Virtual Community Engagement
COVID and social distancing orders are prompting community organizations to shift their approach to community engagement. These new resources highlight some best practicies for practitioners to continue to engage residents when in-person meetings aren't an option.
Engaging community members is critical to carrying out community development that truly serves the community. Engagement is now more important now than ever as Americans band together to fight systemic racial injustice in our economic and political systems. Unfortunately, it is also now more difficult than ever in the midst of a pandemic that makes in-person convening a risky proposition. Several new resources are aimed at helping people and institutions foster community engagement, even when it’s not possible to convene people face-to-face. Here are a few:
The Urban Institute published Community Engagement during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond, a guide to help community-based organizations facilitate remote community engagement. The guide covers both digital and non-digital tools for engagement, examples of engagement methods and step-by-step worksheets to help organizations plot the best course for engaging their communities.
Community Engagement During COVID-19, a post from the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University, covers several best practices in community engagement for local governments. The advice, such as “work with trusted community members,” applies broadly to community engagement efforts now and in less socially distant times. The post also links to a webinar hosted by What Works Cities, in which representatives from Boulder, Colorado and Long Beach and Los Angeles, California discuss how to engage communities such as immigrants and speakers of other languages.
The Smith Group offers advice for conducting virtual meetings and engagement sessions that are accessible, equitable and inclusive. Written for urban designers and planners, the concrete guidance in Equitable Community Engagement During a Global Pandemic & Beyond is also relevant to community development practitioners. It includes specific pointers for planning virtual sessions, complying with open meeting laws, accommodating multiple means of engagement, handling privacy considerations and conducting robust follow-up.