"Community Engagement"... These two words seem to be very popular lately. I've been seeing them used in posts here on ABCD in Action, in articles for nonprofits that work in communities and neighborhoods, by governmental agencies seeking to hear from constituents. I'm even signed up to lead a conference workshop on the topic!

So I need to know... what does "community engagement" mean to you? Please share your definitions, thoughts, musings, etc. below.

updated by @deb-wisniewski: 10/24/16 04:45:35PM

Community engagement, I guess I am old school, but community engagement means getting your community to come together for a specific purpose. I was dealing with a community that was very dysfunctional. They had governmental services but they had lost there pride in themselves as well as there community. They did not believe they could change. I wanted to change their perspective of themselves and their community. Our organization brought in a Circus for four days and then a carnival for four days as a fund raiser. They were shocked that anyone would do this for them, and that anyone trusted their community to handle this without violence. They were shocked to see they could fund raise as well as any other community. I was engaging the community to give them a since of pride and unity. My next step was to now engage them in a discussion on what they would like to see change in their community.

Meaningful community participation in neighborhoods representative of the community that lives there. Organizing and taking action to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods.

Community engagement is about creating and working on and in partnership with communities, both to benefit the community and to derive benefit from community for whoever is engaged with it. It is about practice that is intertwined with theory for those in academia. It appreciates indigenous knowledge of the said community.

As I have experienced use of this term, it often means a planned encounter or dialog arranged by one or more stakeholders involved with a project, program or action agenda that has the potential to impact the quality of life for community members. This term is typically used by those who reside outside of the community, who have a need for, or are compelled to make disclosures, furnish information to, or or obtain input from community members.

(PS. I may need to be a little more open-minded regarding the connotation of this term and its use.)

Good clarification, Gloria. Although I would add that people within a community need to engage other community members to join their cause. If someone came to me and said their community was behind them, I'd want to see some proof of that. I would also suggest, though, that people outside the community can engage the community even when they are not compelled or required to.