Resources for community engagement

General
  • , by Bernard Mayer
  • , by , Founder & Director, Content Strong by CONTENTEVENTS (also see additional resources at the bottom of Sharlyn’s article)
  • (PDF), by The Centre for Campus Innovation in Mental Health and the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario.
  • , by Suzan Last. Chapters of particular interest for writers and communicators engaging with others in their work:
    • Chapter 4.3: , which includes strategies and process for successful collaborative writing
    • Chapter 5.5: , which explores the stakeholder continuum, including activities that are associated with each category on the continuum
  • Inclusive Community Engagement Planning adapted from , by Nicole Armos and Morris J.Wosk for The International Association for Public Participation Canada in 2020.
  • As highlighted by Jesse Popp, Indigenous scholar, “It is important to embrace multiple knowledge systems and ways of knowing to improve our work, improve our communities, improve our planet and work towards righting the wrongs of the past.” (. The Conversation, October 28, 2021).
  • The asked a variety of community thinkers and practitioners what community meant to them, and many gave descriptions and examples that support the idea that community is both a way of being (noun) and doing (verb).
  • In , Suzan Last explains that depending on the type of project, community engagement can look very different as there are various levels of engagement that range from informing people, to active collaboration.
  • Power and Privilege Exercise: Adapted from , by Rita Kaur Dhamoon, 2010 and Flower Power exercise from: Educating for a Change by Rick Arnold, Bev Burke, Carl James, D’Arcy Martin, and Barb Thomas (Toronto: Doris Marshall Institute for Education and Action and Between the Lines Press, 1991).
    Dominant Group: Not necessarily the majority, rather the group within a society with the power, privilege, and social status to control and define societal resources and social, political and economic systems and norms (Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2019).
  1. In the table below, document the dominant identities within society, and more specifically, within ݮƵ.
  2. Using the same identity categories,complete the last column with your own identity/ies.The table has distinct rows for each identity,but in reality, identitiesoverlap and intersect, potentially creating additional areas of oppression, as illustrated in Figure 1.
  3. Questions to consider:
    1. How many of your identitiesalign with the dominant identities?
    2. What does this tell you aboutthe power,privilege, and oppression you experience?
    3. Does the degree to which you experience these things changein particular contexts? How and why?
    4. How does this impactand influenceyour work?
Identity categories Dominant identity/ies My identity/ies
Race
Education
New-comer status
Cultural identities
Sexual orientation
Religious or spiritual denomination
Disabilities
Economic class
Gender identity
Age

Gender identity, expression and sexual orientation

Indigenous Peoples
  • , byBob Joseph, aGwawaenukNation member, owner of Indigenous Corporate Training, and former associate professor at Royal Roads University
  • Ten things toconsiderwhen reaching out to an Indigenous Scholar: This listwas developed by Jesse Popp,Assistant Professor, Chair in Indigenous Environmental Science, School of Environmental Studies, University of Guelph. The full article can be accessed on.
  1. Do research first. Is there a way you can find answers on your own? For example, from reading a book written by Indigenous authors, Googling or watching videos featuring Indigenous people sharing insights.
  2. Recognize we have a lot of requests. Although we want to help with as much as we can, we often have many requests. Please don’t be offended if we just don’t have time to interact.
  3. Recognize we are not all the same.. We have unique cultures, values and traditions and will not give the same response.
  4. Just because we are Indigenous doesn’t mean we know all things Indigenous. Like other scholars, we are expertsin a givenfield. We are not experts in all things Indigenous.
  5. Think about your intentions. Do your interests genuinely support reconciliation and prioritize the rights, values and ways of knowing of Indigenous Peoples?
  6. Avoid box-ticking. At all costs, avoid reaching out if the purpose is to tick a box (like making your grant more “Indigenous”).
  7. Ensure your ideas include meaningful engagement. We want to collaborate in meaningful ways. Never tokenize us.
  8. Prioritize reciprocity. Is what you have in mind of mutual benefit? Think about how we might be able to help each other.
  9. Consider compensation. As academics, we have a lot on our plates. External requests are often above and beyond the duties of our paid positions. We have personal lives too. Finding ways to properly acknowledge and compensate us for our time is important.
  10. Know that our ways of knowing are as equally valuable as yours. We may see through different lenses on some things, but our way of seeing and knowing is just as important as yours.

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