The Community Planning Toolkit: Engaging Your Community in Planning for the Future
As communities grow and evolve, it is important to plan for the future. This involves looking at the community’s needs and developing strategies to meet those needs. However, planning cannot be done in isolation. It requires engagement and input from the people affected by the plans. This article will discuss the importance of community engagement in the planning process and how the Community Planning Toolkit can assist in this effort.
What is Community Engagement?
Community engagement involves individuals, groups, and organizations in planning and decision-making processes affecting their lives. Planners can better understand local needs, preferences, and concerns by engaging the community. This information can then create more responsive plans for the community’s needs.
One of the key benefits of community engagement is that it promotes transparency and accountability. By involving the community in the planning process, planners can ensure that all voices are heard and that decisions are made with the community’s best interests in mind. Additionally, community engagement can increase trust and support for planning initiatives.
However, community engagement is not without its challenges. Engaging diverse populations can be difficult, as different groups may have different needs, preferences, and communication styles. Additionally, engaging hard-to-reach populations, such as those with low literacy or limited English proficiency, can be particularly challenging.
How Can the Community Planning Toolkit Help?
The Community Planning Toolkit is a resource developed by the Scottish Government to assist communities and local authorities in planning. The toolkit provides guidance on various aspects of planning, including community engagement.
The toolkit emphasizes the importance of early and ongoing engagement with the community to ensure that local needs and opinions inform plans. It also provides advice on engaging with diverse populations, such as using translators or interpreters, providing materials in alternative formats, and using various engagement methods to reach different groups.
One of the key features of the toolkit is its focus on co-production. Co-production involves collaborating with the community to develop plans based on shared knowledge, experience, and expertise. This approach can lead to more effective and sustainable outcomes and increased ownership and support for planning initiatives.
The toolkit also emphasizes the importance of evaluating community engagement activities to ensure they are effective and responsive to local needs. By gathering feedback from the community, planners can identify areas where improvements can be made and make changes to improve the effectiveness of future engagement activities.
Case Study: Community Engagement in South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire Council used the Community Planning Toolkit to engage with the community in developing its Local Development Plan (LDP). The LDP sets out the council’s vision and strategy for developing South Ayrshire over the next ten years.
The council used a range of engagement methods, including public meetings, workshops, and online surveys, to gather input from the community. To engage with hard-to-reach populations, the council also provided materials in alternative formats and worked with translators and interpreters to ensure everyone could participate.
Through this engagement process, the council received valuable feedback on various issues, including housing, transportation, and environmental sustainability. This feedback was used to inform the development of the LDP, ensuring that it reflected the needs and priorities of the community.
The engagement process also increased trust and support for the planning process. By involving the community in the development of the LDP, the council demonstrated its commitment to transparency and accountability.
Community engagement is a critical component of the planning process. By engaging the community, planners can gain a better understanding of local needs, preferences, and concerns and create plans that are more responsive to these needs. However, engaging diverse populations can be challenging, and it is important to use a range of engagement methods to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate.
The Community Planning Toolkit provides valuable guidance on engaging with the community in planning. By following the toolkit’s advice on co-production, early and ongoing engagement, and evaluation, planners can create plans based on shared knowledge, experience, and expertise that are more likely to be effective and sustainable over the long term.
As demonstrated by the case study in South Ayrshire, effective community engagement can increase trust and support for the planning process. By involving the community in planning for the future, planners can create plans that truly reflect the needs and priorities of the people who will be affected by them.
