Analyzing Community Engagement: Principles, Skills, and Strategies

This report examines community engagement as a strategic process for addressing issues like crime and insecurity to improve community well-being. It emphasizes the importance of principles such as fairness and justice in engagement programs. The report identifies key stakeholders and discusses effective engagement methods, including social media, email, and brochures. It also highlights essential interpersonal skills for community service providers, such as communication, active listening, and creativity. Furthermore, the study explores the effectiveness of a forward-looking approach in educating people about internal and external factors influencing community development, including technology, environmental changes, and personal behavior. The report concludes by underscoring the role of community engagement in achieving program goals and suggests strategies for overcoming barriers and effectively engaging community members.

Community Engagement

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENT.....................................................................................3
Ways of engaging stakeholders...................................................................................................4
Interpersonal skills required to foster the level of success in community engagement program 5
Effectiveness of forward looking approach to educate people on internal and external factors
that influence community development.......................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Community engagement is strategic process in which people work with identified group in
order to engage community to achieve long term as well as sustainable goals. Improving relation
with community members is also important for making community engagement program
successful (Hollebeek, Juric and Tang, 2017). This study will discuss reasons of developing
community engagement events for reducing community issues that people are facing such as
crime, insecurity and others. All these issues have negative impacts on people’s well-being and
their health. This study is going to discuss some principles and factors that need to be considered
for making community engagement program successful. It will further discuss some skills that
community service providers need to possess for increasing community engagement rate and for
making them educate about issues and ways by which they can protect themselves against such
issues. It will further show some reasons of making use of forward looking approach in
community engagement events and ways as how it makes them able to educate community
members about the main community program topic. There are some internal and external factors
that also lead some community issues and affect performance of community engagement events.
Some skills such as influencing, collaboration, team working, communication and integrity are
vital for accomplishing goal of development of program.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENT
Community engagement
In regard to community engagement, it can be said that it refers a process of working
collaboratively with groups by special interest for addressing specific issues that affects well-
being of people. Community and people live at a place where numbers of problem occur and
community issues such as: crime, insecurity affects their well-being. Crime rates increases fear
among community members. For solving crime and insecurity community problems, community
service providers develop engagement programs (Abimbola, 2020).
Community engagement principles and standards
There are numbers of community engagement programs that have developed for solving
community issues that people are suffering from such as crime and insecurity. From secondary
research, it is found that community service providers need to focus on some principles for
engaging numbers of people and making them beneficial. Some principles and standards include:

Fairness: It is important for community service providers to collect accurate data and
provide fair chance to all participants in program to gain as well as share views (Higgs and et.al.,
2018). To not discriminate anyone in this program is other main key of making engagement
program successful.
Justice: it is also important to give positive outcomes and fair decision to all and help
community members by solving their queries. Crimes rate are increasing and people are being
educated about ways by which they can protect themselves (Grohma and et.al., 2021). So, it is
important for them to give each and every detail regarding community issues to community
members and educate them for the same.
Pathfinder program of 2007-08 performed pre-criminal intervention in the form of
community engagement activities, undertaken by local authorities and by considering all these
principles they made this program successful.
Ways of engaging stakeholders
Stakeholders play a vital role in making community engagement program successful as
they provide suggestions regarding engaging community members. The main stakeholder in
community engagement events include: community members who are suffering crimes,
insecurity related problems, especially girls. Before identifying ways of engaging stakeholders, it
is important to focus on collecting data regarding stakeholders and the main community issue.
Survey: Survey is one of the main key steps in which community service providers need to
identify areas where crimes rate is high, reasons of community problems and on the basis of
collected problems they can engage stakeholders.
There are some steps or ways by which community service providers can engage
stakeholders such as:
Social media platform: After identifying and collecting all information, it is important to
make use of some source of engaging community members in crime prevention, educational and
other program for preventing community against crimes. From some programs, it is found that
social media is the most used source of communicating and engaging people. By updating
information regarding engagement programs for community well-being, people are being
attracted (Dai, M. and et.al., 2017, Working with communities on social media.). People also find
easier in knowing as what is going to happen in community engagement program as on which
topic they will educate people and others. All those people who are suffering from some health

issues and community problems are more likely to view details of program and they are more
likely to attend engagement programs. There are some platforms that are the most used by people
such as: Facebook and Instagram. Results from some programs shows that specific types of posts
are more engaging for communities. It is also stated that selection of social media platforms such
as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter interactions vary as selection of platforms depend on the
type of posts. It also becomes important for community service providers to identify that which
social media platform is being the most used by their target market and on this basis, they can
update information and can attract community members to the great extent (Brunton and et.al.,
2017). People can join program online if they telecast live program as it also makes easier for
people who live far away from the place where community engagement program is going to
held.
E-mail: E-mail is other effective source of attracting community members. There are
numbers of people who do not spend time on social media platforms because of busy schedule
but they get notifications on E-mail. So, by sending detailed information regarding crime
prevention and other community engagement programs, community service providers can attract
them and engage them. By getting e-mail and detailed message about community engagement
program, people can know that what is this program about, how will it make beneficial to people
and what are timing, process of joining programs (Shawky and et.al., 2021). So, along with
social media platforms, via E-mail, people can be engaged in community engagement program.
Brochure: There are numbers of people in community and societies who are not educated
and do not have knowledge about using internet and mobile. People of age of 60 and above find
difficulties in accessing social media platforms and E-mail. So, for such people, brochure will be
the best way of engaging in community engagement program for educating them for crimes and
other community issues. Brochure can increase cost as there are charges of printing information
and it is the reason, this mode is the least used for engaging and attracting community members.
Overall, on the basis of above discussed sources, it can be said that social media is the best way
of attracting, engaging and educating about their welfare programs and protecting them against
crimes and other issues (Miller and et.al., 2019).
Interpersonal skills required to foster the level of success in community engagement program
For engaging community members, community service providers need to have some
interpersonal skills. When people are being communicated and influenced in an effective manner

then they are more likely to engage and participate in community engagement program. There
are some skills that are vital for engaging and educating people regarding community issues such
as:
Communication: Community service providers may use social media platforms but for
engaging and attracting people, they require to communicate and interact with community
members (Darling-Hammond and Cook-Harvey, 2018). An effective communication skill and
ability of interacting with people increase engagement rate. When people are being informed
with detailed information with politeness and with clear, concise message then they are more
likely to participate and interested in knowing all about program and ways to prevent against
community issues.
Active listening: There are different behaviour of people and due to lack of knowledge,
some people ask numbers of questions regarding program. So, for dealing with such people and
engaging them, it is important for social and community service providers to listen to them and
providing them with satisfactory answers or information. When people are being listened and are
being provided answers of their all questions and queries then it makes them feel valued and they
tend to participate in community engagement and educational program.
Creativity: Creativity is other important skill that community service providers need to
possess for educating community members. Creativity is all about an ability to manage
programs, provide information to people and attracting people in program. Managing all
activities in effective manner and educating people, community service providers need to think
about unique ideas of providing information (Greenberg, Domitrovich, Weissberg and Durlak,
2017). As for engaging people, they can think about some funny educational based activities that
can engage people and can educate as well. So, bringing new ideas of engaging people in a
unique manner is creativity that is vital for educating people.
Effectiveness of forward looking approach to educate people on internal and external factors that
influence community development
There are numbers of internal and external environmental factors that also lead community
problems and it becomes important to make them aware about all these factors. There are some
ways and strategies by which people can be educated with effectiveness such as: focus group,
survey, community meeting, prevention strategy, forward looking approach and others. Some
factors that may affect people’s health include: technology, environmental, personal behaviour

and others. Due to environmental changes such as: covid-19, pollution can lead numbers of
health problems. Due to advanced technology, children spend a lot of time on mobiles, social
media platforms that also affect their health, they skip their breakfast and it affects their vision
(Fleacă, Fleacă and Maiduc, 2018). So, for educating people about all these factors, community
service providers need to make use of effective approaches.
In regard to forward looking approach, it can be said that it is a perspective of the idea in
which people are being educated that the future is not knowable but is imaginable. With this
approach, people can be educated about all those factors that might affect their health in the
future. With this approach they are being asked to take care of themselves and prevent
themselves against those factors such as: changes in climate, environmental factors, change in
technological, economic condition and others. This approach can improve their health and can
make them able to live longer and be healthy in the future as well. There are numbers of internal
and external environmental changes that cannot be controlled by us but we can decrease negative
impacts of those factors by taking extra care (Kılıç and Kuzey, 2018). Overall, it can be said that
by predicting with forward looking approach about external and internal environmental factors,
we can educate people and can improve their health
CONCLUSION
It has been summarised from the above study that engaging community members in
community development and educational programs play a vital role as it helps in accomplishing
goal of program. It has discussed numbers of issues that people in community and societies are
facing such as: increasing rate of crimes, insecurity for girls, lack of recreational facilities and
others. All these issues have negative impacts on well-being of people and they suffer a lot. It has
further discussed some principles that can make community engagement program successful and
ways by which community service providers can engage community members with
effectiveness. Solving problems and educating them is one of the main aim of community
engagement event. It has further discussed both internal and external environmental factors that
can affect engagement of community and can create barriers in successful community
engagement program. Some strategies can be suggested to community service providers by
which they can solve all problems and can engage community members with effectiveness.
Some strategies such as: using social media or continuous communication, being responsive,

segmentation of user base for epic community development and others. All these strategies and
some skills such as integrity, an ability to influence people and making them feel valued is
important for engaging community members. It has further discussed effectiveness and reasons
of using forward looking approach by manager to educate community members and
accomplishing goals of engagement program.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Abimbola, S., 2020. Beyond positive a priori bias: reframing community engagement in
LMICs. Health Promotion International. 35(3). pp.598-609.
Brunton, G. and et.al., 2017. Narratives of community engagement: a systematic review-derived
conceptual framework for public health interventions. BMC Public Health. 17(1). pp.1-15.
Darling-Hammond, L. and Cook-Harvey, C.M., 2018. Educating the Whole Child: Improving
School Climate to Support Student Success. Learning Policy Institute.
Fleacă, E., Fleacă, B. and Maiduc, S., 2018. Aligning strategy with sustainable development
goals (SDGs): Process scoping diagram for entrepreneurial higher education institutions
(HEIs). Sustainability. 10(4). p.1032.
Greenberg, M.T., Domitrovich, C.E., Weissberg, R.P. and Durlak, J.A., 2017. Social and
emotional learning as a public health approach to education. The future of children, pp.13-
32.
Grohma, P. and et.al., 2021. Community Engagement to Tackle Infectious Threats in
Bangladesh, Uganda and Ukraine-A Research in Progress on a Social Science Mapping
Process.
Higgs, E. and et.al., 2018. On principles and standards in ecological restoration. Restoration
Ecology. 26(3). pp.399-403.
Hollebeek, L.D., Juric, B. and Tang, W., 2017. Virtual brand community engagement practices:
a refined typology and model. Journal of Services Marketing.
Kılıç, M. and Kuzey, C., 2018. Determinants of forward-looking disclosures in integrated
reporting. Managerial Auditing Journal.
Miller, A.R. and et.al., 2019. Partnering academics and community engagement: A quality
enhancement plan for a diverse and non-traditional university. Journal of Community
Engagement and Scholarship. 12(1). p.5.
Shawky, S. and et.al., 2021. The multi-actor perspective of engagement on social
media. International Journal of Market Research. p.14707853211024472.
Online
Dai, M. and et.al., 2017. Working with communities on social media. [Online]. Available
through: < https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/OIR-01-2016-0002/full/html>