Identify or prioritise what the needs and priorities for Community Planning should be? • Develop a consensus on a proposal or plan? • Inform the decision-making
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31. Introduction This section of the toolkit provides guidance on the issues to consider when planning and designing community engagement. It focuses on quality and effectiveness, process planning and designing engagement tailored to the particular issue, level of participation to be achieved, timeframe and range of stakeholders affected. 2. Planning and Designing Community Engagement Community engagement works best where it is an ongoing cumulative process enabling relationships and trust to build and strengthen over time. Individual engagement events should be planned and designed with this in mind and aim to contribute to the overall aims of the engagement process. Community or voluntary groups may want to participate at a range of levels Πfrom providing advice to co-designing the process and from undertaking some aspects of the engagement to delivering projects to meet some of the outcomes. Thinking through the following questions and issues will help in the planning and design of community engagement. What level of participation is it hoped will be achieved? How to identify the stakeholders? Communications. Stage of the engagement process. Resources. Are there any limitations? Timely feedback and next steps. Tools to help choose a method. Methods.What is the purpose and scope of the engagement process?From the outset be clear about the scope and purpose of the engagement process. For example, is the process designed to: Identify or prioritise what the needs and priorities for Community Planning should be?Develop a consensus on a proposal or plan? Inform the decision-making or service delivery of a community, council or department? Develop new or collaborative ways of implementing elements of the Community Plan? Review progress on the Community Plan? Agreeing a clear purpose will help identify engagement objectives, anticipated outcomes and help to determine the scope and depth of the engagement. This can range from consultation to involvement in decision making through to community and voluntary groups delivering projects and services. Providing information on proposals, plans or services is part of any communication plan to support engagement but is not in itself community engagement. Often communities will need Contents1. Introduction 032. Planning and Designing 03 Community Engagement3. Quality Standards for Community 07 Engagement4. Online Tool to Guide Engagement 08Activity РVOiCE5. Tools to Help to Choose a 08Method(s)6. Methods and Techniques 097. Resources 24
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4of the activities and funds of the partnership. This is the most basic level of engagement. Advisers to the partnership through their involvement in consultations, working parties and evaluations which seek their guidance and feedback.Contributors to Management through membership of forums and steering groups that work alongside staff supervising progress on partnership activities.Decision Makers primarily through their membership of the partnership board, but also when periodic consultations are taking place about strategic choices and other major decisions.Deliverers of projects and programmes on behalf of the partnership and as local successor bodies that are being developed to take over projects and programmes from the partnership.Diagram 1: Five Roles for the Community R1 Community Participation p.13Sunderland Community Development Plan (2008, p.7) identify another way of thinking about different levels of involvement: www.sunderland.gov.uk support to help them engage meaningfully. The Community and Voluntary Sectors (CVS) are skilled in providing this support Πbut may need access to resources to do so.What level of participation are you hoping to achieve? identifying needs, generating solutions, planning new initiatives and service delivery as illustrated in the diagram below:In Dundee, each of the 8 local community plans, which are developed by local community planning partnerships, sets out a Community Engagement Action Plan. The Action Plan aims to raise the levels and quality of participation at the local level and encourage local communities to identify and address issues and concerns through the community planning process Identifying stakeholders Every community will be made up of a range of stakeholder interests. These might include: Local Residents or Area Based Groups Communities of Interest Faith Based GroupsRacial, Ethnic and Cultural Groups Local Community and Voluntary Groups Web Based or Virtual Groups It will be essential to utilise a range of mechanisms and avenues to facilitate the widest possible participation from these interests. Local community development networks and support organisations should be involved in identifying community stakeholders, their particular interests and needs and how best to engage with them. Issues to consider include: What impact the issue or proposals will have on these stakeholder interests?Who represents these interest groups?Are there existing community networks or forms of communication?Are there gaps in information which could be plugged through local knowledge?The relevant Equality legislation.Being InformedConsultationBeing AskedCommenting on DecisionsEngagementDeveloping SolutionsDelivering ServicesPartnershipR2
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5Inclusiveness: Overcoming Barriers to engagement When planning an engagement process you need to recognise diversity, identify any potential barriers and design the process to minimise barriers where possible. How (not) to exclude? provides a useful resource. Potential Barriers to consider Design Issues to considerThe capacity and ability of different stakeholders to participate‚Hard to reach groups™ such as young people, older people, minority groups or socially excluded groupsLevels of community infrastructureContested or divided communitiesRural isolationGaps in information Literacy and numeracy levels and dominance of oral cultureTechniques and engagement methods to be usedNeed for independent facilitation Location and accessibility of the venueThe number and type of engagement events Transport requirements Childcare needsFormat and content of communication and publicity materials Use of interpreters and signersNeed for outreach activitiesThe stage of the engagement process? It is important to consider at what stage of the engagement process you are and how each stage or event contributes to the aims of the overall engagement – different forms of communication, information and engagement methods will be more appropriate depending on the stage of your engagement process.Communications Communication materials should be jargon free and in plain English; available in accessible formats and provided in alternative language(s) as appropriate. Given the strong oral tradition in many maximise levels of participation communication materials should use clear examples or case studies of how the issue or proposed plan is likely to affect different individuals and sections of society. Use existing community networks and forms of communication to publicise events and identify opportunities to align or hold combined events for greater impact. R3
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6What Time and Resources are available?The following types of resources will be required for most forms of engagement:Input by staff, volunteers and other interested stakeholders;the issue(s) or plan proposals;Independent facilitation;Communication and promotion, venue hire, transport, childcare, translation;Printing and circulating a report on the output of the process and for provision of feedback;Resourcing local Community and Voluntary groups to (for example and where appropriate) support people in understanding and responding to information and proposals; commission research; convene meetings; prepare papers, reports or proposals.Limitations You should be clear and explicit about what you understand the limitations to be, such as time Are some issues not up for discussion – for example, legislative framework, decisions taken budgets and resources? Some of these stated limitations may be challenged and you should be prepared to explain why they exist. Timely Feedback and Next Steps Participants in any one stage of engagement should be informed of or offered the opportunity to shape the next stages of the overall engagement process. In particular information will be required on:How and when feedback will be provided;Other elements or strands of the engagement process;How and when decisions will be taken;Further opportunities for engagement; and Whether community/voluntary groups can be involved at the implementation stage. This will help to reinforce participation and encourage stakeholders to continue to be active as the engagement evolves. It is also important to communicate during feedback on how or improved the overall engagement outcomes.Flexibility within the Processmay change, stakeholders may challenge the purpose of the process, question the scope of the objectives or the methodology or require more information, time or their own resources to co-design the process. The overriding consideration should be retaining and developing meaningful engagement with stakeholders. EvaluationIt is critical that any engagement process is evaluated on both an ongoing basis and post-completion. Evaluation will provide valuable feedback for example, on the best methods for engaging with groups in a particular area or the most appropriate times or venues. These processes.
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84. Online Tool to Guide Community Engagement Activity ΠVOiCE VOiCE (Visioning Outcomes in Community Engagement) is an innovative IT based tool which will support you in the analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation of community engagement activity. VOiCE is published by the Scottish Government for use in Scotland as part of its support for implementation of the National Standards for Community Engagement. VOiCE takes you through logical steps to facilitate well constructed, managed and evaluated engagement from which you can continuously learn and improve your practice. It provides a database of evidence of activity and provides an evaluation tool to measure the quality and effectiveness of the community engagement process and whether the intended outcomes of the process were achieved. to include: increased clarity of purpose for community engagement; improved quality of community engagement processes, methods and outcomes; and enabling shared planning and evaluation of community engagement with colleagues, partners and communities. R6 VOiCE: Visioning Outcomes in Community Engagement http://www.scdc.org.uk/what/voice/ If you are interested in accessing the online VOiCE tool please contact Community Places for further information. 5. Tools to help in Choosing Engagement Methodsapproach to identifying an effective engagement method. To be most effective it will often be necessary to combine a range of complementary methods. The following online tools will guide you in selecting an appropriate method(s) Dialogue Designer R7 & Process Planner R8Dialogue Designer An online tool provided by Dialogue by Design to help you choose the right method for your activity. The tool guides you through 3 key steps: 1. Objectives2. Target Audience 3. Sensitivity. Based on your responses a number of methods are generated. The tool is available at: dialoguebydesign.netProcess Planner The Process Planner is an online tool developed by People and Participation which takes you through 6 stages: 1. Scope2. Purpose3. Participants4. Context5. Follow Up6. Results. of recommended methods. The tool is available at: www.PeopleandParticipation.net
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96. Methods and Techniques The following section outlines a broad range of methods and techniques for engagement events – the appropriateness, strengths and weaknesses of each are indicated. Finally, it presents a diagram suggesting how each method could contribute to the different strands of developing or reviewing a community plan. Art and Creativity Some forms of community engagement are particularly good at encouraging participation and generating interest and ideas. These include: Photography: disposable cameras can be given to people of all ages to capture their likes and dislikes in an area. The results can be exhibited to generate further discussion or to promote additional events. Vox Pox : short, snappy interviews with people in different locations and at different times (radio or television). Like photographs the results can be displayed and discussed more widely. Songs, poems, artwork: invite people to submit (possibly for a prize) a song, poem or art piece which describes their area, changes they would like to see, their ideal home or environment. TV game shows: adopt and adapt popular TV game or quiz shows to generate interest and ideas, test local knowledge and/or understanding of project plans and processes.StrengthsWeaknesses Suitable for all age groupsInteractive and engagingEnables participants to express their creativityCan help develop a common visionCan be exhibited to generate further discussionskillsOften a large space is required to exhibit or display results ideasAppropriateness Art and Creative methods are appropriate where you want to involve local people in expressing their views and generating ideas in a participative approach. They are a useful technique for engaging with people of all ages through education or school programmes, local community forums and resident generate interest and raise awareness of the process. Useful LinksDundee Community Planning Partnership- Young Carers Partnership and Carers Voices Dundee utilised Drama, Cartoon, Poetry and Snakes and Ladders www.dundee carerscentre.org.uk Fermangh/Omagh Pilot Vox Pox: See Toolkit Podcasts.
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10Community Mapping illustrate how people view their area: what they like or dislike or improvements they would like to see. Ideas are generated in small group discussions and recorded on ‚post-its™or pre-prepared cards. Discussions should be facilitated to help people explore issues, build StrengthsWeaknesses Stimulates discussionCan build a sense of community ownership Can help people see and understand their community in different ways Can generate ideas which are not possible to implementideasParticipants need to be familiar with the local areaAppropriatenessCommunity mapping is a useful way to engage people of all levels of capability. A variety of aspects can be mapped including land use, community assets, facilities, and transport options to develop a snapshot of an area. Mapping can be carried out using a variety of materials from chalk to sand depending on the situation. Useful Links Scottish Participatory Initiatives Community Mapping and Action Planning http://scottishparticipatoryinitiatives.co.uk
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11Planning for Real ®At the centre of this method is the construction of a model of the area in question. Where possible the model should be made by local people to build a sense of ownership and to ensure engagement from the outset. The model can be displayed at one or more public venues to generate interest and participation. Cards with ideas or proposals, along with blank cards, are made available. People can select place them on the model where they think the idea should be implemented. For example, a card may say community allotment – people who want an allotment select this card and place it where they want the facility. top™.During the event a picture emerges of the changes the participants would like to see. The cards are counted and their locations on the model noted. These details are then fed back to people, discussed further and prioritised at public meetings or small group discussions. After prioritisation, additional technical information (on feasibility, cost, policies etc.) can be provided and used to develop an action plan.StrengthsWeaknesses Adds variety to consultation and can engage people who might not otherwise get involvedIt is accessible to people of all abilities and backgroundsCan build a sense of community ownership of the processCan help people see and understand their community in different ways Can generate ideas which are not possible to implementPreparing for the event can be time consumingThe card count can be seen as conclusive is disagreement.AppropriatenessThe value of this method is that it is accessible to people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. It is also a useful method to build a sense of community ownership and enables participants to identify issues and prioritise actions. Useful Links Planning for Real www.planningforreal.org.uk South Gloucestershire Council- Cadbury Heath Planning for Real Event https://consultations.southglos.gov.uk
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