Community Engagement

Community engagement is one of the effective ways to bring about social and behavior change. Dialoguing with and through the community structures helps to identify community problems and channels of communication they are comfortable with. It is important to have a community engagement strategy.

Below are a few best practices of community engagement:

• Conduct proper community entry by identifying existing communication channels and local power structures
• Identify who is underrepresented at your meeting or event to ensure maximum participation 
• Put yourself in other people’s shoes.
• Listen more than you speak
• Gather input and buy-in on your project, its aims, and its marketing materials
• Address language barriers