What does good community engagement look like for public sector organisations today and how can you make sure that engagement is more than just a tick box exercise? We all know that we need to involve citizens in the work of our local and national institutions, but it isn’t always easy to know who to engage, when, why and how.

Designed and delivered well, community engagement can be hugely valuable for people working across public services – and rewarding for those taking part. It can give us new insights into what people think and feel, their anxieties and fears, their hopes and ambitions. It can help us test their reactions to change. It can give more people a voice in shaping the decisions that will affect them, and in genuinely co-designing new services and policies. It can also invite them to examine evidence for themselves and draw their own conclusions about the tensions and trade-offs that politicians and policy-makers face on big issues. Yet too often, engagement is misunderstood or poorly planned, feeling burdensome and unsatisfactory both to those planning it and those participating in it.

Develop your understanding of community engagement with Rob Francis in his masterclass for Westco Academy, where he will take you behind the scenes of designing engagement approaches for different types of projects. Using recent case studies, you will get to explore the thinking that goes into developing a sound engagement approach and to consider the strengths and weaknesses of different methods in different contexts.

As part of the session you will have the opportunity to map out a real life engagement process, based on consideration of the context, what you need that process to achieve and the time and resources available.

Course Takeaways:

1. Definitions of the key words and concepts in the engagement landscape and the ability to use the language of engagement clearly and confidently;
2. An understanding of the core principles that underpin good engagement;
3. An understanding of the different engagement tools and techniques and the pros and cons of using these in different situations;
4. Confidence to map out potential engagement approaches for different situations.
   
   

This course is for:

Staff working for organisations such as councils and other public service providers who want to build their skills and confidence in planning community engagement processes and activities to inform their work.

About the trainer: 

Rob Francis is the director of Public Sphere Ltd, supporting public sector organisations to improve how they involve citizens in shaping the places where they live and the policies that will affect them. He has 20 years’ experience in consultancy, working across research, engagement and organisational development for local government, national government and the NHS.

Rob’s work includes designing and leading deliberative processes such as citizens assemblies; public engagement on local futures; and guiding organisations in their development of engagement strategies. He has written widely on engagement including Unlocking Local Capacity: why active citizens need active councils; the Our Place guide to co-design; and articles in Society Guardian.