Community Engagement Projects

Standing in a bustling Seoul street last year, I watched something remarkable unfold. What started as a typical city block transformed into a canvas for environmental change, vibrant artwork surrounding drains, turning potential litter spots into visual reminders of our shared responsibility. This wasn't just street art. It was community engagement in action. In #SouthKorea 🇰🇷, our Philip Morris International Korea team partnered with local government, the Korea Green Foundation, and local artists to tackle cigarette butt litter differently. Instead of just organizing clean-ups, they created an ecosystem of change: 400+ volunteers collecting 300 bags of waste, students creating anti-littering artwork, and entire neighborhoods becoming part of the solution. What struck me most was the ripple effect. One clean-up event in Yangsan evolved into a year-round sustainability hub. By September, 666 volunteers had collected over 18,000 cigarette butts, but more importantly, sparked conversations that are changing behaviors. Meanwhile in #Tunisia 🇹🇳, a different challenge led to equally innovative collaboration. Young entrepreneurs at startup Wayout developed "Zigofiltres"—simple cages for drains that prevent flooding by capturing cigarette butt litter before it blocks waterways. 246 of these devices now protect one of Tunisia's most flood-prone municipalities. Two countries. Two different ways of addressing a same challenge. One powerful lesson: when business, government, local innovators, and communities work together, environmental problems become opportunities for creative solutions. #Sustainability isn't just about corporate initiatives—it's about creating platforms where local ingenuity can flourish. 🌱 ♥️ Link to full case study here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ePU_Bwkt #CommunityEngagement Cc: Borhann Rachdi, Abla Benslimane, Hannah Yun, Miguel Coleta, Maria V Agelvis, Kelly Lavender, Euigyum Hong

If you work with ethnocultural communities, and you want to explore sensitive topics, it is doable. I have talked about topics that range from what I would consider "comfortable" - such as resilience and healthier aging to "extremely uncomfortable" - such as mental health, violence, and abuse. One of the first and most important steps before you do that is to develop and gain their trust. There is no sustainability in what we do, no matter how important it is, without earning the trust of the people we serve and support. How do you do that? Well, this was my approach when I began my work on older adult mistreatment (elder abuse): 1. Identify and map out the community organisations in your area/city that meet the requirements of your services/support/project. 2. Reach out to community/cultural/spiritual leaders of those communities - ideally with an email and then a face-to-face meeting (introduce yourself and be transparent in what your ask is, but also suggest that you would like to know how you/your organisation can be of benefit to the community). 3. Ask to be invited to community events or gatherings as a gentle entry into the community, and so they can familiarise themselves with you. 4. Remember - it's about the community, their needs, and voices. 5. You may need to do these community event visits several times to earn and develop trust (trustworthiness is also a pillar of trauma-informed care). 6. Once trust is earned, and you have been able to engage the community in conversations around their needs, you can address your ask and adapt it to the community and the concerns they share with you. This sort of community engagement will also bring with it benefits and growth, plus, if you're in the field of social support and community engagement and advocacy, you know how important these steps are. Trust first. Your ask comes later.

How can research create lasting change in society? Traditional models often view research impact as a linear process—research is conducted, findings are shared, and outcomes (hopefully) follow. But the reality is often far more complex. This fascinating paper, Pathways to Co-Impact: Action Research and Community Organising, challenges this notion by introducing the concept of "co-impact"—a dynamic approach that embeds social and economic change within the research process itself. The paper outlines three types of impact: 🔹 Participatory Impact: Process-based changes in thinking, skills, and empowerment among participants. 🔹 Collaborative Impact: Findings-based changes in policies, practices, and culture through collaborative research. 🔹 Collective Impact: Targeted social change through strategic, co-designed actions by diverse stakeholders. Using Debt on Teesside a participatory action research project highlights how community involvement can: ✔️ Build skills and confidence in low-income households. ✔️ Influence local authority policies and practices to address predatory lending and financial resilience. ✔️ Mobilise campaigns that successfully changed high-cost credit practices. Why This Matters 🔄 Challenges to Linear Models of Impact: Participatory Action Research (PAR) shows that impact is not a downstream product of research findings—it evolves dynamically as roles blur between researchers, participants, and stakeholders. 🌍 The Power of Participatory Research: By embedding communities in the research process, PAR fosters both micro-level empowerment and systemic policy reforms. Lessons for Action-Oriented Research 🔑 Collaboration requires trust, flexibility, and mutual learning. 📈 Participatory approaches challenge traditional power dynamics, ensuring research addresses real-world needs. ⏳ Success depends on iterative processes and long-term engagement, not just immediate outcomes. Research has the potential to drive meaningful change when communities and researchers work together, sharing power and purpose. #ResearchImpact #ParticipatoryResearch #ActionResearch #PolicyChange #Collaboration

How 56,000 Residents Are Rewriting the Heat Pump Playbook 🏡 Quick context: Heat pumps are super-efficient electric heating and cooling systems that can replace gas furnaces and air conditioners. They're crucial for decarbonizing homes and improving energy efficiency. The conventional wisdom says adoption depends on: • Federal tax credits • Utility rebates • Contractor availability • Equipment costs But something fascinating is happening in communities across America... New data from RMI reveals how 12 local programs are cracking the adoption code through an entirely different approach. Here's what they discovered: 1. The Missing Ingredient: Community Leadership Traditional programs focus on: - Marketing utility rebates - Technical education - Contractor training - Individual sales What's actually working: - Local government coordination - Neighborhood champions - Volunteer "heat pump ambassadors" - Community installation tours - Multilingual engagement 2. The Proof Is In The Numbers Real results from these community-led programs: - 56,000+ residents actively engaged - 100+ local contractors brought into network - 3,000+ successful installations - 95% reduction in home fossil fuel use - Materials in 8+ languages - 3,500+ neighbor-to-neighbor conversations in Cincinnati alone 3. The Innovation That's Working These communities succeeded by: - Partnering with BIPOC organizations to ensure equitable program design - Creating qualified local contractor networks (saves homeowners time) - Offering full coverage options for income-qualified residents - Training volunteer ambassadors who speak the community's language - Hosting neighborhood tours so people can see installations firsthand Key insight: While the industry debates technical specs and rebate amounts, these communities are showing that adoption barriers are more social than technical. People trust their neighbors more than utility mailers. For utilities: This is how you build trust and engagement at scale. For contractors: A blueprint for community-led market development. For policy makers: Evidence that local partnerships accelerate adoption. For community organizations: A proven model to lead climate action locally. Question: What other clean energy technologies could benefit from this community-led approach? What are we missing by focusing solely on incentives and technology? #HeatPumpRevolution #CommunityPower #CleanEnergy #LocalLeadership

🏝️ 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲-𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 🐮 Between 23 July and 1 August, I had the privilege of piloting a new community-led well-being assessment in Ntsimangweni and Ebhoqweni alongside Seb Costedoat, as part of Conservation International's work under the BiLToNG initiative. Co-designed with Meat Naturally Africa and partner researchers, the pilot trained 16 local facilitators and engaged 68 community members across 10 focus groups, including 18 youth, 25 women, and 25 men. This participatory approach helps Herding for Health (H4H) implementers understand how diverse groups, livestock owners, rangeland users, women, and youth define a “good life” and what supports or hinders their well-being. Rather than delivering benefits, the process encourages communities to reflect on their aspirations and collaborate toward shared goals. This shift from service delivery to capacity-building is key to inclusive governance and sustainable livestock value chains. In one community, poor cellphone network coverage emerged as a major barrier to accessing jobs, training, and emergency services. While H4H can’t directly resolve this, the assessment surfaced past efforts to engage government and network providers—highlighting land access approvals and permit requirements from traditional authorities as key obstacles. Through facilitated dialogue, community members proposed forming a joint committee with neighbouring villages to strengthen their case and engage relevant authorities. Exploring how this committee could be supported by existing resources, including H4H benefits—illustrates a new vision for capacity-building in action. Insights from the pilot will inform tailored engagement models that align grazing and livestock management with community-defined priorities. They will also guide reinvestment of revenues from livestock sales and carbon credits to benefit all members. Demonstrated well-being and biodiversity improvements help H4H meet the highest tier of the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards, unlocking access to premium buyers in the Voluntary Carbon Market. This work is part of the BiLToNG initiative (Behavioural Incentives for Land Transformation on Natural Grasslands), led by Conservation International’s Moore Center, the University of California Santa Barbara, and CI’s Africa Field Management Unit. The well-being assessment is being refined based on pilot feedback, with training materials to support replication across more communities, contributing to a robust community engagement toolbox for impactful planning. #CommunityLedDevelopment #Rangelands #HerdingForHealth #BiLToNG #ClimateAction #LivestockValueChains #InclusiveGovernance #ParticipatoryPlanning #CarbonMarkets

When it comes to lasting conservation impact, one thing is clear: community engagement isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. At The Nature Conservancy, we’re seeing the real-world power of this approach through the Greater Cape Town Water Fund—an innovative initiative proving that when municipalities, businesses, and communities work together, everyone benefits. Here’s how it works: The City of Cape Town and local businesses contribute funding to invest in the people and land that keep the city’s water flowing. That funding supports upstream communities—small-scale farmers, private landowners, community-based businesses, women, and youth—to restore and protect the natural landscapes that supply water to millions. One of the most effective interventions? Training these local stewards to remove invasive, water-thirsty plants that disrupt native ecosystems and drain vital water resources. Using a mix of herbicide application, ringbarking and manual clearing, these teams are restoring healthy watersheds, acre by acre. But the impact doesn’t stop with water security. This work creates jobs, builds skills, and strengthens the resilience of communities that are often on the front lines of climate and environmental risk. It’s conservation that delivers social, economic, and ecological returns—a powerful model for nature-based solutions worldwide. As the climate crisis escalates, Cape Town’s story is a timely reminder: protecting our natural resources means investing in the people who live closest to them. And when communities lead the way, conservation has the roots it needs to last. https://lnkd.in/eHGnYVXm #Water #ClimateChange #Africa #CommunityLeadership #Conservation

Beyond the Public Meeting: Reaching More Voices in Town of Stow, MA For a long time, I’ve believed that traditional public meetings only scratch the surface of community engagement. They tend to attract the usual participants, leaving out many others—especially those who have less time, less access, or less trust in the process. That’s why I’m especially proud of the work happening right now in Stow as part of their Local Comprehensive Plan. With our JM Goldson team’s support, the town is leaning into a deeper, more intentional engagement strategy—one that meets people where they are. Austin Smith, MCP from our team is managing this effort with thoughtfulness and creativity, and we’re so fortunate to be partnering with Valerie Oorthuys, AICP and Michael Slagle—terrific planners who are committed to ensuring all voices in Stow have a chance to be heard. Here’s what this deeper engagement looks like: 1. Beyond the meeting: Digital tools and in-person options that don’t depend on a single time and place. 2. Targeted outreach: Using network mapping to identify who’s missing and developing strategies to reach them. 3. Multiple ways to participate: Surveys, pop-ups, small group conversations—meeting people in the ways that work best for them. When engagement reflects the full fabric of a community, the planning that follows is stronger and more grounded in lived experience. Photo Credit: Lisa Phaneuf #CommunityEngagement #InclusivePlanning #StowMA #LocalComprehensivePlan #PublicParticipation #CommunityVoices

Recently, Miami Waterkeeper and a few additional partners announced the launch of the Community Input Tool to identify underutilized open spaces that could be revitalized to reduce heat, flooding, and habitat loss. This tool is meant to focus primarily on public land in areas with the greatest potential to advance equity, and the amount of feedback will guide the selection of locations for a range of green infrastructure design solutions across Miami-Dade County. As much as I appreciate these projects, we need to get these types of announcements to residents -- that's who's perspective is needed more in this above everything else. So if you're in the Miami-Dade area-- get familiar with this tool, it almost works similar to the EJ Screening tool with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but more localized in the area. And when you're comfortable with functionality, share it with a friend (or 13) to talk them through on how it works and ask the question(s): What environmental concerns do you see happening near you in this area? And, what do you/they want to see done about it? What's the vision for the future? Because if these green infrastructure projects are for residents, then they should be part of the process from start to finish. Be intentional on the type of feedback you want to receive to have intentional long-term projects. I'm sharing this because I want the word out and need to see more people like me included in the survey and a diverse pool of input to ensure we are all represented on this map, and not just the areas that are a little more affluent to afford it. You get me? That's equity. #Miami #miamidadecounty #miamidade #greeninfrastructure #habitatrestoration #communityengagement #communitymatters #environment #environmentaljustice #conservation #equitymatters https://lnkd.in/eguebjfa

Approaching engagement projects with First Nations communities requires deep consideration. Cultural respect isn't a token gesture; it is vital for building trust and enduring relationships. Organisations and project teams must prioritise long-term relationship building, recognising that trust is cultivated over time and requires unwavering commitment. Remember, transparency and authenticity are non-negotiables in our work, ensuring that actions align with an organisation’s values and commitments and there is accountability to the communities we serve. By actively listening and learning from First Nations communities, any collaboration will be rooted in mutual respect and understanding. [Image description: Five key points that must be considered when engaging First Nations communities.]

Fascinating new paper from University College Cork on the impacts of arts, creative and cultural initiatives in fostering citizen engagement and advancing climate action. The research, published in #Current_Research_Environmental_Sustainability, evaluated five distinct creative projects, each addressing critical themes such as sustainable agriculture, circular economy, repair culture, consumption habits, sea-level rise, biodiversity, and community-driven climate action. These community based initiatives to enhance public participation in climate action were supported by the Creative Ireland Creative Climate Action Programme funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The results showed that that interactive, participatory-style creative mediums led by artists and practitioners, such as demonstrations, workshops, presentations, and discussion, effectively engaged participants across cognitive, emotional, and practical dimensions. Respondents reported an increased sense of self-efficacy and capacity to take achievable climate actions. Community-centred, peer-sharing formats emerged as trusted and valued opportunities for accessing relevant climate information, aiding constructive dialogue on complex topics. Artists' unique perspectives and creative expressions generated positive energy and an openness to engage, renewing participants' motivation to act. Findings suggest that targeted creative community events can significantly support climate policy efforts by fostering high-quality citizen engagement. The research was undertaken by Prof Marguerite Nyhan's team and Alexandra Revez at UCC Environmental Research Institute and Research Ireland MaREI Centre. The paper is freely available to download from https://lnkd.in/eKBzyevN