a framework which guides the process for evaluation

Feeling of efficacy – the belief that you are able to have influence over events in your own life

Formative evaluation – evaluation which assesses the nature and progress of an activity in order to identify desirable and feasible changes or modifi cations that can be made to the activity

Goal – the ultimate purpose of an activity or the end towards which the activity is directed

Indicator - ‘measurements that describe the present state or condition of something that is important or valuable’¹²

Inputs – any human, physical or financial resources used to undertake a project

Intervention – purposeful activity generally conducted by government, social agencies and volunteers designed to change and improve a situation

Linking social capital – ‘social relations with those in authority, which might be used to garner resource or power’¹³

Mediating variables – influences that operate at the same time the community engagement activity is operating that may influence outcomes of the activity. Examples include other community engagement activities occurring at the same time, current events and exposure to other sources of information.

Milestone – a statement of an objective in terms of an intended output, for example having 100 young people participate in the program

Objective – a statement of what is to be accomplished

Outputs – measures of what an activity did

Perceptions – ‘an interpretation or impression based on one’s understanding of something’¹⁴

Performance criteria – standards against which the performance of activities are judged

Pilot test – a preliminary test or trial of an activity that is done in order to inform the activity design process

Program logic – a description about how a program is meant to work characterised by ‘if, then’ connections between inputs, activities and outcomes presented either visually or in words

Qualitative data – data that is expressed and analysed in the form of words

Quantitative data – data that is expressed and analysed in the form of numbers

Quality – ‘relates to the manner in which the [task is done] and the judgement of it by specifi c individuals with unique characteristics, needs and aspirations’¹⁵

Reliability – extent to which a research instrument produces consistent results over repeated applications under the same condition each time. Also used to describe the extent to which results are reliable based on having been gathered through a reliable research instrument.

Robust – used to refer to research results which are able to stand up to intellectual challenge

Sample – a subset of a population that is being analysed or evaluated, can be random or purposefully selected

Sense of community – ‘a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be together’¹⁶

Social capital – ‘networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate co-operation within or among groups’¹⁷

Summative evaluation – evaluation which assesses the nature and outcomes of an activity in order to make a judgement about whether the activity was successful. Generally used as part of performance monitoring and reporting.

Target – a statement of an objective in terms of an intended outcome, for example reducing crime rates of 15-25 year olds in the community by 25%

Target population – a subset of a population which an activity is trying to reach

Triangulation – refers to ‘the combination of methodologies to reveal different aspects of empirical reality. This combination could mean the use of a variety of data sources, several different evaluators, multiple perspectives to interpret a single set of data, and multiple methods to study a single initiative (Denzin, 1978).’¹⁸

Validity – the extent to which a research instrument accurately measures what it is supposed to measure

Variable - characteristic that varies in value or magnitude along which an object, individual or group may be categorised, such as income or age