Volunteering, which involves giving personal time to projects in humanitarianNGOs or religious groups, are forms of community involvement.[1] The engagement is generally motivated by values and ideals of social justice[2] Community engagement can be volunteering at food banks, homeless shelters, emergency assistance programs, neighborhood cleanup programs, etc.[3][4][5]
It is also defined as "a dynamic relational process that facilitates communication, interaction, involvement, and exchange between an organization and a community for a range of social and organizational outcomes".[6] As a concept, engagement features attributes of connection, interaction, participation, and involvement, designed to achieve or elicit an outcome at individual, organization, or social levels.[7] Current research acknowledges engagement's socially-situated nature. Community engagement therefore offers an ethical, reflexive, and socially responsive approach to community-organizational relationships with engagement practices that aim to both understand and be responsive to community needs, views, and expectations.[8][9] For academic research to have impact, community engagement is essential, especially for the research around population health and wellness issues.[10][11] It is imperative that the researchers employ community-engaged approaches where community members[12] and organizations[13] and researchers work hand-in-hand to identify the problems, co-develop solutions and recommend policy changes.
Community engagement is a community-centered orientation based in dialogue.[14] Community engagement enables a more contextualized understanding of community members’ perceptions of the topics and contexts, and facilitates stronger relationships among and between community members.[15][16] The outcome of community engagement is ultimately social capital and stronger relational networks.[17] While community organizing involves the process of building a grassroots movement involving communities, community engagement primarily deals with the practice of moving communities toward change, usually from a stalled or similarly suspended position.
^Marie Weil, Michael S. Reisch, Mary L. Ohmer, The Handbook of Community Practice, SAGE Publications, USA, 2012, p. 169
^Nichole Georgeou, Neoliberalism, Development, and Aid Volunteering, Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, 2012, p. 103-105
^Cathryn Crosby, Frederick Brockmeier, Student Experiences and Educational Outcomes in Community Engagement for the 21st Century, IGI Global, USA, 2016, p. 45
^Paul A. Gaist, Igniting the Power of Community: The Role of CBOs and NGOs in Global Public Health, Springer, USA, 2009, p. 239
^Yves Beigbeder, The Role and Statuts of International Humanitarian Volunteers and Organizations: The Right and Duty to Humanitarian Assistance, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Belgium, 1991, p. 83
^Johnston, K. A. (2018). Toward a theory of social engagement. In K. A. Johnston & M. Taylor (Eds.), The Handbook of Communication Engagement (pp. 19-32). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
^Johnston, K. A., & Lane, A. (2018). Building relational capital: The contribution of episodic and relational community engagement. Public Relation Review. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2018.10.006
^Johnston, K. A., & Lane, A. (2018). Building relational capital: The contribution of episodic and relational community engagement. Public Relation Review. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2018.10.006