Click on any of
the terms in the list below to see a collection of definitions
for that term:
Community engagement is “people working
collaboratively, through inspired action and learning, to
create and realize bold visions for their common future.”
(Tamarack, 2003)
Community engagement is “an ongoing
interactive process characterized by commitment to ever-changing
community needs and interests”. (Industry
Canada, 2002)
Community engagement is about members of
a community participating in the decisions and actions that
help to shape their community. (Fraser Basin Council, 2003)
The purpose of community engagement is to
involve the public in decisions that will ultimately affect
their lives. This requires interaction and communication between
citizens, scientists and policy-makers. (Institute for Resources,
Environment and Sustainability, 2003)
Community engagement is the process of working
collaboratively with and through groups of people affiliated
by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations
to address issues affecting the effectiveness (well-being)
of those people. (Fawcett et al., 1995; Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 1997)
Community Engagement can be defined as “the
process of getting the community involved in local efforts
and activities. (Malheur
Commission on Children and Families, 2002)
“Community engagement is a process,
not a program. It is the participation of members of a community
in assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating solutions
to problems that affect them. As such, community engagement
involves interpersonal trust, communication, and collaboration.
Such engagement, or participation, should focus on, and result
from, the needs, expectations, and desires of a community's
members”. (Minnesota
Department of Health, 2002)
Community engagement is “a wide range
of practices suited to different situations or purposes, guided
by a common set of values, principles and criteria.”
(Aslin and Brown, 2002)
“The term community engagement broadly
captures public processes in which the general public and
other interested parties are invited to contribute to particular
proposals or policy changes. Community engagement has the
potential to go beyond merely making information available
or gathering opinion and attitudes. It entails a more active
exchange of information and viewpoints between the sponsoring
organization and the public, however this public is defined.”
(PlanningNSW,
2003)
Community engagement is “activated
designed to give the local community an opportunity to contribute
to decision making on drug-related issues.” (Effective
Interventions Unit, June 2002)
“Community engagement is the overall
term used to refer to the whole span of activities that support
the involvement of residents, community groups, service users,
carers, and businesses, in decision-making processes, shaping
and informing the way services are delivered, and working
with the council to improve their communities” (Kirklees
Metropolitan Council, 2000)
“Community engagement is the process
of working collaboratively with groups of people affiliated
by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations
to address issues affecting their well-being” (Queensland
Government, Department of Emergency Services, 2001)
“Community engagement refers to arrangements
for citizens and communities to participate in the processes
used to make good policy and to deliver on programs and services.”
(Queensland
Government, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, 2001)
Engagement – consultation (where a
community is asked for their opinion), development (where
a community may provide a service itself) (Effective Interventions
Unit, June 2002)
In active sense: That which engages or induces
to a course of action; an inducement motive (Townshend)
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“Citizens join together to enhance
their power to transform the environment through actions that
affect the behaviour of others.” (Giddens, 1979 in Fawcett
et al., 1995, p. 694)
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“Collaborative empowerment begins with
issues on the community’s agenda and emphasizes community
control of the purpose and process” rather than partnerships
for Community betterment – which “begin outside
the community and operate under the control of researchers,
grant makers, or larger institutions within the community.”
(Himmelman, 1992 in Fawcett et al., 1995, p. 692)
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A community is people living in the same
geographical area, people with similar characteristics (e.g.
age, gender or ethnicity), groups who come together with a
common interest, the wider public. (Effective Interventions
Unit, June 2002, p.1, Effective Interventions Unit, Jan 2002,
p.7)
Community may mean the business field people
work in or a group that people feel socially connected to
(Ministry of Children and Family Development Child and Family
Steering Committee on Community Governance, 2002, p.1).
"A community is a group of people who
are socially interdependent, who participate together in discussion
and decision making, and who share certain practices that
both define the community and are nurtured by it” (Bellah,
Madesen, Sullican, Swidler, & Tipton, 1985 From Ministry
of Children and Family Development Child and Family Steering
Committee on Community Governance, 2002, p.6))
“A community is a group of two or more
people that have been able to accept and transcend their differences
regardless of the diversity of their backgrounds (social,
spiritual, educational, ethinic, economic, political etc.).
This enables them to communicate effectively and openly and
to work together toward goals identified as being for the
common good.” (Foundation for Community Engagement,
n.d From Ministry of Children and Family Development Child
and Family Steering Committee on Community Governance, 2002,
p.6)
“A community is a relatively self-sufficient
population, residing in a limited geographic area, bound together
by feelings of unity and interdependency” (Munon, 1968
From Ministry of Children and Family Development Child and
Family Steering Committee on Community Governance, 2002, p.6)
“A community is a group of people lined
by a communications structure supporting discussion and collective
action.” (Farrington & Pine, 1997 From Ministry
of Children and Family Development Child and Family Steering
Committee on Community Governance, 2002, p.6)
“People who live within a geographically defined area
and who have social and psychological ties with each other
and with the place where they live.” (Mattessich and
Monsey, 1997 From Ministry of Children and Family Development
Child and Family Steering Committee on Community Governance,
2002, p.2 – Also used by Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.56)
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Community Development definitions share
the common elements of a process of bringing people together
to achieve a common goal, usually related to changing the
quality of life. Some definitions involve the process of building
networks and improving the capacity of individuals and organizations
(Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p. 57)
Community development is “a group of people in a locality
initiating a social action process (i.e. planned intervention)
to change their economic, social, cultural, and/or environmental
situation.” (Christenson and Robinson, 1989 in Mattessich
and Roy, 1997, p.57)
Community development is “a deliberate,
democratic, developmental activity; focusing on an existing
social and geographical grouping of people; who participate
in the solution of common problems for the common good.”
(Cawley, 1984, in Christenson and Robinson, 1989 in Mattessich
and Roy, 1997, p.58)
Community development is “the process
of local decision making and the development of programs designed
to make [the] community a better place to live and work”
(Huie, 1976 in Christenson and Robinson, 1989 in Mattessich
and Roy, 1997, p.58).
Community development is “an educational
approach which would raise levels of local awareness and increase
the confidence and ability of community groups to identify
and tackle their own problems” (Darby and Morris, 1975,
in Christenson and Robinson, 1989 in Mattessich and Roy, 1997,
p.57)
Community development is “the active
involvement of people at the level of the local community
in resisting or supporting some cause or issue or program
that interests them.” (Ravitz, 1982, in Christenson
and Robinson, 1989 in Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.59).
Community development is “acts by
people that open and maintain channels of communication and
cooperation among local groups.” (Wilkinson, 1979, in
Christenson and Robinson, 1989 in Mattessich and Roy, 1997,
p.59)
Community development is “an orchestrated
attempt to influence a person or a system in relation to some
goal which an actor desires.” (Tropman and Erlich, in
Cox et al., 1979 in Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p. 59)
Community development is “the process
by which the efforts of the people themselves are united with
those of governmental authorities to improve the economic,
social and cultural conditions of communities, to integrate
these communities into the life of the nation, and to enable
them to contribute fully to national progress. This complex
of processes is, therefore, made up to two essential elements:
the participation by the people themselves in efforts to improve
their level of living, with as much reliance as possible on
their own initiative; and the provision of technical and other
services in ways which encourage initiative, self-help and
mutual help and make these more effective. It is expressed
in programs designed to achieve a wide variety of specific
improvements.” (The United Nations, 1963, in Christenson
and Robinson, 1989 in Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.59)
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“Community organizing refers to the
process of bringing community members together and providing
them with the tools to help themselves. Community organizing
is a strategy for building communities and for community development.”
(Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.60)
“We conceive of community organizing
as a long-term, relationship-building and capacity-building
process that attempts to identify, include, and build upon
a range of key resources, both internal and external to the
community…The process includes: the identification of
key local resources, the gathering of information about the
community context, the development and training of local leaders
to prepare them to serve effectively as representatives of
the community and as full partners in an initiative, and the
strengthening of the network of the various interests both
internal and external to a community.” (Joseph and Ogletree,
1996 in Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.60)
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“Community building generally refers
to building the social networks within the community, and
developing group and individual problem-solving and leadership
skills.” (Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.60)
Community Building is “Any identifiable
set of activities pursued by a community in order to increase
community social capacity.” (Mattessich and Roy, 1997,
p.60)
“Community building is an ongoing comprehensive
effort that strengthens the norms, supports, and problem-solving
resources of the community.”(Committee for Economic
Development, 1995, in Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.60)
Community building is “the practice
of building connections among residents, and establishing
positive patterns of individual and community behaviour based
on mutual responsibility and ownership.” (Gardner in
Leiterman, 1993, p.6 in Mattessich and Roy, 1997,p. 60).
“Community building concerns strengthening
the capacity of neighbourhood residents, associations, and
organizations to work, individually and collectively to foster
and sustain positive neighbourhood change.” (Kubisch
et al., 1995 in Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.60)
For individuals, community building focuses
on both the capacity and ‘empowerment’ of neighbourhood
residents to identify and access opportunities and effect
change, as well as on the development of individual leadership.”
(Kubisch et al., 1995 in Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.60)
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“The definitions of capacity can include
any one or all of the following elements: the commitment and
motivation a community has, the ability to organize and utilize
resources, the ability to understand and analyze problems,
and the skills to solve problems together.” (Mattessich
and Roy, 1997, p.61)
“Capacity is being able to successfully
cope with problems of increasing variety and complexity.”
(Rubin and Rubin, 1986, in Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.62)
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Social capacity is “the extent to
which members of a community can work together effectively.”
(Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p. 61)
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Capacity building is “the ability
of residents to organize and mobilize their resources for
the accomplishment of consensual defined goals.” (Christenson
and Robinson, 1989, in Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.61)
“Capacity building…describes
activity to enhance leadership skills, group problem solving,
collaborative methods, and substantive understanding of community
assets, problems and opportunities among organized, participating
community residents.” (McNeely, 1996, p.87 in Mattessich
and Roy, 1997, p.62)
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Social capital “refers to the collective
value of all "social networks" [who people know]
and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do
things for each other ["norms of reciprocity"]”.
(Putnam,
2000)
“Social capital refers to the resources
such as skills, knowledge, reciprocity, and norms and values
that make it easier for people to work together.” (Mattessich
and Roy, 1997, p. 62)
“To Putnam, social capital signifies
the measurable number and density of a society’s human
connections and memberships that connect us with civil society.”
(McLean, Schultz and Steger, 2002, p.1)
Social capital is the shared knowledge,
understandings, and patterns of interaction that a group of
people bring to any productive activity (Coleman, 1988; Putnam
et al. 1993, in Pierce and Dale, 1999, p.193)
Social capital “is the ability of
a people to work together for common purposes in groups, organizations,
and communities and is a harmonious commingling [sp] of trust,
viable channels of communications, and norms and sanctions
(Coleman, 1989; Putnam, 1993 in Neace, 1999, p.150)
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“Community competence is a way to define
how a well-functioning community behaves” (Mattessich
and Roy, 1997, p.63)
“A competent community is one in which
its various parts are able to:
- Collaborate effectively in identifying the problems
and needs of a community
- Achieve a workable consensus on goals and priorities
- Agree on ways and means to implement the agreed-upon
goal
- Collaborate effectively in the required activity”
(Cottrell, 1976, in Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.63)
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Empowerment is “to give official authority
or legal power to…To promote the self-actualization
of influence of.” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary, Tenth Edition, 1993, in Mattessich and Roy, 1997,
p.63)
“Empowerment is obtained by building
individual capacity through mobilizing resources.” (Rubin
and Rubin, 1986, in Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.63)
“Empowerment is the intentional ongoing
process, centered in the local community, involving mutual
respect, critical reflection, caring and group participation
through which people lacking in a proportional share of the
resources gain greater access to and control over those resources.”
(Cornell Empowerment Project, 1989, in Mattessich and Roy,
1997, p.63)
“Empowerment refers to the process
of gaining influence over events and outcomes of importance.”
(Fawcett and White et al., 1994; Rappaport, 1981 in Fawcett
et al., 1995, p.678)
“Empowerment signifies the gaining
of community competence – the skills to make decisions
that people can agree on and enact together” (Rothman,
1968 in Rothman, Erlich and Tropman, 1995, p. 42)
“Empowerment means to acquire objective,
material power – for residents to be an equal party
in decision-making bodies such as agency boards or municipal
commissions, or to have the political clout to directly affect
decisions made by these bodies.” (Rothman, 1968 in Rothman,
Erlich and Tropman, 1995, p. 42)
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Community empowerment is “the process
of gaining influence over conditions that matter to people
who share neighborhoods, workplaces, experiences, or concerns.”
(Fawcett et al., 1995, p.679)
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“Community action consists of actions
taken by leadership and membership to make changes related
to the mission of the initiative.” (Fawcett et al.,
1995, p.682)
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“Community change consists of new or
transformed programs, policies, or practices related to the
mission of the initiative.” (Fawcett et al., 1995, p.682)
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Neighbourhood associations are “place-based
collective organizations formed to address local interests
that residents share” (Rabrenovic, 1996, p.2)
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Neighbourhood planning is when “community
residents develop plans and programs for themselves.”
(Checkoway, 1984, in Rothman, Erlich and Tropman, 1995, p.314)
Neighbourhood planning can also be viewed
as a process of community development. It may involve steps
to identify neighbourhood problems and issues; formulate goals
and objectives; collect and analyze data; and develop and
implement plans. But it may also involve efforts to sweep
the streets, knock on doors, pack a public hearing, and confront
the powerholders.” (Checkoway, 1984, in Rothman, Erlich
and Tropman, 1995, p.322)
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Deliberative dialogue/public deliberations
are “techniques to engage citizens in discussion on
public policy”. (Ann Simpson, 2001, p.1)
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- Civil Society “refers to the kind
of character and life of a society that occur in the social
space between the individual family and the state.”
(Rau, 1991; Shils, 1997; Walzer, 1991 in Neace, 1999, p.150)
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Civic participation can be defined as “people
working together to discuss community needs and bring about
changes within their community.” (Kang and Kwak, 2003,
p.89)
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"Civic engagement means an institutional
commitment to public purposes and responsibilities intended
to strengthen a democratic way of life in the rapidly changing
Information Age of the 21st century." (University
of Minnesota Task Force on Civic Engagement in Campus Cares,
Viewed May 20, 2003)
Civic engagement can be defined as “individual
and collective actions designed to identify and address issues
of public concern”. (Michael
Delli Carpini, Director, Public Policy, The Pew Charitable
Trusts in in Campus Cares, Viewed May 20, 2003)
"Civic engagement may be defined as
the means by which an individual, through collective action,
influences the larger society.” (Elizabeth
Van Benschoten, 2001 in Campus Cares, Viewed May 20, 2003)
"Participation in voluntary associations
along with activities such as voting and reading a newspapers."
(Putnam
in Campus Cares, Viewed May 20, 2003)
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