Putting the community in community engagement: Involving partners in design, planning, and implementation

When you involve community partners in the public engagement process, it leads to increased participation from diverse community members, more culturally competent engagement methods, and greater community investment in the goals of your project. Community partnerships are also practical for design and planning purposes. Community partners can provide “reality checks” on the objectives, methods, and recruitment, helping you avoid costly pitfalls. In this roundtable session, we will discuss considerations when selecting and recruiting community partners; identify roles that community partners can play in public engagement; and recommend strategies for working effectively with community partners on public engagement efforts.