Guiding Framework for Effective Community Engagement

GUIDING FRAMEWORK FOR EFFECTIVE

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN CONTEXT

Washington University in St. Louis, as an institution of higher education committed to the process of research, teaching, and learning, approaches community engagement as follows: Community engagement describes collaborations and partnerships within a context, spanning from local to the global, with shared goals, planning and outcomes. These collaborations and/or partnerships should be purposeful with articulated lifecycles, benefits, utility, and actions for all parties involved. Engagement should also contain one or more of the following elements:

Focus on mutually articulated needs and/or priorities within the community

Equity, inclusion, and human rights lenses

Include elements of assessment, evaluation and/or tracking to document

outcomes and impact

Using This Guide

This framework expands upon the Gephardt Institute’s values by offering additional concepts and practices to guide Washington University students, faculty, and staff interested in engaging with the community ethically and responsibly.

Each page defines important concepts and provides guiding questions to help design and maintain effective engagement with the St. Louis community.

This framework will continue to evolve to encompass new and better practices to help the Washington University community strengthen its community engagement.

INQUIRY

We believe that humility, intellectual curiosity, and reasoning form the foundation of informed and responsible civic engagement.

Humility

Listen first and approach with a learning mindset, seek to continue understanding your community partners’ and community members’ perspectives, interests, needs, and priorities. Community partners and members are both experts and educators.

Ask Yourself:

How am I opening myself to listen and learn from other’s experiences and perspectives?

What have I done to gain an understanding of my community partners and their community?

How can I integrate community perspectives and experiences into my learning?

INQUIRY

We believe that humility, intellectual curiosity, and reasoning form the foundation of informed and responsible civic engagement.

Reflection

We are all responsible for making meaning of and analyzing our experiences. Create intentional opportunities for critical reflection both for yourself, your peers, and with community partners before, during, and after the collaboration. Collect regular feedback from community partners, members, and project participants to incorporate into ongoing or future efforts.

Ask Yourself:

What opportunities have I created for discussion (self- and group reflection)?

How am I reflecting on my personal identities, assumptions, biases, and privilege?

How will my identities affect this engagement?

How am I committing to this engagement?

How are my community partners and I reflecting on our experiences in collaboration?

How will I revisit my reflections to inform my future actions?

Try Reflecting

Critical self-reflection is a valuable tool that helps process thoughts and emotions. Because self-reflection is so personal, there is no one way to structure this reflection.

Reflection is more than just a retelling of what happened.

Reflection is a key component of any learning process. In order to learn from these reflections, they must be revisited and integrated into your thinking moving forward.

For your reflection practice consider: Keeping a journal Video and/or voice recording A sketchbook Talking with someone

Tip: Many of the guiding questions in this framework can be used as reflection prompts.

EMPATHY

We believe that seeking and considering multiple perspectives transforms how individuals and communities engage with one another.

Well-being

When in relationship with others, try to understand each other’s thoughts and feelings. Consider the impact of our engagement on the physical and emotional well-being of community members and on ourselves.

Ask Yourself:

What steps am I taking to minimize harm?

How will I check-in on the well-being of my community partners, their community, and myself?

How can I prepare for unexpected circumstances that might affect my community partners, their community, and myself?

What protective factors are in place?

Take steps to minimize harm by anticipating and supporting the physical and emotional health of all participants. This includes complying with safety and legal requirements of community partners and the university.

Try Empathy Mapping

Empathy Mapping guides us through the process of trying to understand another person's perspectives and experiences. By considering what a person says, thinks, feels, and does without imposing judgment, we can get closer to empathizing with them.

Says

What does the person say out loud?

Tip: this should ideally be quotes.

Feels

What is the person’s emotional state? This is often represented as an adjective plus a short sentence for context. What worries them?

What do they get excited about?

How does the person feel about the experience?

Capture what the person is thinking throughout the experience. What occupies their thoughts? What matters to them? Some things might not be vocalized, so try to understand what they’re reluctant to share.

Thinks Does

What does the person do? What encompasses the actions the person takes?

TIP: You can practice by watching and responding to videos online!

COLLABORATION

We believe that partnerships are most impactful when rooted in shared goals and decision-making.

Ask Yourself:

What are the strengths and assets of my community partners and their community?

Reciprocity

What priorities and needs has the community identified? How does this engagement address them?

How will we set mutually agreeable and explicit goals/outcomes for engagement?

How am I working with community partners to determine action steps?

How am I maintaining open communication with my community partners during this collaboration?

Partnerships are collaborative when everyone involved is both contributing to and benefiting from the collaboration. Value and respect the strengths, assets, perspectives, and experiences of others by embedding community voice, mutuality, and participation in all stages of the collaboration: planning, implementation, evaluation, and communicating outcomes.

COLLABORATION

We believe that partnerships are most impactful when rooted in shared goals and decision-making.

Clarity

Partners should work together to align and set goals so that benefits are mutual. Before you begin, make sure there is clarity of purpose by understanding the “why” of your work. Determine clear, realistic, and attainable expectations between everyone involved which cover the entirety of your time in collaboration. Plan for regular checkpoints to assure continued clarity and realign expectations as needed.

Ask Yourself:

How will I set up regular check-ins to request and offer feedback on the progress of the engagement?

In what ways will the collaboration be assessed and evaluated?

Why did I choose this work? Why this engagement?

Is someone else already doing this?

Is there another organization or partnership better equipped to implement?

Try Asset Mapping

Asset Mapping is cataloging of a communities strengths, assets, perspectives, and experiences. It should include all of the resources currently existing within the community's network. This includes its people, places, and its history.

You can learn about a community's assets by: Discovering - researching the community

Listening - hearing the voices of the community

Connecting - putting all you've learned together

Understanding each other's assets is an important step in developing reciprocal partnerships. Asset Mapping gives a clear picture of what resources are available for meeting your goals.

Tip: Although you can try this on your own, consider working with your community partner.

Try Asset Mapping

In order to better understand the strengths, assets, perspectives, and experiences existing in community, you can try an Asset Map. To complete an asset map consider all the resources available in the community. These resources can be formal or informal.

Physical Spaces

Associations

Community Assets

Individuals

Institutions

INTEGRITY

We believe that upholding ethical behavior, respecting others, and honoring commitments are cornerstones of trusting and reciprocal partnerships.

Accountability

Transparency and open communication are essential for building and maintaining relationships. Schedule regular check-ins and seek feedback to determine if mutual expectations are being met. Model and emphasize keeping commitments and follow up if those commitments were not met. Be honest and communicate project outcomes even if they are not what you expected.

Ask Yourself:

How am I assessing the success of our project or program (community and personal definitions)?

How am I measuring the outcomes and impact (community and personal measures)?

How will we communicate the outcomes (to each other and to the community)?

How will we use this information for future planning?

Accountability Action Steps

Create a Communication Plan

Agree on how you'll communicate.

Agree on when/how often you'll communicate.

Agree on an emergency communication procedure.

Name the Impact You Seek

Agree on partnership goals. Name the outcomes you hope to see. Design the project to achieve those outcomes.

Request Regular Feedback

Seek feedback as a regular part of your check-in process.

Incorporate feedback for your project in real time. Share when things aren't working and work to find solutions together.

Try Creating a Logic Model

A Logic Model is a tool for program/project development. By creating a logic model, you think through the resources required to complete the project, the participants, goals, and the activities that will help you achieve your specified outcomes.

Tip: Try backward mapping. Start with your outcomes and then create your activities.

As a program/project development tool, a logic model is great for aligning goals and expectations with your partner before the partnership begins.

Try Creating a Logic Model

Logic Model for [Progam Name]

EQUITY

We believe that effective civic engagement fosters access, opportunity, and dignity for all, and addresses structural and power imbalances.

Equity Lens

Through an equity lens, we challenge ourselves to develop collaborations and projects with the intention of creating social change and addressing injustices and power inequities. Recognize the unique perspectives, assumptions, and world views we each hold based on our lived experiences, cultural contexts, and systemic inequities. Examine and consider dynamics of power and privilege as integral to effective and ethical partnerships.

Ask Yourself:

What assumptions and biases am I challenging?

How does our project/program create social change?

How does our project/program challenge systems?

How does our project/program achieve equitable outcomes?

Consider Systemic Context

Your engagement happens within a broader context. Understanding these systems helps determine the most effective ways to intervene and create social change. Consider how your engagement is potentially impacting systemic inequities.

ACTION

We believe that effective civic engagement is an active process requiring courage, dedication, and participation.

Sustainability

Engagement is an active and ongoing process. To have an impact, we must act. Consider the sustainability or longevity of the partnership. Share plans for transitions in leadership and priorities, and explore or develop appropriate plans to conclude the partnership. Consider lessons learned from the engagement and remain curious about questions it unearths in order to inform future engagement.

Ask Yourself:

How is this action sustainable? How can this action continue beyond the current academic year?

How will we plan for changes in leadership?

How will we know if and when to end our action?

How will we use this information for future planning?

Values Connected

The values are organized as a continuous cycle that begins with inquiry and empathy before coming to action. They are interconnected and meant to be revisited as there is no linear path through engagement.

What Story Will You Tell?

The story of your engagement is its IMPACT on community - its demonstrable outcomes, achievements, and lessons learned. How has the community changed as a result of this action?

Telling the story of your engagement helps move initiatives forward. It's important to focus on process by sharing what challenges were faced, how decisions were made, and where the