How to develop a community engagement strategy that works for your local authority and residents within the community you serve.
- truthaboutlocalgov
- Apr 29
- 13 min read
Updated: May 2
An effective community engagement strategy assists local governments in making more informed decisions. Involving the public in decision-making not only helps to create a shared vision for the community but also leads to better outcomes for people and places. We’ve identified effective community engagement tips to help you enhance your strategy today.
"Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much." – Helen Keller
What Is a Community Engagement Strategy?
A community engagement strategy refers to the strategic organisation of community events, outreach, and initiatives to involve residents in local government decision-making and community building. The aim of the community engagement strategy is to engage residents regularly in the workings of their local government, improve communications between constituents and their government leaders, and ensure residents are benefiting from the government services available to them.
Community engagement brings together diverse perspectives to improve the impact of policies and projects on people. In local government, it should provide individuals, stakeholders, and community groups the opportunity to understand and contribute to projects and policies. Engaged communities are thriving communities. When local governments engage a diverse cross-section of the community, they can identify issues while unlocking innovation. This influx of creative energy helps create places and spaces that people feel connected to. Community engagement also fosters a culture of trust, transparency, equity, resilience, and innovation.
Common Challenges Local Governments Face with Unengaged Residents
Without proper plans in place, including a strong community engagement strategy, local governments face challenges throughout the entire community.
Here are a few challenges that a local government community engagement strategy can mitigate:
Lack of Representation of Community Population
Lack of community representation is one of the biggest challenges facing government officials when they attempt to improve their rates of community engagement. It can be difficult to understand the needs of different groups and cultures within your community if they are unengaged with the local government. Different groups and cultures often go underrepresented because they are unengaged with the local government, affecting decision-making for policies that should be inclusive for all community members.
Lack of Voter Turnout
When residents are unengaged in their local community and local politics, this leads to a lack of decision-making input from the general public. When residents don’t show up to vote, their opinions about the city they live in go unvoiced, and the local government isn’t made aware of what community improvements they should be prioritising. The only way to mitigate this lack of voter turnout is by engaging constituents and getting them passionate about voting.
Lack of Turnout at Community Events
Often, local governments host community events but don’t receive the resident turnout that they hope for, meaning residents don’t know about the events, or simply don’t care about showing up. A lack of resident involvement in community events makes it impossible to foster a shared vision for the community and boost resident pride and camaraderie in their city. Supporting local businesses and improving upward mobility also often slips to the back of the priority list for residents when they are unengaged, negatively impacting and slowing down your local economy.
Lack of Civic Pride
A lack of sense of local pride and unity in a shared vision for the community is detrimental to the well-being of residents and the culture of your city. When residents are uninterested or generally unengaged in community matters, there is so little community spirit.
The Benefits of Improved Community Engagement
Community engagement has the potential to transform your community and community life for your residents.
Here are some key benefits of improved resident engagement:
More Informed Decision-Making Insight Hearing directly from community members helps policymakers decide what to prioritise in policies and local initiatives. It is impossible to transform your municipality into a more ideal home for residents if you have no idea what they want from their leadership. Gaining insight from residents about their specific needs, requests, grievances, or challenges will help guide your local elected officials on the most pressing changes that should be made in your municipality to benefit residents.
Increased Trust For Local Government Officers and Members In today’s age, transparency in local government is vital. Residents want and deserve to know exactly what is going on in their community and local government so they can weigh in, express their opinions, and hold their local leaders accountable. More transparency in government fosters trust between residents and their government, improving quality of life for community members and influencing re-election for local government members!
Improved Resident Services One of the most important aspects of local government today is the delivery of services that serve residents and address their specific needs. These government-provided services fill in the gaps for many community members, providing them with the necessary resources to thrive in your community. Sometimes resident services for the elderly, veterans, and people with disabilities in your community need extra focus or are not up to par. Hearing directly from residents which services are lacking, or which services they utilise most will help your local leaders learn which services are worth more resource and fund allocation.
Prioritise Community Engagement Strategies Now
Local government officials need to take steps to improve resident engagement at the local level to experience the benefits of a more engaged public community. The importance of community engagement strategies cannot be underestimated, and now is the time to ensure your local authority has a solid one.
Strategies for optimising Community Engagement at your Local Authority
Keep Accessibility at the Forefront
When local authorities employ a mix of community engagement tactics, they can overcome common barriers to public participation. For instance, using a hybrid approach of online and offline methods allows reaching individuals with varying schedules, commitments, abilities, and levels of digital literacy. Local authorities can also engage residents who live and work in diverse locations.
Offline focus groups can be utilised in the planning phase of a community engagement project to ensure that local authorities understand who they need to engage and how. It's also crucial to consider how underrepresented groups in the community can be given a voice. Using translation tools ensures that community engagement materials can be interpreted in different languages.
The costs of exclusion in policy design can be high, so local authorities should also consider if First Nations voices are represented, venues are accessible, communication support is available, and the engagement process will be comfortable for someone with neurodivergence.
Create Appealing (and Engaging) Content
Local authorities need to use content that resonates and connects with the local community. For example, if a community engagement website is being used, it's important to enhance usability and ensure that people of all different abilities can comprehend the information. Following WCAG’s latest guidelines can ensure that the front-end design is easy and intuitive for a diverse range of people.
Creating impactful experiences that capture attention and drive participation will help build trust and confidence. While it's important to be factual, local authorities can encourage residents to participate in their projects by sharing stories and creating an emotional connection.
Ask the Right Questions
When local authorities aim to tap into the collective intelligence of the community, it's essential to know the right questions to ask. Researching the community and collaborating with key stakeholders can help unlock valuable perspectives and highlight points of tension.
Local authorities should be ready to engage with the community in a meaningful way and take time to research and understand the real problems. It's also beneficial to involve the community as partners in the design, testing, and revision of the community engagement plan. Community representatives can help identify any required changes to wording, ensuring that the local authority is aware of the community’s language, culture, and history.
Ensure People Feel Safe to Share Their Feedback
Red tape and bureaucracy can slow local authorities down. However, community members will be more willing to give honest feedback when they trust decision-makers. That's why it's essential to spark meaningful conversations where people understand the process, goals, and intended outcomes. There also needs to be a level-playing field between the local authority and residents.
Local authorities should also share important information widely before, during, and after projects. Increasing the community’s sense of ownership over the outcomes by being transparent is crucial. Being honest about the role and influence that people have in decision-making and the implementation of solutions will help immensely. This can encourage more residents to engage in community engagement efforts in the future.
Share and Promote All Opportunities to Engage
People need to be aware of their opportunity to participate in the community engagement process. Therefore, it's essential for local authorities to promote every opportunity to engage across an integrated mix of paid, owned, and earned media. An effective communications plan also ensures that the right demographics are reached to meet the project’s engagement requirements.
People lead busy lives, so it's likely that the community will need to be exposed to the project several times before they engage. Online platforms can also open up opportunities to retarget community members on digital channels, such as Facebook or Instagram. Remember that repetition creates recognition, and a message needs to be repeated frequently to create awareness.
Actively Connect with Diverse Participants
To realise the full value of any new plan or policy, local authorities need to acknowledge that diversity positively impacts decision-making. Different identities and traits, such as race, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, culture, and (dis)ability need to be included. When diverse voices are actively considered in the design of solutions, local authorities are more likely to deliver equitable outcomes.
Diversity also helps groups to analyse the facts more clearly and creates clarity on the real problems, helping to shift the entire community forward.
Local communities are often made up of many cultures and demographic groups. Therefore, it is important for local authorities to research these groups and plan their engagement activities accordingly. Consider any participation barriers to ensure all groups have equal access to get involved in decisions that impact them.
"A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm." – Henrik Ibsen
Remain Agile and Efficient
Local authorities need to be agile to respond to the community’s feedback in a timely manner. That's why it's important to capture and activate feedback throughout the entire community engagement process, from planning to development, launch, and review.
If a project or policy is rejected by key stakeholders in any way, an agile community engagement strategy ensures that the local authority has the capacity to adapt. Online community engagement platforms also enable decision-makers to review data throughout the entire project. This means that throughout your project lifecycle, you can pick up on any changes in sentiment or identify gaps in representation.
Keep Accessibility at the Forefront
When local authorities employ a mix of community engagement tactics, they can overcome common barriers to public participation. For instance, using a hybrid approach of online and offline methods allows reaching individuals with varying schedules, commitments, abilities, and levels of digital literacy. Local authorities can also engage residents who live and work in diverse locations.
Offline focus groups can be utilised in the planning phase of a community engagement project to ensure that local authorities understand who they need to engage and how. It's also crucial to consider how underrepresented groups in the community can be given a voice. Using translation tools ensures that community engagement materials can be interpreted in different languages.
The costs of exclusion in policy design can be high, so local authorities should also consider if First Nations voices are represented, venues are accessible, communication support is available, and the engagement process will be comfortable for someone with neurodivergence.
Create Appealing (and Engaging) Content
Local authorities need to use content that resonates and connects with the local community. For example, if a community engagement website is being used, it's important to enhance usability and ensure that people of all different abilities can comprehend the information. Following WCAG’s latest guidelines can ensure that the front-end design is easy and intuitive for a diverse range of people.
Creating impactful experiences that capture attention and drive participation will help build trust and confidence. While it's important to be factual, local authorities can encourage residents to participate in their projects by sharing stories and creating an emotional connection.
Ask the Right Questions
When local authorities aim to tap into the collective intelligence of the community, it's essential to know the right questions to ask. Researching the community and collaborating with key stakeholders can help unlock valuable perspectives and highlight points of tension.
Local authorities should be ready to engage with the community in a meaningful way and take time to research and understand the real problems. It's also beneficial to involve the community as partners in the design, testing, and revision of the community engagement plan. Community representatives can help identify any required changes to wording, ensuring that the local authority is aware of the community’s language, culture, and history.
Ensure People Feel Safe to Share Their Feedback
Red tape and bureaucracy can slow local authorities down. However, community members will be more willing to give honest feedback when they trust decision-makers. That's why it's essential to spark meaningful conversations where people understand the process, goals, and intended outcomes. There also needs to be a level-playing field between the local authority and residents.
Local authorities should also share important information widely before, during, and after projects. Increasing the community’s sense of ownership over the outcomes by being transparent is crucial. Being honest about the role and influence that people have in decision-making and the implementation of solutions will help immensely. This can encourage more residents to engage in community engagement efforts in the future.
Share and Promote All Opportunities to Engage
People need to be aware of their opportunity to participate in the community engagement process. Therefore, it's essential for local authorities to promote every opportunity to engage across an integrated mix of paid, owned, and earned media. An effective communications plan also ensures that the right demographics are reached to meet the project’s engagement requirements.
People lead busy lives, so it's likely that the community will need to be exposed to the project several times before they engage. Online platforms can also open up opportunities to retarget community members on digital channels, such as Facebook or Instagram. Remember that repetition creates recognition, and a message needs to be repeated frequently to create awareness.
Actively Connect with Diverse Participants
To realise the full value of any new plan or policy, local authorities need to acknowledge that diversity positively impacts decision-making. Different identities and traits, such as race, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, culture, and (dis)ability need to be included. When diverse voices are actively considered in the design of solutions, local authorities are more likely to deliver equitable outcomes.
Diversity also helps groups to analyse the facts more clearly and creates clarity on the real problems, helping to shift the entire community forward.
Local communities are often made up of many cultures and demographic groups. Therefore, it is important for local authorities to research these groups and plan their engagement activities accordingly. Consider any participation barriers to ensure all groups have equal access to get involved in decisions that impact them.
Remain Agile and Efficient
Local authorities need to be agile to respond to the community’s feedback in a timely manner. That's why it's important to capture and activate feedback throughout the entire community engagement process, from planning to development, launch, and review.
If a project or policy is rejected by key stakeholders in any way, an agile community engagement strategy ensures that the local authority has the capacity to adapt. Online community engagement platforms also enable decision-makers to review data throughout the entire project. This means that throughout your project lifecycle, you can pick up on any changes in sentiment or identify gaps in representation.
Consistently Close the Loop
When local authorities ask residents to share their feedback, it’s crucial that they report back on how that feedback has been utilised. Closing the loop with a comprehensive community engagement report shows respect and encourages further participation. It also motivates residents because they can understand other perspectives and how their input was used. In a community engagement report, local authorities should provide an overview of their project, outline what was heard, share the outcomes, and highlight the next steps. Describing who engaged also helps the community to identify if the people and groups who are likely to be affected by the local authority’s decision had the opportunity to participate. It’s important the community feels that the feedback used was representative. Therefore, local authorities should explain how traditionally underrepresented groups were empowered to get involved and how this opportunity was made accessible.
Reflect on Your Community Engagement Strategy
At every stage of a project, local authorities should take the time to reflect. Using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative metrics, evaluating a project helps local authorities to reflect. Were the right community members at the table? Did the programme or intervention drive meaningful and positive impacts? Planning, implementation, completion, and reporting are key evaluation phases in which local authorities can take a step back, reflect, and evaluate. When local authorities understand the effectiveness of their community engagement projects, they can take corrective actions and enhance their efforts in the future.
"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." – Henry Ford
Don’t Be Afraid of Growth
Effective community engagement is powerful, but only a small percentage of the population participates in most projects. If local authorities understand the motivators and demotivators alike, they can encourage more residents to get involved in crafting innovative solutions to the big issues. Always keep in mind that community engagement should be a process of collaboration and co-learning. When local authorities extend a genuine invitation to participate, they can make people feel heard and safe to share. They also have the opportunity to showcase how input translates into effective outcomes and report on their learnings transparently. This can encourage deeper and more meaningful community engagement from a greater variety of residents. It’s important that local authorities are willing to measure their impact and continuously improve for future projects. We hope these community engagement tips can be successfully applied to your strategy.
Conclusion
Developing a community engagement strategy that truly works requires thoughtful planning, active listening, and a commitment to inclusivity. By prioritising accessibility, creating engaging content, asking the right questions, and ensuring that residents feel safe to share their feedback, local authorities can foster meaningful participation. It's essential to promote all opportunities to engage, actively connect with diverse participants, and remain agile in responding to feedback.
Consistently closing the loop by reporting back on how feedback has been utilised builds trust and encourages ongoing involvement. Reflecting on the strategy at every stage and being open to growth ensures that the engagement process evolves and improves over time. By embracing these principles, local authorities can create a robust community engagement strategy that not only addresses the needs and aspirations of residents but also strengthens the overall fabric of the community.
Remember, effective community engagement is a continuous journey of collaboration and learning. With the right approach, local authorities can empower residents, drive positive change, and build a more connected and resilient community.
"In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it." – Marianne Williamson
Poll: Enhancing Community Engagement
We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts on the most effective strategies for developing a community engagement plan that truly works.
Which aspect of community engagement do you believe is most crucial for success?
Prioritising accessibility for all community members
Creating engaging and relatable content
Asking the right questions to gather meaningful feedback
Ensuring residents feel safe & valued when sharing opinions
Commentaires