It doesn’t encapsulate the ongoing conversation and relationship-building that occurs when engagement is consistent, accessible, and transparent. Community consultation can be defined as a process where an organization exchanges information and feedback on issues to involve the community and seek their views.Īs organizations continue to focus on building an ongoing, deliberative, two-way dialogue with their “community” of interest, the term consultation almost feels too singular. In recent years, the term community consultation has definitely taken a backseat to community engagement. Rather, it is an ongoing partnership with communities to engage them in joint decision-making.įortunately, this leads to an increase in trust and empowerment as community members are shown, through an ongoing conversation, that their insights, experience, and feedback can ultimately shape the future. It is not simply about sharing information or listening to opinions via a focus group or survey. With community engagement, there is a greater emphasis on a two-way dialogue or process. It includes: Sharing information and providing updates Seeking feedback and gathering input Dialogue and deliberation.” – City of Casey, Community Engagement Policy, 2020 “Community engagement is a planned process that supports public decision-making. “Community engagement is a planned process with the specific purpose of working with individuals and groups to encourage active involvement in decisions that affect them or are of interest to them.” – City of Melbourne, Community Engagement Policy, 2021 – City of Boroondara, Community Engagement Policy, 2021 – 2026 For Council decision-making to be an effective, transparent and accountable process, decisions are made by weighing and balancing community expectations with other factors”. “Community engagement is a process in which the community has a role in Council’s decision-making process. Some of our favorite client definitions of community engagement include: Governing bodies and organizations practice community engagement when they need to make a change or regulatory decision that will impact the community. A community may be based in a geographic location or formed around people of similar interests, affiliations, or identities.Ĭommunity engagement refers to the intention and action of organizations to reach out, facilitate interactions, and create feedback channels with a community. The word “community” describes groups of people, whether they are stakeholders, interest groups, or citizen groups. So, let’s start with one of our favorites, community engagement. Understanding both the similarities and differences of these terms can help us pinpoint what type of involvement or influence the public may have. It can also depend on the context, organization, or industry as well as the level of influence the public has within the consultation. If you’re based in Canada, or Australia, or even the United Kingdom, you may have a preferred term that could be interchanged with some of these definitions. To be honest, some of these subtle differences truly depend on the geography and audience. But, there’s a whole variety of factors in play here that can not only group these phrases together but also pit them oceans apart. In an ideal world, “engagement”, “participation”, and “involvement”, would mean the exact same thing and could be easily interchanged. Let’s define these similarities and differences together. But, there are a lot of different terms that allude to this practice.įrom community engagement, community consultation, public participation, public involvement, civic engagement, public engagement, and citizen participation – it’s a varied mix. Actively involving the public in a deliberative dialogue to inform decision-making is becoming (almost) essential in democratic nations. In 2023, people expect to have their say.

Community service synonym