What is community engagement?

A definition

Community engagement refers to the connections between governments, citizens and communities on a range of policy, program and service issues. It encompasses a wide variety of government–community interactions ranging from information sharing to community consultation and, in some instances, active participation in government decision making processes. Engagement can be formal or informal, direct or indirect. Effective community engagement allows government to tap into diverse perspectives and potential solutions to improve the quality of its decisions. It enables citizens and communities to better understand the processes of government and to build their capacity to participate in deliberative processes through the acquisition of confidence, skills, knowledge and experience. The amount of influence citizens can exert on decision making increases in accordance with the level of engagement, with active participation providing maximum opportunities for citizen influence. However, responsibility for the final decision rests with government. An understanding of community engagement, the levels of engagement and effective engagement principles and practices are essential prerequisites for any public official tasked with planning, approving or implementing community engagement activities or programs.

Engagement in a representative democracy

There is general acknowledgement that participatory processes and traditional methods of government decision making are complementary and should co-exist in a modern and robust representative democracy. Many elected representatives realise they can govern more effectively when conscious of the needs, opinions and experiences of their constituents. Public involvement in developing and evaluating policies, programs and services is an effective means of reconciling competing political, public sector and community values and perspectives, and is a sound investment for government. However, it is neither practical nor useful to assume that every policy or issue should be subject to citizen involvement. On some issues, government has little policy room to manoeuvre or has a strong commitment to a particular course of action. This inherent confl ict calls for good judgement by public officials. If citizens were given only the illusion that they could influence a government decision, the result would be an increase in public cynicism and a reduction in trust and confidence in government.

Levels of engagement

The Queensland Government has adopted the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's engagement model, using the following definitions:

• Information - a one-way relationship in which government delivers information to citizens
• Consultation- a two-way relationship in which citizens provide feedback on issues defined by government
• Active participation - a collaboration in which citizens actively shape policy options, but where government retains the responsibility for final decisions.

Information

Information sharing is a one-way relationship in which government disseminates information to citizens. It covers both passive access to information by citizens via a range of avenues such as the telephone, publications and websites, and active measures by government to disseminate information to citizens through education and awareness activities.

While this is not public involvement, information and communication technologies enable government to move beyond one-way information sharing to information exchange with citizens.

Effective information sharing requires information that:

• is accurate, easy to access and easy to understand 
• is relevant and appealing to the intended audience
• is timely and has an appropriate method of delivery
• is tailored, where necessary, in language and style
• directs citizens to where they can access further information.

Information sharing should be evaluated for its effectiveness, with opportunities for citizens to provide feedback.

Consultation

Consultation is a two-way relationship in which government seeks and receives the views of citizens or communities on policies, programs or services that affect them directly or in which they may have a significant interest.

Consultation can occur at various points in the policy development or planning process and can be used to help frame an issue, identify or assess options and evaluate existing policies, programs or services. Consultation can involve issues that are specific or quite general.

Critical elements of effective consultation include a shared understanding of how community input will inform policy or decision making processes, and timely feedback to participants on how the input contributed to the fi nal outcome. Methods of consultation include advisory committees, focus groups, online consultation, public meetings, petitions, polls and surveys.

Active participation

Active participation recognises and acknowledges a role for citizens in shaping policy dialogue and proposing policy, program and service options. Participation is achieved through a range of deliberative processes including steering committees, negotiation tables, policy roundtables, citizens' juries, citizens' panels, search conferences, and formal and informal partnerships.

Active participation processes enable citizens and communities to raise their own issues with government and can also encourage or enable participants to take responsibility for their contribution to solutions. Responsibility for authoritative decisions or policy formulation usually rests with government but may, in some instances, be shared with citizens or institutions.

Active citizen involvement in policy deliberation and program and service planning requires specific tools to facilitate learning, debate and the development of options and proposals.

Choosing the appropriate level of engagement

Information, consultation and active participation are a community engagement continuum with increasing levels of engagement and influence. Careful consideration needs to be given to the appropriateness of the level of engagement and method of engagement in relation to the stakeholders involved, the issue or policy being considered and the objectives of engagement.