About Community Engagement
Three things you
can do right now
to engage:
-
Expand your networks and build relationships by attending local meetings, events and other opportunities to meet new people. Everywhere you go, listen and learn. 
Stretch your comfort zone by pursuing opportunities to understand the community through the lens of diverse citizens and organizations. Build relationships with local ethnic media publications. 
Internally, create conditions for integrating work across departments. Have lunch with colleagues from different departments. Map your respective networks to understand who knows whom in the community — and where your gaps are.
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT?
Good question. Public broadcasting has a long tradition of reaching out to, and engaging, audiences. Yet many people use the terms “outreach” and “engagement” interchangeably.
But there are some important distinctions.
Outreach
is a mechanism for delivering value-added content.
- Is an extension of an organization’s core service.
- Is primarily one-way, like broadcast.
- Involves talking to people.
- Means approaching an audience or community with answers.
- Focuses on educating people.
- Can be a productive part of an engagement strategy.
Engagement
means collaboratively addressing community concerns.
- Is integrated with an organization’s culture, strategy and practices.
- Requires building ongoing, two-way relationships based on trust and authenticity.
- Involves listening to people.
- Means working with the community to mutually identify solutions.
- Focuses on a conversation — an ongoing dialogue to develop understanding.
