In this episode of The Rising Waters Podcast, hosts, Alex and Frayer are joined by Assistant Director in Local Government and Strategic Lead for Community Resilience at Cleveland Local Resilience Forum, Gemma Ptak and Social Scientist Dr. Jatinder Singh Mehmi. Together, they discuss the value of engaging with hidden voices within marginalised communities and why overcoming barriers such as literacy and digital access, as well as fostering trust through genuine and sometimes vulnerable relationships can help to make community engagement more inclusive.

Actionable insights:

Addressing Barriers to Engagement

Why it’s important to identify engagement barriers such as educational attainment, location, digital access and time constraints and why these barriers prevent certain groups from having their voices heard.

Finding Inclusive Engagement Methods

A deep dive into inclusive engagement methods that can be used including providing support services to help address underlying challenges.

Prioritising Diversity and Inclusion

Recognising that communities are not homogenous and that there is diversity within groups that need to be represented. Plus, the actions we can take such as using data (Census information) to better understand the unique needs of the community being engaged with.

Building Genuine Relationships and Trust

Understanding that engagement should not be transactional and the positive impact that investing time in developing genuine, authentic relationships can have on community engagement.

Adapting Methods of Communication

How the use of inclusive, creative and interactive communication and providing options and flexibility can make a difference to community engagement, allowing others to feel more comfortable to share their voices.

Prioritising Transparency and Feedback

Why there is value in being upfront about the purpose, process and intended use of engagement. Plus, the importance of creating opportunities for ongoing feedback, as well as acknowledging unique limitations and vulnerabilities some communities may have.