Community engagement: what’s in it for me?

Community engagement takes, gets and collects information for agencies, organisations and government to build better communities, but what does it give?

"Hi, yes, we're doing a survey on our vision for the municipality, would you like to contribute? What do you love and hope for the community?"

"Hi, it's a survey about a roads upgrade and we'd love to know what you feel the issues are in the area so we can build something relevant for people using the roads."

"Hi, so what do you think are important features of such a facility? What would you use it for?"

All common questions government organisations and agencies ask regarding infrastructure, community and aspirations for the future. Government, in its various forms, asks 'the community' all the time about things the government needs, for its projects, for its purpose and for its own agenda.

A government department or organisation may have the best intentions in the world. It may end up building something that's awesome for the community. it may satisfy 90% of people in the area who wanted the exact thing the government is building or creating for them.

So councils, agencies and government entities ask people what they think to get a general idea of what people want or any issues arising in regard to government planning. They ask people to GET their information, to COLLECT data, which is valuable and 'currency' to the government, in justifying the millions if not billions of dollars spent on community infrastructure and projects. The government TAKES people's information for its own purposes: it's a transaction.

So what does the government give in return?

What if community engagement was about giving and not just taking and collecting data? And I don't mean an iPad or free movie ticket giveaway.

When community engagement occurs, a transaction takes place. Someone pursues something they want in exchange for something the other person wants. A council asks questions in a survey, people respond who want to have a say or felt heard. More people respond if they have the chance to win a prize. But how does (or could) government significantly increase the number of people responding or engaging on a given issue?

What do people want?

Why does anyone complete a survey or contribute at a drop-in session? Because the community is theirs. They are part of it. They care about their community and want to contribute to it. They want to belong and connect. People want to have a say. They want a sense of ownership over where they live. People want to engage but not always in the way that government wants them to. Some people love completing surveys but some people don't. Some people will come to a public meeting but many won't.

Government is very experienced and successful at the 'taking aspect' of the transaction of community engagement. But what can government do to improve what it gives in return?

How does government ensure that if it is collecting information, in the same process, it is giving people a sense of ownership over their community?

There's an expression: 'it's not what you do, it's how you make them feel.' Sometimes people argue about an issue long enough to forget what they're arguing about, but they'll remember how you made them feel for the rest of their lives.

Wouldn't it be amazing if at the end of the community engagement component of a project the overwhelming feeling by a community was 'THANK YOU!' rather than the traditional overwhelming community feeling of 'Doesn't matter what I say, no one listens anyway. They'll just do what they want regardless, and it's not like we'll ever hear back from anyone."

Could government make more people feel better about their communities and more connected to an issue, place or project, regardless of the information being sought?

Could community engagement as a sector (and set of principles) inspire our government to give more to our communities in return for their views and input? Could community engagement leave people feeling heard and supported and part of the solution?

The purpose of this post is to inspire a more giving world; in this case encouraging the government, in all its forms, to consider community engagement as an opportunity to give and grow our communities and not just take.

If you have anecdotes, questions or comments, please share here and with each other!