Topics: How community engagement can facilitate decision making, especially in a virtual space, how to build trust through community engagement.
Description: Community engagement looked very different over the last year and a half. Coalitions and community organizers found creative ways to engage people in both traditional (flyers, phone calls) and non-traditional ways (Twitter, LinkedIn, virtual community meetings). What this past year demonstrated was the importance of community, and of maintaining relationships and connections with one another. In this training, the facilitators will explore community engagement through the lens of participatory decision making, delving into how we can work to build trust with community members and ensure their voices are leading the conversation when it comes to making decisions. Participants will be asked to consider the offered strategies, tools, and resources for both in-person and virtual community engagement work.
Audience: Coalition leaders and members, community members, and public health professionals.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to:
- Identify promising practices for building trust with community members.
- Discuss how building trust may (or may not) look different when comparing in-person and virtual community engagement.
- Learn frameworks for bringing community voice into decision-making processes.
MA DPH Coalition Criteria Addressed:
- Participation from key stakeholders (individuals and organizations that have a vested stake or interest in a program or policy initiative, e.g. it will impact them directly).
- Membership that is reflective of the community.
- Defined structure for strategic planning and decision-making.
