Definitions
Theories of community engagement
The idea of community engagement has a long history and, as we have seen, has been thought about in many different ways. The link between the different schools of thought is their view of what makes good governance and a healthy civil society. There is widespread agreement that these things depend on individuals and communities actively expressing their views and public services in turn listening and responding.
The idea of the 'active citizen' is central to this idea, but has been interpreted in many different ways. Some models focus on empowering the individual. Others emphasise the importance of collective involvement, and prioritise the needs of the community and society above the demands of the individual.
This page provides links to some of the main philosophies and practical models of community engagement.
Community development
Community development is action which helps develop sustainable geographic communities or communities of interest. It is also about developing community activity thereby helping all members of community to work together to express and achieve their visions for the future.
One of the main organisations for developing and promoting this in Britain is the Community Development Foundation. It is a non-departmental public body and is supported by the Active Communities Directorate of the Home Office: www.cdf.org.uk
Resource materials can be found at the Community Development Exchange: www.cdx.org.uk
For an international perspective see The Community Development Society: comm-dev.org
Active Communities, Active Citizenship, Civil Renewal
The Government is aiming to develop 'strong, active and empowered communities' that can work together to tackle the problems they face. It wants everyone to feel that they belong to, and have a stake in, their society.
Information about this can be found on the Home Office's website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/comrace/active/index.asp
Another UK based site, also connected to the Home Office, is the Active Citizenship Centre: www.active-citizen.org.uk
An American site with a wide selection of tools for civil renewal is the Civic Practices Network: www.cpn.org
Communitarianism
Communitarianism developed as a political philosophy in the 1980s and as a political movement in the 1990s. It was a reaction against perceived problems with Liberalism, saying that it placed too much emphasis on the rights of individuals, and too little on social responsibilities and collective moral values. Communitarianism asserts that people are shaped by the values and culture of their community, they are not autonomous individuals. They want to see a greater focus on community to foster social cohesion.
The home of communitarianism is the Communitarian Network based at George Washington University in the Washington DC: www2.gwu.edu/~ccps/
Social capital
This idea is associated with the work of American academic Robert Putnam. Social capital emphases the importance of social networks in developing trust, reciprocity, and solving shared problems. The main site for information and tools relating to social capital is: www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro/
Localism
Localism focuses on the perceived advantages of devolving power to people at a community level. It makes the case that local people know best what the most important local issues are and it seeks to empower them to make decisions about shared local problems. It places the collective voice above the individual voice.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has published a detailed report presenting case studies of Localism: www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_localgov/documents/page/odpm_locgov_034808.pdf
A brief article discussing localism can be found at: www.progressives.org.uk/report/default.asp?action=magazine&articleid=545
Deliberative democracy
Deliberation is a process that promotes the informed involvement of citizens in decision-making. It encourages citizens to learn about policy issues and consider different perspectives before making recommendations about how to proceed.
A good American site with a number of resources is: www.deliberative-democracy.net
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