In Western Australia, like other states and territories in Australia and other places in the industrialised world, have an increasing interest community engagement. I’m interested in learning more about community engagement and how it is being transformed through the use of digital technologies. But what do I mean by community engagement?
Community Engagement: A definition
Residents have the ability to express their views through accessing multiple technical or non-technical options to influence decisions concerning their well-being (Tacchi, 2012). This activity is referred to as community engagement. However, community engagement is one of a plethora of terms used to describe the action of engaging with the public (Nabatchi & Amsler, 2014). For the purposes of this blog posting, community engagement is focused only on that which involves the use of digital technology to foster sustained interaction between community residents that are personally and actively engaged with organisations in making decisions concerning their well-being (Attree et al., 2011; Nabatchi & Amsler, 2014; O’Mara-Eves et al., 2013). This engagement may range from the sharing of information, to polling and the processes associated with the decision making process (Milton et al., 2011). The definition does not include indirect engagement through representatives or intermediaries (Nabatchi & Amsler, 2014).
However, transforming the engagement process is a complex endeavor that involves a number of technical and non-technical risks. Some of the key risks will be explored in future posts.
Links to references
Attree 2011 – Community Engagement Review
Milton 2012 – Community Engagement Impact
Nabatchi 2014 – Direct Public Engagement
O’Mara-Eves 2013 – Community Engagement for Health
Tacchi 2012 – Digital Anthropology
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Being Arthur 