THE FOUNDER'S CORNER

THOUGHTS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
By OMOWALE SATTERWHITE

The National Community Development Institute (NCDI) is a technical assistance intermediary and resource center that engages in consulting, training, advocacy, networking and research activities to build institutional capacity in communities of color. Our guiding vision is…

There are strong, healthy, resilient communities of color with the leadership, infrastructure and civic participation to effect social change, shape public policy and influence the political economy in a diverse society.

NCDI has developed a strategic approach for engaging communities of color in a transformational process leading to social equity and empowerment. Our capacity-building model is called "Building Capacity for Social Change" (BCSC). The six focal areas in the BSCS model are:

• Community Engagement: Informing and engaging constituents and key stakeholder groups in the social change process;
• Community Infrastructure Development: Training indigenous leadership; developing stable organizations and building institutional capacity for social change;
• Relationship Building: Establishing relationships and forging strong partnerships across racial and cultural fault lines;
  
• Community Development: Improving the quality of life by changing material and social conditions;
  
• Organizing and Advocacy for Institutional Change: Mobilizing and empowering the community to achieve policy change and institutional accountability.
  
• Community research and evaluation. Documenting and disseminating community-centered lessons learned and best practices.

Thus, at the heart of our work is a basic recognition that community engagement is a fundamental aspect of a comprehensive social change strategy.

From August, 1999 to December, 2000, the Community Development Institute (CDI) had the privilege of coordinating a community planning process in East Palo Alto, California as part of the Neighborhood Improvement Initiative (NII) funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. During the planning period, the NII's major accomplishment was the engagement of large numbers of community residents (about 150 weekly) in a community-driven planning process over a nine-month period. The NII was recognized as one of the most successful comprehensive community initiatives with regard to resident participation.

From our extensive experience working on projects such as the NII, NCDI has identified the following operating principles for achieving high levels of resident participation in communities of color:

• Residents have a right to know: Residents must be informed about community needs/issues in order to play active, relevant and meaningful roles in the social change process.
• Residents have a right to learn: Residents must be trained and provided state-of-the-art information about community needs/issues and social change strategies to effectively solve their problems.
• Residents have a right to participate: Residents must have a central leadership role and participate in all phases of the community-building process.
• Residents have a right to decide: Residents must define their own goals, develop their own plans and make their own informed decisions about the future direction of their community.
• Residents have a right to be culturally grounded: Residents must be able to participate in the community-building process in their own culturally authentic ways.
• Residents have a right to tell their own story: Residents must be able to document and share their story with the neighborhood, the city and the region.

NCDI is guided by these fundamental principles as we promote community engagement through our capacity-building work in communities of color.

When communities are engaged in a social change process, there are multiple challenges that have to be addressed if residents are to achieve their goals. In our view, four of the most difficult challenges are:

• Developing a shared vision, common goals and collective plan of action;
  
• Developing a stable organization with adequate resources, sound management practices and an active constituency;
  
• Developing strong relationships among diverse racial and cultural groups; and
  
• Developing resident leadership and sustaining high levels of community participation.

It is important to note that these very difficult problems can usually be overcome when the capacity-building process is community-driven, culturally-based and change-oriented. To promote such a process, capacity-builders like you and I have to simply follow these basic rules: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Accountable, Be a Listener and Be a Learner.

Peace,

Frank Omowale Satterwhite, Ph.D.
Founder and Senior Adviser