Benefits of effective community engagement
Government agencies need to build active and effective relationships with their key communities - via community, voluntary and iwi and Māori organisations and directly with citizens. Improving community engagement can strengthen public trust in government, improve government transparency, enhance civic capacity and create more sustainable policies.
Active and effective relationships between government and communities can....
Improve the quality of policies and services
When government agencies include diverse groups in decision-making and service delivery, the agency benefits from their first-hand understanding of the issues. The agency gains new perspectives that test their assumptions and serve as a reality check.
Help solve complex problems
Social, economic and environmental problems can be complex. By bringing different networks together, government agencies gain new sources of information, build a sense of joint purpose, and increase the possibility of finding sustainable solutions.
Build trust and understanding
By building active relationships, government agencies can reduce the sense of ‘us’ and ‘them’. People develop confidence in agencies that invite participation and genuinely listen. This can build a foundation of trust that is valuable when tough decisions need to be made.
Support active citizenship
By actively engaging citizens, agencies are honouring people's right to participate in decisions that affect them. Agencies can encourage a participatory democracy in which everyone recognises that they have a stake and a part to play.
Ensure Māori participation
The Treaty of Waitangi places a responsibility on government to ensure Māori are involved in making decisions on matters that affect them, and to take positive steps to ensure that interests of Maori are protected.
Help create an inclusive society
People feel more powerful, more fairly treated and more valued when government acts in co-operation with diverse communities. Creating an environment where people can solve their own problems encourages self-reliance and innovation.
Measure progress more effectively
Collaboration with NGOs can improve monitoring and evaluation of community-delivered programmes. Active relationships can also enable constructive feedback on the agency's performance.
Build staff skills
Relationship-building with community, voluntary and Māori organisations offers opportunities for government agencies to build a range of communication and cross-cultural skills that are applicable in many other settings.
