Community Engagement

The ‘General’ Community

Any community engagement or communications professional will tell you there is no such thing as the ‘general public’ – all engagement and outreach needs to be targeted. However, while the implementation of a TDC program is site-specific (affecting particular community members), the program is intended to support community-wide goals. Tension and resistance to TDC programs can come from a general lack of awareness of how the program supports those goals, and from the associated concerns and myths that arise from ‘not knowing.’ Therefore, engagement of the ‘general community’ should be considered in terms more of the potential of the tool to help accomplish existing community conservation/development goals.

Engagement will also likely divide down the lines of ‘enabling’ of the tool and ‘application’ of individual programs. Enabling the tool requires inclusion at the Municipal Development Plan level, and speaks generically to the ability to apply the program within the municipality. Applying the tool requires identification of specific TDC Conservation and Development Areas, affecting specific landowners. The enabling discussions require broad community understanding and buy-in at a conceptual level, while the application discussions require consideration by specific landowners of concrete opportunities, and therefore a different level of understanding.

In either case, general engagement efforts are important in addressing community-wide or ‘general’ goals/concerns, raising awareness of the soon-to-be more-targeted audiences, and in recruiting topic experts, community groups, and others who may be important in implementing the program.

Efforts at this level could include gathering relevant background materials,  creating basic education materials/presentations, creating program resources and guides, surveying/polling, promoting the program generally, identifying potential program partners, and testing acceptability in specific locations.