Community engagement: going deeper for meaningful change
Posted March 23, 2016
“Community engagement: Citizens engaged in inspired action as they work and learn together on behalf of their communities to create and realize bold visions for the future.”
~ Tamarack Institute ~
Growing up in a fishing village of about 500 people, I learned a thing or two about community. When I began my nursing education I had no idea how valuable those lessons would become in my healthcare career. As I enter my 12th year in public health I can look back and safely say I wholeheartedly agree with Meg Wheatley: “Whatever the problem, community is the answer.”
Two weeks ago I attended Tamarack Institute’s 3-day workshop Community Engagement: The Next Generation in Ottawa along with my fearless Community of Practice co-chair Susan Bonomo and the ever-visionary Helene Gagne. I walked away with a Dropbox full of resources and a renewed commitment to pursue real community engagement both within this Community of Practice and in the rest of my fall prevention work in South East Ontario. Listening to examples of the transformative power of community engagement across Canada and beyond, it’s no wonder more and more cities, NGO’s, businesses, police forces, and healthcare agencies are seeking to move past the surface rhetoric and deepen their understanding of this approach.
For those of us working in fall prevention, it’s vital to shift from our often traditional sole reliance on health content experts to inform and lead our initiatives to also actively seek and embrace the perspective of what Tom Klaus calls “context experts” – people with lived experience, those who will ultimately benefit the most if we do it right (or suffer the consequences if we do things the same old ineffective ways). It isn’t enough to only seek their approval for ideas we’ve already come up with; we need to move beyond “doing to” to “doing with”. As we tap into the depth and breadth of wisdom, knowledge and skills contained within our communities, we are building the capacity within them allowing us to address complex community issues and opportunities together in a meaningful, sustainable way. We can’t do it alone, not if we want to do it right. Let's think, engage and act boldly!
Join in on this discussion for a chance to win a copy of Deepening Community by Paul Born, Director of Tamarack Institute. Ask a question, answer a question, share an example of how community engagement has worked in your practice or any insight you’ve learned (including the “what not to do’s!). The book will be drawn for randomly on Friday April 8th from all who joined in the discussion. Please check back on Loop for announcement of the winner!
Check out Tamarack Institute’s website for more information, innovative strategies, examples of success, resources and learning opportunities: http://tamarackcommunity.ca/index.php