Reinventing the Way Local Councils & NGOs Engage with their Communities

TYPE OF ENGAGEMENT GOVERNMENT’S ROLECITIZEN’S ROLE Customer Service Provide servicesRatepayer/ Client Citizen Participation Engage people in government’s priorities through its processes and programs Advisor/ Volunteer Community Empowerment Support community to work on its own priorities through its own associations Producer

KEYS TO GENUINE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Move beyond siloed thinking

to focusing on whole places

Move beyond starting with needs

to starting with strengths

Move beyond top-down

to community-driven

STEPS AGENCIES CAN TAKE TO BE BETTER PARTNERS

Do No Harm: Don’t distract the community from its own priorities. Don’t force the community into the bureaucracy’s silos. Don’t take people’s time without showing results. Never do for people what they can do for themselves. Don’t treat NGOs as the surrogate for community.

Remove Agency Barriers: Centralized decision making Cookie cutter programs and regulations Inaccessibility (location, language, hours, runaround) Know-it-all attitude Obsession with measuring Bureaucratic red tape

Palmerston North, New Zealand

Build Community Capacity: Offer leadership training Assist with outreach tools like translation Work with associations of all types Provide forums for networking Offer non-meeting options for engagement Highlight community strengths Share stories of successful communities Move beyond client services and citizen participation to community empowerment