Hello!
The Bitter Root Water Forum has recently changed our 'communications & outreach' position to a 'community engagement' position. We have been planning projects that connect outreach - education - and engagement. And, we are still in conversations about what 'engagement' looks like for our organization/community. I'd be interested to hear your perspectives on...
The question(s):
- How do you differentiate 'engagement' from 'education and outreach'?
- What type of 'engagement' opportunities do you offer?
- What is the most challenging aspect of executing community engagement programs?
~~~
Alex
Hi Alex. This might not be the most well thought out response, but in the spirit of testing the forum...
I like where you're going with all that. It could be argued that it's really just semantics, but words and how we define things do matter, and do partially determine how you approach something.
- I guess ideally, any 'education and outreach' program is successful only when it results in 'engagement'. I see a detached outreach and engagement program being a newsletter that people may or may not read, but that amounts to essentially nothing, vs a newsletter that receives responses (positive or otherwise), results in measurable changes in recipient knowledge, responses to volunteer requests, attendance at meetings, new relationships built. Are you just sending things out into the void, or are they hitting home?
- I'm pretty lazy about this...but we have a newsletter, which also serves as a meeting announcement platform. Sometimes it works better than others. We have Watershed Committee meetings, volunteer opportunities, and sometimes reach out to the community for input on things.
- The "engagement" part.
Reaching people, actually connecting on something that interests them, getting them to respond or show up. Each community is different and each person is different. Some will see an email and sign up to volunteer. Others need a phone call or chance in-person run-in to get involved. It's got to be a mix, and we all need to figure it out for our area and our interested individuals and groups. Maybe most important is having something worth 'engaging' in. Is this just something you happen to think is cool, or something the community actually cares about? If you find the right topics/events, sometimes engagement takes care of itself.
(01-30-2023, 05:19 PM)ZachO Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Alex. This might not be the most well thought out response, but in the spirit of testing the forum...
I like where you're going with all that. It could be argued that it's really just semantics, but words and how we define things do matter, and do partially determine how you approach something.
- I guess ideally, any 'education and outreach' program is successful only when it results in 'engagement'. I see a detached outreach and engagement program being a newsletter that people may or may not read, but that amounts to essentially nothing, vs a newsletter that receives responses (positive or otherwise), results in measurable changes in recipient knowledge, responses to volunteer requests, attendance at meetings, new relationships built. Are you just sending things out into the void, or are they hitting home?
- I'm pretty lazy about this...but we have a newsletter, which also serves as a meeting announcement platform. Sometimes it works better than others. We have Watershed Committee meetings, volunteer opportunities, and sometimes reach out to the community for input on things.
- The "engagement" part. Reaching people, actually connecting on something that interests them, getting them to respond or show up. Each community is different and each person is different. Some will see an email and sign up to volunteer. Others need a phone call or chance in-person run-in to get involved. It's got to be a mix, and we all need to figure it out for our area and our interested individuals and groups. Maybe most important is having something worth 'engaging' in. Is this just something you happen to think is cool, or something the community actually cares about? If you find the right topics/events, sometimes engagement takes care of itself.
Zach, thanks for your thoughts on this! I totally agree that 'engagement' should be the ultimate goal of all ed/outreach. It's on us to come up with the right message, tools, opportunities, inspiration to get folks to that level!