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Engagement of Citizens and Decision-makers

Engagement is the process of relationship-building that acknowledges the power of two-way communications. An engagement strategy can be thought of as a systemic approach to building action-oriented relationships over time. It provides a conceptual framework to help ensure that individual projects and communication strategies build upon one another to foster collaborative learning and change.

IISD has found that the following principles can serve as the basis for a successful engagement strategy. A successful strategy:

• has a clear focus and goals;

• acknowledges that people are the most important resource for sustainable development;

• uses tangible projects as a way of focusing conversations and attracting interesting people to learn from each other;

• bases participation on the individual's/organization's ability to fulfill specific roles in transforming innovation into general practice; and

• provides graduated steps for participation of stakeholders.

The stages of engagement can be thought of as levels of a pyramid, with the highest levels of engagement at the top of the pyramid. This reflects the reality that at any given point in time a broad base of support is required to support a smaller number of intense relationships. The stages move from providing general information to decision-makers to nurturing a relationship with them to undertaking joint actions.

While we have observed some success with this approach with decision-makers, we continue to be challenged with how to engage individuals in sustainable development action. Organizations working on changing consumer behaviours have assumed that the provision of information and education would induce positive voluntary actions. But a Johns Hopkins study has proposed instead methods "based on community dialogue and collective action that clearly specify social outcomes as well as individual outcomes…a horizontal sharing [of information] between two or more participants within social networks"^[3] rather than the channelling of information from government or institution to individual. This dialogue approach is one that we are pursuing in our work with change at the individual and community level.

Key Contributions

Engaging individuals

• Youth Networking, Education and Communications Channels Across the Circumpolar Region (2006) (PDF - 187 kb)
  An exploration of how young Northerners learn, seek information, communicate with each other and engage on issues that affect their lives.

• Environmental Improvement Zones (EIZ): A Model for engaging Winnipeg neighbourhoods in local action (2005) (PDF - 910 kb)
  A consultation approach to improve and sustain the local environment for everyone, through collective action.

• Unsustainable Lifestyles (2003)
  A review of social policy instruments currently deployed to shift attitudes and behaviour, together with a research agenda to better understand their effectiveness and alternative or additional approaches needed. Published in Advancing Sustainable Development in Canada: Policy issues and research needs. Policy Research Initiative, Privy Council Office, Government of Canada (2003) (PDF - 567 kb).

• A Youth Strategy for Public Outreach on Climate Change (1999) (PDF - 140 kb)
  In early 1999, IISD was commissioned by the Canadian Public Education and Outreach Issue Table of the Climate Change Secretariat to develop a youth strategy for public outreach. Based on its research, IISD concluded that personal behaviour change alone on the issue of climate change would be insufficient to lead to significant greenhouse gas reductions. Therefore, communications and social marketing strategies, which tend to be designed for people at risk (smoking, drinking and driving, get-fit programs) would not be sufficient for its purposes. IISD therefore looked carefully at a model of engagement: how do we turn knowledge into action?; can small, individual actions be aggregated for greater benefit?; and how do we ensure that the actions will have longer-term benefits for the community, the country and the planet?

Engagement of decision-makers

• Effective Communications & Engagement: Research Partnerships for Sustainable Development (2002) (PDF - 51 kb)
  From the beginning, research partners must build relationships with those they seek to inform, influence and work together with for change. Partners must constantly look at how they will move their knowledge not just outward to broad audiences, but directly into practice.

• Dating the Decision Makers: Moving from Communications to Engagement Strategies (2001) (PDF - 306 kb)
  This paper focuses on the particular challenges of developing and implementing engagement strategies in the context of formal knowledge networks. In addition to outlining the theoretical basis for engagement strategies, it provides practical advice on their development and implementation in network contexts.

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