1. Reinventing the Way Local Councils & NGOs Engage with their Communities

2. 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

3. KEYS TO GENUINE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

4. Move beyond siloed thinking

5. to focusing on whole places

6. Move beyond starting with needs

7. to starting with strengths

8. Move beyond top-down

9. to community-driven

10. STEPS AGENCIES CAN TAKE TO BE BETTER PARTNERS

11. 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.

12. 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

13. Palmerston North, New Zealand

14. 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