Engagement and Sustainability with Community Members

1. Engagement and Sustainability with Community Members How to engage the community and sustain your outcomes OPSP Staff

2. Icebreaker • Getting to know you…. • Name • Agency name • Biggest engagement & capacity challenge(s)

3. Concept of Community • Community is a fluid concept • Understanding the dimensions of the concept of community will enable those initiating engagement processes to better target their efforts and work with community leaders and members in developing appropriate engagement strategies.  • How can communities be defined? • Central to the definition of a community is a sense of "who is included and who is excluded from membership" (IOM, 1995). • A member of a community by choice, as with voluntary associations, • Personal characteristics, such as age, gender, race, or ethnicity (IOM, 1995).

4. Community Engagement • How does one integrate this vision of community engagement into their organization’s daily efforts? • How does one convince others of becoming involved in a community-level approach?

5. Concepts of Community Engagement • “The process of working collaboratively with and through groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of those people. It is a powerful vehicle for bringing about environmental and behavioral changes that will improve the health of the community and its members. It often involves partnerships and coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and practices”(CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Committee for Community Engagement)

6. Principles of Community Engagement Before Starting a Community Engagement Effort . . . • Be clear about the purposes or goals of the engagement effort, and the populations and/or communities you want to engage. • Become knowledgeable about the community in terms of its economic conditions, political structures, norms and values, demographic trends, history, and experience with engagement efforts. Learn about the community’s perceptions of those initiating the engagement activities.

7. Principles of Community Engagement • For Engagement to Occur, It Is Necessary to . . .3 . Go into the community, establish relationships, build trust, work with the formal and informal leadership, and seek commitment from community organizations and leaders to create processes for mobilizing the community.4. Remember and accept that community self-determination is the responsibility and right of all people who comprise a community. No external entity should assume it can bestow to a community the power to act in its own self-interest. 

8. Principles of Community Engagement • For Engagement to Succeed . . .5. Partnering with the community is necessary to create change and improve health.6. All aspects of community engagement must recognize and respect community diversity. Awareness of the various cultures of a community and other factors of diversity must be paramount in designing and implementing community engagement approaches. 7. Community engagement can only be sustained by identifying and mobilizing community assets, and by developing capacities and resources for community health decisions and action.

9. Principles of Community Engagement • 8. An engaging organization or individual change agent must be prepared to release control of actions or interventions to the community, and be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of the community.9. Community collaboration requires long-term commitment by the engaging organization and its partners. 

10. Factors Contributing to the Success of Community Engagement Efforts • Environmental · History of collaboration or cooperation in the community· Collaborating group (and agencies in group) seen as leader in community · Favorable political and social climateMembership · Mutual respect, understanding, and trust· Appropriate cross-section of members· Members see engagement in their self-interest — benefits of engagement as off setting costs· Ability to compromise

11. Factors Contributing to the Success of Community Engagement Efforts • Process/Structure· Members feel ownership — share stake in both process and outcome· Every level in each organization in collaborating groups participates in decision-making· Flexibility of collaborating group· Clarity of roles and guidelines· Ability to sustain itself in midst of changing conditionsCommunication· Open and frequent interaction, information, and discussion· Informal and formal channels of communications

12. Factors Contributing to the Success of Community Engagement Efforts • Purpose· Goals clear and realistic to all partners· Shared vision· Unique to the effort (i.e., different at least in part from mission, goals or approach of member organizations)Resources· Sufficient funds· Skilled convener

13. Four Simple Questions: 1. Who do we need? 2. What do we want? 3. What do they care about? 4. How will we involve them?

14. Influencing People • Influence: the ability to persuade someone to act or think in the way you want http://youtu.be/R9CD7uj2TL0 • All about the message • What do they care about? • What will motivate them to become involved in your efforts? • What’s in it for them? (WIFM)

15. Building Membership 1. Assess capacity to identify areas of needs/resources. 2. Identify individuals and organizations to engage. 3. Recruit and engage new partners. 4. Maintain member involvement.

16. Step 1: Assess current needs/Resources • How much time can be devoted to planning? • What resources are available? • What skills do coalition members/staff have-or can access? • What skills/resources do we need?

17. Step 2: Identify Individuals & Organizations to Engage • Who do we need? • What other efforts address substance abuse and related issues (health, public safety, family, youth)? • What other organizations have similar goals, objectives and/or strategies? • Who would partner/oppose effort? • What are our criteria for prioritizing?

18. Step 2: Identify Individuals & Organizations to Engage • By Sector (s) • Youth, Parents, Business community, Media, Schools, Youth-serving organizations, Law enforcement agencies, Religious or fraternal organizations, Civic and volunteer groups, healthcare professionals; state, local or tribal governmental agencies with expertise in the field of substance abuse, other organizations involved with reducing substance abuse • By Resources/skills needed to accomplish your work • Ensure involvement from: • Geographic areas of community • Culturally diverse populations • Communities within communities

19. Step 3: Recruit and Engage New Members 1. Prioritize individuals and organizations to be recruited. Which individuals and organizations best meet your needs? 2. For each potential member, identify • How they can contribute? • Identify their WIME-how they will benefit from joining?

20. Step 3: Recruit and Engage New Members • When preparing to ask an individuals to join your efforts: • Prepare talking points • Identify an “influencer” to go with you • Clarify expectations and provide options for their involvement • Start small • Describe the WIFM • If you haven’t identified what’s in it for them and how they can make a difference…how can you ask them to be involved? • Anticipate their objectives

21. Conducting a one on one meeting • 1.The Credential The credential tells the person why you are meeting. It provides a framework for the person to understand who you are and why you want to talk.

22. Conducting a one on one meeting 2.The Conversation. The conversation is about encouraging the person to speak as much as they can about themselves, and their interests, joys, and concerns. Stories are a great way to get the conversation going. Sharing your own story can make it safe for the other person to also open up and describe something of importance. This conversation is NOT initially about recruiting the person to a coalition or into a coalition role or task.

23. Conducting a one on one meeting • 3.Closing and Next Steps. Closing the one-on-one is as important as the opening. The goal is to keep the relationship going. • It’s important to carefully listen and then assess how to proceed as the conversation comes to a close. Ideally, you would like another meeting at some future point. • A second or third meeting can be where the relationship is both deepened and a potential connection to the work is established. You also want to see if the person knows other people with whom you can talk.

24. Activity Member Recruitment Worksheet

25. Level of Involvement • Different sectors and stakeholders will want or need to be involved at different levels.

26. Level: Networking • Purpose: • Provide dialogue and common understanding • Create clearinghouse for information • Create base of support • Structure: • Non-hierarchical • Loose/flexible link • Roles are loosely defined • Community action is primary link among members • Process: • Low-key leadership • Minimal decision-making • Little conflict • Informal communication

27. Level: Cooperation • Purpose: • Match needs and provide coordination • Limit duplication of services • Ensure that tasks are done • Structure: • Central team acts as communication hub • Semi-formal links • Roles are somewhat defined • Links are advisory • Group leverages/raises money • Process: • Leaders who facilitate • Complex decision-making • Some conflict • Formal communication within the central team

28. Level: Coordination • Purpose: • Share resources to address common issues • Merge resource base to create something new • Structure: • Central team consists of decision-makers • Roles are defined • Links are formalized • Team develops new resources and joint budget • Process: • Autonomous leadership focused on issue • Central and subgroup decision making • Frequent and clear communication

29. Level: Collaboration • Purpose: • Accomplish shared vision and impact benchmarks • Build interdependent system to address issues and opportunities • Structure: • Consensus is used in shared decision- making • Roles, time, and evaluation are formalized • Links are formal and written into agreements • Process: • High leadership, trust level, and productivity • Ideas and decisions equally shared • Highly developed communication

30. Sitting at Others’ Tables • Not all of your needed stakeholders will want to be a part of your work. • Need to go to them, and be part of their meetings and decisions. If you don’t do this… • You will be left out of important conversations • Your agenda may get overlooked • You could miss potential funding opportunities

31. How to get a seat at other tables: • Ask to join • Describe what you can bring to the group (e.g. skills, resources, constituencies) • Use data to identify overlapping interests, goals, and agendas.

32. Building Membership Organizing your effort to recruit and engage: • Create a membership sub-committee or workgroup • Prioritize a manageable number of people to recruit • Prepare an invitation packet • Schedule a face to face visit • Brief the team prior to the visit • Follow up on visit • Handwritten thank you note

33. Methods for Recruitment • Face to face • Time, not always possible • Phone • Not personal, not a strong connection, can’t see body language • Write a letter • Not as personal no two-way dialogue, don’t know if they received it • Take advantage of chance/public meetings • May not be an appropriate time or place

34. Building Relationships • Understand that relationships take time • Establish relationships before you need them • Establish relationships in a crisis • Build relationships with people whom you believe an interest an can help • Build relationships with opponents

35. Helpful Hints • Emphasize the positive • Emphasize your accomplishments • Check your facts • Present what you want in a manner they will be receptive to • Keep your message as simple as possible • Clearly identify benefits for them

36. Helpful hints • Listen to their concerns and address them • Ask for a commitment • Follow up • Build a relationship before you ask for anything • Write a thank you note • Recapture the meeting and address any concerns that arose during the meeting • Take a key person with you • Don’t leave without asking them for something

37. Be Prepared to Address Barriers • Identify preconceptions and attitudes they might have about the issue or your organization • They may not think they can make a difference • They may not be aware or opportunities to be involved • They may not want to acknowledge the problem exits • Time

38. When things aren’t going your way… • Keep your emotions in check, never launch an attack • Change your approach • Try to understand their perspective • Revisit points of disagreement-in a different way • Don’t get personal and know when to quit

39. Keys to making the connection • Identify who should make the contact • Become genuinely interested in the individual • Remember the person’s name • Be a good listener, encourage them to talk about themselves • Talk in terms of their interests • Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely • Smile

40. Maintain Involvement • Clarify their role (e.g. job description, MOU) • Engage them immediately and appropriately (e.g. sub-committee, work group, key leader group) • Share goals and successes • Ensure their WIFM is fulfilled • Celebrate and acknowledge their contributions

41. A dilemma • A horse that is used to transport good from one town to another dies…. • What are some strategies that will solve this dilemma? • Appoint a committee to study the horse • Provide additional funding and/or training to increase the dead horse’s performance • Arrange to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses • Lower the standards so that dead horses can be included • Reclassify the dead horse as living impaired • Hire outside contractors to ride the dead horse • Harness several dead horses together to increase speed • Do a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse’s performance • Declare that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses • Rewrite the expected performance requirements for all horses • The town had lost site of the fact that the horse was a means to the end; it was just one way-one strategy-for getting goods from one town to another • Don’t become attached it is like trying to work with a dead horse and you won’t get what you want

42. Sustainability – what is it? • Sustainability is the process of ensuring an adaptive and effective system that achieves and maintains desired long-term results (Johnson, K., Hays, C., Center, H., and Daley, C., 2004). • The process of continuing an intervention beyond a trial or demonstration period. • An ongoing cyclical change process rather than a one-time sequential stage process (Johnson et al 2004).

43. Sustainability - Poll Is it about Money? Is it about Goals/Outcomes? OR Is it about Keeping Your Job?

44. About Sustainability • Discontinued initiatives and programs can negatively impact target population, staff, and partners • Future funding should not be the sole or main focus of a sustainability plan • Sustainability should be a central part of the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs and partnerships.

45. Sustainability Planning • Does what you/we are doing make sense as a long-term strategy? and…Can you/we keep this up? • What should be sustained? • What resources are required to maintain them?

46. Sustainability Planning • Who will be affected by your program, service, or strategy? (constituents) • By having your program/service/strategy – or – by its loss • Are there others in the community that do what you do or could work with you to support your mission?

47. Sustainability & Capacity • Several key capacities are needed to embed the strategy within the community to ensure outcomes achieved are sustained. • strategically leverage and target the system’s existing resources, assets and capacity • continually expand the community’s ability to effectively respond to changing patterns of substance use consumption and consequences

48. Three Key Sustainability Capacities • At the Coalition/Workgroup Level • Among the Community Agencies • Among the Community Members

49. Pulse Check • Which of the three levels do you need to strengthen capacity? • What have been the barriers to strengthening capacity on this level? • Once you leave here, what are you committed to do in order to address this deficit?

50. How to Build Capacity • Assure effectiveness and alignment of the prevention system • Prevention strategies align logically and reach an appropriate number of the targeted population • Regularly document the implementation process and use this information for quality improvement • Regularly document, demonstrate and communicate the accomplishment of intended outcomes