xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Housing Community Engagement Handbook
This handbook emerged from a partnership project between the xwm蓹胃kw蓹y虛蓹m (Musqueam) Indian Band鈥檚 Housing Department and 51社区黑料鈥檚 Community Engaged Research Initiative (CERi). Initially designed to address community engagement concerns around the Housing Department鈥檚 energy efficiency program, the project was expanded to look at community engagement across all Musqueam Housing programming. Through discussion between these partners, it was determined that a customizable handbook on community engagement best practices would be a useful tool for both Musqueam Housing staff and other practitioners.
Engaging community members helps inform them about the benefits of your programming, fosters cooperation and active participation, and creates a productive environment where diverse voices are heard and addressed. A significant body of academic research, and a long history of successful community organizing, demonstrate the many benefits of meaningful community engagement for both staff and clients.
Despite this strong foundation, community engagement success is very dependent on the context in which the work is being done. Is your community large or small? What cultural values and practices does it represent? What are its economics? What is your organization鈥檚 relationship with it? These are some of the considerations you need to consider when using community engagement.
