Community Engagement - Sensory Therapy Gardens Manual

1. Community
engagement
Creating and managing places that can about developing productive relationships.
be used and enjoyed by people who live Not only relationships between practitioners
nearby helps to ensure that places are and local people, but between different
sustainable. Involving local people in community groups as well, that will
development decisions helps to ensure continue beyond the life of the project.
that the eventual designs are appropriate, For managers and staff, community
enjoyable, well used, and cared for by the consultation opens the door to people who
community. have personal experience of the difficulties
It is vital to involve local communities in of using public spaces and to a wide variety
the earliest planning stage of regenerating, of perspectives and ideas.
developing or constructing public open For any community, being involved in
space. the planning and user-testing processes of
Community engagement is now a project is a chance to help create a local
an important part of many funding space that appeals to them, their families
applications. However, engaging people and friends. It is also a chance to gain an
in a project should be more than a ‘tick understanding of the constraints that site
box’ activity to satisfy potential funders. managers face.
Successful community engagement is
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2. The benefits of involving Reduced maintenance and
people vandalism costs
There are many benefits to involving a Once again, you can save money by
diverse range of people from the local involving people. When people feel they
community. The benefits easily outweigh have a say in how their environment is
the time and effort required. designed and managed they feel a sense
of ownership. A sense of ownership often
More sustainable spaces that are leads to a sense of responsibility. You may
find that the group you get together will go
appropriate to the needs of the
on to organise themselves into a “friends
community of” group or community representation
It’s sad but true that often no one finds group and take on some aspects of the care
out what the community needs until a of the public space.
place is built and folks begin to complain.
If a project finds out what a community Planning, Preparation and
needs its public space to achieve before
construction begins then there is much
Facilitation
less likelihood of bills for “improvements”
next year. And the year after that, and the Overview
year after that… Say goodbye to the White The community engagement process breaks
Elephant. down into a number of different activities.
Many of these activities can be undertaken
Better relationships with the from your desk and can fit around other
local community work. The following is a rough guide of the
stages of community consultation.
A better relationship makes life easier for
everyone. A healthy relationship involves 1. Find people – actively seek out
mutual understanding and respect; it disengaged people
means that issues are dealt with instead of 2. Cultivate your connections
being left to fester; that ideas are brought
3. Prepare your activities
to the table; that there is cooperation.
Create workgroups of community leaders/ 4. Prepare your venue
interested people for ongoing projects 5. Run your events
6. Run supplementary information
Easy access to a reservoir of
gathering
specialist knowledge
7. Assess the results and integrate these
Many people experience the outdoor
into your planning
environment in many different ways.
It’s impossible to guess how changes to 8. Distribute the findings and plans to your
the environment may affect different partners
people. The best people to advise on how 9. Maintain the partnerships
changes may affect them are the people
themselves. Think of your community
Finding people
contacts as valuable specialists and work
with them when making decisions. The most important part of the planning
process is to involve a wide section of the
community in the consultation. Groups
associated with the space such as “friends”
groups, local walking groups, sports clubs
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3. and so on, are normally easy to locate. everyone can use and enjoy.
People with less or no association with Establishing mutual respect between
the space such as disabled people, young yourself and the local groups involved
people, older people, children, people who in the community engagement sessions
are on low income or unemployed, single will help to diffuse potentially negative
parents and black and ethnic minority attitudes that may arise from past
groups can be more difficult to find. experiences. People involved or interested
Allow ample time in the early stages to in a project need to feel that they will
locate these disengaged groups and begin be listened to and that their ideas and
forming the foundations for a working comments will be respected. People should
relationship; chatting about the project, the also feel that they will be given open, up-
significance and level of their role in it and to-date and honest information about the
project, including any constraints which
may affect them.
Ensure that you have been provided
with any relevant information from the
site management or project manager, to be
able to answer most questions at this stage,
or that you can obtain the answers as
quickly as possible. During the engagement
session, it is often useful to have the site
staff/manager present to be able to answer
questions relating to site history, current
maintenance plans or, commonly, hearsay
about other developments in the area
which may affect the project.
Local community groups may consist of:
l Volunteer groups
l Schools (both mainstream and those for
learning disabilities)
l Businesses
l Disability groups
Creative engagement techniques l Groups for older people
l Learning difficulties
the needs of the group to enable them to
l Day centres
participate fully in the consultation. If your
project is within your area then locating l “Walking for Health” groups
and contacting these groups may only take l Ethnic minority groups
half a day; for projects in areas less known
l Youth groups
to you then this may take longer depending
on your network of contacts. Some groups l Pre-school and playgroups
will require extra effort to reach and extra
l Sports clubs such as tennis clubs,
provision in order to have an equal say
bowling clubs, cyclists clubs and jogging
in any decisions. The effort you put in at
clubs
this stage will reward you with a richer
understanding of the issues and a greater l Hobby groups: bird watching, ramblers,
chance of creating inclusive spaces that historical societies, environmental/
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4. conservation clubs, scouts/guides. Preparation
The whole experience of the engagement
Where to search for local groups process should be as pleasant as possible
l Local authority websites for everyone involved. If you stress that it’s
These usually have a section on local about ‘engaging’ rather than ‘consulting’,
volunteer and community groups, their this may help to clarify the nature of the
main contact and a brief description of session beforehand. Jargon words such as
their activities. Some local authorities have ‘consultation’ can be intimidating or off-
a Community Liaison Officer who works putting for many people and can create
with local groups in the area and can be an negative feelings about the process that
excellent resource for contacts. can hinder the session initially. Try to use
plain language in all your communications.
l Local branches of national organisations
It helps to think of consultation planning as
(for example, Age Concern, Mind,
though you were planning a social event.
Mencap, RNIB and RNID)
“We would like to involve your group
They may not be able to give out details in the consultancy process for the initial
of members, but are willing to send out scoping stages of the project”
information to their members.
Becomes
l Your network of work-related contacts
These may be able to supply contact details
for groups or organisations that they have • Decide how best to
been involved with. arrange the consultation
l Advertising groups: how many days,
Use your website, local radio or local what activities will you offer,
newspapers, including any free publications, what groups would work well
to advertise for local groups or individuals. together and so on
l Local Directories • Make sure everyone has
Yellow Pages, Thomson’s or any other local enough information about the
directory will hold contact details for local project before they come
disability organisations, health centres, day/ • Create information and
residential centres, sports groups (including activities that are accessible
those for disabled people) etc. and will yield meaningful
feedback
l Make contact with as many
• Arrange catering and additional
groups as you can. support such as BSL signers if
l Make a reasonable effort required
to present the project as • Send out schedules for the day
something they would enjoy in good time; particularly to
being involved in. people with learning disabilities
l Arrange to visit those who or their representatives so they
seem interested. It is better can prepare for the day and
to work with people who are reduces anxieties about what
enthusiastic about the project the day will hold for them
enthusiasm is infectious
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5. “We would like to chat about how we
might work together” Create an atmosphere
Develop a positive relationship with the
group from the beginning and maintain For many people this may
contact through to the activity sessions by be the first time they
keeping people informed of developments. have been asked their opinion on
It is a good idea to form your relationship anything. Even the experience
with one person in the group who can of being in a room full of people
act as their main contact. This might be can be intimidating for some so
the club secretary, school head teacher or
it is vital that the atmosphere
simply the group member most interested
feels welcoming. Food and drink
in the success of the project. Maintaining
is a good way to settle people
contact with the group in the period
in. Think of yourself not as a
leading up to the session strengthens the
foundation of the relationship. It also helps facilitator but as a host: it’s your
to shape how the activity session should be responsibility that everyone has a
delivered, by working with your contacts good time. Think of your group.
to ensure that the activities you plan to What sort of situation might they
use will get the most out of the groups and be familiar with? For example,
deliver the information required. older people might feel more at
Use this time to work with your contacts ease if the atmosphere was like
to establish which activities or techniques a coffee morning with tea and
will be most appropriate for their members. cakes. Children might prefer
The best technique or activity will be one party food and games. People
that the group understands how to use, who are relaxed will more readily
feels comfortable with and that will allow give their opinions.
them to freely express their concerns and
ideas.
Different activities and techniques should
be used depending on the group. For
go out to them before the day so that they
example, children and people with learning
are prepared before the session. Begin
disabilities and learning difficulties can be
the day by going over the schedule, this is
involved using creative activities and by
particularly helpful to people with learning
providing images or objects that stimulate
difficulties as information provided before
them to respond (make sure that you
the event may not have been clear.
don’t influence their thinking by only using
Create an atmosphere that allows
images that you think will be useful or that
people to feel able to comment without
you prefer, use a wide range of images).
fear. Be careful not to allow personal or
Facilitation organisational goals to steer the process.
You have a right to an opinion, but be
Set out the guidelines at the beginning aware that, as facilitator, your opinion will
of the activity session to help steer the be seen as carrying more weight than those
group in a positive direction. Ensure that of others and that many people will be
everyone understands and agrees that sensitive to hidden agendas. There should
the process respects everyone’s ideas and be a balance between allowing people to
concerns and that everyone will be given feel that they can voice their concerns and
the opportunity to contribute. ideas without fear of retribution alongside
Schedules for groups, if required, should
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6. giving them clear information that not all Off-site sessions
ideas can be used within the improvements
If carrying out part of the session indoors
but that they need to work alongside
the chosen venue must be accessible to
current financial, environmental and
wheelchair users and within easy access to
management plans.
public transport, with appropriate lighting
for people with a visual impairment and,
if possible, a loop system for those with a
hearing impairment.
Think about:
a) Whether the lighting is sufficient for
people to see each other clearly
b) The clarity of any maps or reading
material that you may use with the group:
will it be accessible for all those involved?
c) The use of whiteboard, flip chart or
PowerPoint presentation: will everyone
be able to receive and understand the
information?
On-site sessions Additional Input
Where possible, host the session within There are other methods that can be used
the public space itself. This is particularly to obtain information on concerns and ideas
valuable for people who have never visited for improvement from the community in
the site before and helps to put everyone general. Additional information can support
at ease more quickly than commencing the the results of the consultation sessions and
session indoors. can add weight to a funding application or
Older people, people with limited stamina management plan.
and disabled people may require rest, Additional/supporting information can be
a toilet break and refreshments before obtained using non-interactive methods:
or while being taken around the site. l A section on the website that informs
Children and young people may want to people about the project and provides
walk around the site first, particularly if a place for people to contribute their
they have travelled some distance. opinions and ideas.
The weather can be influential on these l A leaflet drop in an area of the
sessions. Rain is an inevitable part of the community you wish to focus feedback
British weather so don’t be put off or feel on. Provide various ways for people to
you need to hold the sessions indoors. As feed back, tear-off section of the leaflet
long as it’s not pouring or freezing, some with postage paid, contact details and a
inclement weather can help focus on ideas website address.
such as shelter and different activities.
This will provide you with information
Make sure that everyone involved in the
from across the community but may not
session knows to dress for the weather and
always be accessible to those within the
carry on!
community from socially excluded groups
such as older people, young people and
children, disabled people and black and
6 ethnic minority groups. These techniques

7. should be seen as additional to the and so on); they can assist throughout
interactive consultation sessions and not as the development stage, ensuring that
an end in themselves. your design continues to be accessible and
enhances the site as much as possible;
Beyond the initial engagement they can also be contacted again for future
Continue the relationship after the projects and will be more than willing to be
engagement session has taken place, involved if you have developed a mutually
particularly with those community rewarding relationship. Think of your
members who have expressed an community contacts as design partners.
interest in receiving further information
or becoming more involved through Things to avoid
voluntary work. It’s important to carry l Avoid jargon when consulting with
through any promises of further contact. community: inappropriate language can
Resources should be allocated for this create a barrier between site managers
at the beginning of the project. Groups and the general public and can reinforce
that you maintain contact with are a any “them and us” feelings that there
valuable resource who can test anything might be within the group.
that has been designed as an outcome
l Avoid negative terms during feedback
of the consultation, (leaflets, signage,
sessions, for example: “this route is
information, interpretation and so on) or
inaccessible to wheelchairs” – it may not
hard landscaping (paths, steps, handrails
be to one determined wheelchair user!
The results of a place mapping engagement session
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8. The Sensory Trust promotes and supports the creation and management of outdoor
spaces that can be used and enjoyed by everyone, regardless of age or ability. We
offer training and consultancy services to help you create and manage environments
that are accessible and enjoyable for a diverse range of people.
l Site Reviews
l Inclusive Play
l Audience Development Plans
l Community Involvement
l Access Plans
l Visitor Experience Assessments
l Diversity Awareness Training
l Accessible Information
For more information on our services visit www.sensorytrust.org.uk/our_services/
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Lottery.
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