Module 2: Community Engagement

Community engagement is foundational to ensuring that your Community Resilience Hub is trusted, responsive, and utilized by the community.

The features, services, and programs offered by Hubs should reflect the lived experiences, unique strengths, and evolving needs of the communities they serve–before, during, and after a disaster. A thoughtful and intentional approach to community engagement can create meaningful, accessible, and equitable opportunities for historically marginalized and underrepresented voices to directly shape the design and purpose of the Hub to meet their needs and priorities.

Module 2 Purpose & Objectives

This module provides guidance for the Engagement Lead (defined in Module 1, Step 3) on creating an Engagement Strategy that will help the Working Group gather input and feedback from the community on what resources and services a Community Resilience Hub should provide. It also outlines strategies to achieve other engagement goals set by the Project Team. This module emphasizes the importance of elevating historically marginalized voices in the Community Resilience Hub development process. This inclusive approach not only ensures that the Hub reflects community priorities but also builds trust and strengthens community ownership over Hub development and its long-term success.

Key Steps Involved in Engaging Your Community

Identify the key information, input, and feedback needed from the community to inform Hub development.

This includes community-specific assets, strengths, vulnerabilities, and needs foundational to informing the resources and services the Community Resilience Hub should provide. The Engagement Lead should understand the community’s preferred outreach and communication methods based on past engagement experiences to determine how information and feedback will be best collected. Clearly articulating what, how, and when community input will be collected, including before initial design, during Hub development, and after services are implemented, will guide engagement strategies and ensure alignment with community needs.

Starting with a set of outreach needs assessment questions can help you establish a community-informed outreach and engagement plan.

Sample questions could include the following:

  • How will a community resilience hub align with organizational goals and aspirations as well as with your community’s priorities?
  • What resources or information would be most helpful to you at this time?
  • What do you anticipate needing support with in regards to outreach and community engagement?
  • Are there languages other than English that are spoken within the community you serve? And do you have bi/multi-lingual staff/volunteers who support language access and/or will be working on this project?
Recommended Resource

Outreach Guide
Community Environmental Council

This outreach guide was developed specifically to support those interested in developing a Community Resilience Hub in creating an outreach plan and includes more information and specific methods on how to implement equitable outreach and engagement.

Identify local CBOs that regularly engage community members, particularly those representing vulnerable or frontline populations that the Hub intends to serve.

As trusted entities with established relationships with the local communities they serve, CBOs and nonprofits act as important bridges for inclusive and effective engagement. Invite these organizations to join the Working Group to provide insights into community needs and vulnerabilities, highlight existing services and programs relied upon by community members, and to co-lead or support outreach efforts. If possible, provide stipends to compensate CBOs for their time supporting community engagement and Hub development. Partnering with trusted community-serving organizations can help surface critical insights and deepen community connections throughout the Hub development process.

To minimize engagement fatigue, work with CBO and agency partners to identify existing community events, gatherings, or programs where engagement for the Community Resilience Hub can naturally occur.

Many communities have recently voiced concerns with engagement fatigue, often stemming from uncoordinated outreach efforts where agencies and organizations host one-off events or surveys driven by singular goals. To address these concerns, consider leveraging existing events including farmer’s markets, neighborhood association meetings, cultural festivals, or routine service events, such as food distribution programs or health clinics. These venues can provide organic touch points to share information, gather input, and build relationships with community members in familiar, accessible settings.

Recommended Resources

Community-Driven Climate Resilience Planning Framework
National Association of Climate Resilience Planners

Community Resilience Toolkit: A Workshop Guide for Community Resilience Planning
Bay Localize

In addition to leveraging existing opportunities for engagement, identify engagement methods that can effectively reach diverse community members to solicit targeted input and feedback.

Consider a variety of methods including hosting workshops or listening sessions, convening focus groups tailored to specific populations (e.g., seniors, youth, or non-English speakers), conducting community surveys, canvassing and door-to-door outreach, and utilizing social media for outreach campaigns. For any and all methods employed, address common barriers to participation. This includes providing multilingual materials or interpretation to address language access barriers, offering childcare services during events, using assistive technologies for individuals with disabilities, maintaining cultural sensitivity in program design and outreach, and scheduling events at times that accommodate working individuals and families.

Recommended Resources

Best Practices for Meaningful Community Engagement
Groundwork USA

In the Eye of the Storm: A People’s Guide to Transforming Crisis & Advancing Equity in the Disaster Continuum
NAACP

Guide to Equitable, Community-driven Climate Preparedness Planning
USDN

Clearly demonstrating how community input has informed decision-making and the design of the Community Resilience Hub can help to build trust and reinforce community ownership.

Develop a process to maintain ongoing transparency and accountability by summarizing feedback collected and sharing findings through accessible formats in a timely manner. These may include email updates or newsletters, published reports or fact sheets, or presentations at community meetings or town halls. Communication methods should be guided by lessons learned throughout community engagement efforts to continue addressing both well-known and newly surfaced communication barriers – from language accessibility to digital accessibility and more.

Revisit Module 1: Team Formation

Elevate community voices by defining clear engagement goals, partnering with trusted local organizations, leveraging existing events for outreach, designing inclusive methods that remove participation barriers, and transparently sharing how input shapes the Community Resilience Hub.

Start Module 3: Facility Improvements

Evaluate your facility to identify necessary upgrades for climate resilience, energy reliability, and accessibility, as well as to better serve community needs, and develop a comprehensive Facility Improvement Plan that equips the Hub for effective daily operations and emergency response.