Principles of community engagement, second edition

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Principles of community engagement, second edition is a foundational publication that describes how to engage a community effectively, and outlines the capacities an organization needs in order to do so.

This primer includes eight chapters related to different aspects of effective community engagement:

1. Chapter 1 provides an overview of community engagement
2. Chapter 2 outlines nine principles for effective engagement
3. Chapter 3 provides real life examples
4. Chapter 4 discusses organizational capacity for community engagement
5. Chapter 5 discusses engaging communities in research
6. Chapter 6 discusses social networking
7. Chapter 7 reviews evaluation practices
8. Chapter 8 provides a summary

When to use

Use this primer when there is a need for an overview of community engagement. The authors indicate that the nine principles can be used to help plan a successful community engagement effort. It may be helpful to review Chapter 5, because the challenges in engaging communities in research are similar to challenges faced in other engagement activities (e.g., sustaining involvement of community partners). If you want a brief overview of the primer, review the Executive Summary and/or Chapter 8.

Things to consider

The authors indicate that this primer was written as a whole, but each chapter can also stand alone and be used as needed.

Use this resource

Find similar resources

• By practice: authentically engage with the community
• By type: guides/toolkits