Pre-Community Engagement: Setting the Stage for Authentic Community Engagement​

How to Use

The strategies contained within the Pre-Community Engagement report are likely to complement science centers’ ongoing community engagement strategies and could result in improved outreach programming, exhibition content, and educational initiatives that resonate with the local community. For the uninitiated, it provides a strong basis of what authentic community engagement can look like. 

Three recommendations to pursue ahead of community engagement efforts include: 

1. Seek to Understand Community Layers: Identify sub-communities, networks, and key influencers within the area of interest. This understanding aids in recognizing the diverse groups that comprise the community and their unique perspectives.​ 

1. Understand Community Member Perspectives: Engage in preliminary conversations to grasp residents' views, concerns, and aspirations. This step builds trust and ensures that subsequent engagement activities are relevant and respectful.​ 

1. Identify Engagement Strategies that Support Community Preferences: Develop approaches that align with the community's communication styles and cultural norms, facilitating more effective and meaningful interactions.​ 

As with all authentic community engagement, this work is made possible through relationships. As such, it requires a sustained, values-driven approach. This report further articulates the values at the heart of Pre-Community Engagement activities: valuing lived experience, recognizing history of place, promoting power to influence, operating with transparency, approach with humility, centering authenticity, and valuing people’s time.