What Is Community Engagement?
Here at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute's Community Engaged Research Initiative (CERI), Duke faculty and staff work with researchers and community members to develop relationships, improve research, and create better health outcomes in our communities, particularly for historically disadvantaged groups of people. This guide defines community engagement, offers principles and best practices, and answers frequently asked questions about community engagement.
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 wellbeing of those people. It is a powerful vehicle for bringing about environmental and behavioral changes that will improve the health of the community and its members. It often involves partnerships and coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and practices” (CDC, 1997, p. 9).
For engagement to occur, it is necessary to go to the community, establish relationships, build trust, work with the formal and informal leadership, and seek commitment from community organizations and leaders to create processes for mobilizing the community.
Why Is Community Engagement Important?
- Brings community-identified health priorities and interests to research (including health inequities as relevant)
- Increases participation in research among underrepresented populations
- Identifies treatment and prevention strategies that are uniquely effective for specific populations
- Translates research more quickly to improve health
- Increases both academic and community capacity
Principles of Community Engagement
(Developed by the NIH, CDC, ATSDR, and CTSA)
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Be clear about the purposes of engagement and the populations and/or communities you want to engage.
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Become knowledgeable about the community’s culture, economic conditions, social networks, political and power structures, norms and values, demographic trends, history, and experiences with efforts by outside groups. Be aware of each other’s perceptions of past engagement activities.
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Build and maintain relationships and trust by working with individuals and/or community leaders.
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Remember and accept that collective self-determination is the responsibility and right of all people in a community. No external entity should assume it can bestow on a community the power to act in its own self-interest.
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Establish a partnership with the community to create change and improve health.
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Recognize and respect the diversity within the community.
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Identify and mobilize community assets and strengths through developing the community’s capacity and resources to make decisions and take actions.
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Recognize that individuals and institutions must be prepared to release control and be sufficiently flexible to meet changing needs.
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Foster community collaboration and strengthen long-term commitment among the partners.
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Demonstrating trustworthiness is fundamental to sustaining successful community engagement.
Community Engagement Continuum
- Informing the community about the purpose of your engagement.
- Consulting with the community about decisions and obtaining feedback.
- Involving the community directly throughout the process to ensure concerns are understood and considered.
- Collaborating with the community as equal partners in each aspect of the decision making process.
- Co-creating innovative solutions alongside the community
Please visit OSU Public Engagement Framework for more examples of teaching, research, and outreach along the continuum.