Insight - The Community Development Foundation

Which community? What is development - CDF's definition is work around:

Working with individuals and communities

• Challenging opression and inequality
• Bringing about social change and justice
• Empowerment
• Wellbeing

Community engagement is about involving people in the decisions that influece their lives. In the world of citizen-centered policy, employee, employer, individual, volunteer, carer, representative are all roles to take into account.

The latter of participation:

Information - supporting - consulting - deciding together - acting together - it's important to know where you are meeting people, and where you hope to take them to.

Decision making in the round - 1) holding to account, 2) giving account, 3) taking into account, 4)dis-counting (not going to be used because timing or context is out). The lack of feedback kills engagement if actions don't develop from input and suggestions.

The Community Development Worker - work alongside local people building relationships, helping communities develop common concerns.

Project example - working with CCW on Come Outside - trying to generate sustainable levels of community use of nature. Engagement motivators included enjoying greens space, creating usable space, meeting people - barriers included distance, fear, lack of knowledge or neglect of the spaces.

The role of community development agents is going to be key for rapid progress, particularly so taking the knowledge gap into account.

In a Times interview, 41% of people interviewed believed that we needed to act quickly on climate. To protect community, we need connectedness, care, concern and commitment. And action.