Health and social care - Planning with People: community engagement and participation guidance

Part 2 – Engaging with People

‘Planning with People’ supports NHS Boards, Integration Joint Boards and Local Authorities to build strong two-way dialogue with the diverse communities they work alongside and serve. The purpose of engagement will influence the methods to be used, and in most cases a range of different engagement tools will be necessary to reach the right people.

Engagement should not be a one-off event or only used for high-profile projects. High-quality and ongoing community engagement builds relationships and trust.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland – Community Engagement (HIS-CE) can provide advice on the type of involvement it would expect to see for proposed engagement by health bodies. It can give views on similar work and best practice elsewhere, support meaningful engagement, and offer guidance on the evaluation process.

Individual engagement projects must be planned as part of an organisation's wider engagement strategy. It is important that community groups are involved from the earliest opportunity, and throughout the development, in the planning and decision-making process for service change. Involving community representatives in the engagement planning team at the earliest possible stage informs an effective approach.

Throughout this section, ‘Planning with People’ references the growing body of expertise in community engagement that is developing within Scotland’s public organisations. Further information is listed in Annex B ‘Supporting Information’

2.1 Defining community engagement

The principles that inform this guidance promote a change of focus from a culture of ‘telling’ to one of ‘listening’ when it comes to community engagement. Consistent, relevant, open communication between all parties is vital, and there is an expectation for organisations to do more.

• ‘Community’ refers to a group of people who share a common place, a common interest, or a common identity. There are also individuals and groups with common needs. It is important to recognise that communities are diverse and that people can belong to several at one time.
• ‘Engagement’ covers a range of activities that encourage and enable people to be involved in decisions that affect them. This can range from encouraging communities to share their views on how their needs are best met and influence how services should be delivered, to giving communities the power to inform decisions and even provide services.

2.2 The case for community engagement

Effective and ongoing engagement brings many benefits, including:

1. Organisations hear new ideas and understand all the issues for communities, creating opportunities to identify sustainable solutions to service challenges

2. Communities, especially vulnerable and seldom-reached groups, are connected and engaged with services, improving access to care services and health outcomes

3. Improved public confidence and less resistance to change due to better understanding of the reasons for change

4. Reduced risk of legal challenge resulting from concern about the process of engagement

Other important considerations:

Co-production

The involvement of people in the design of care services should be central to all community engagement activity. Co-production is defined by the Scottish Co-Production Network as the process of active dialogue and engagement between people who use services and those who provide them. Co-production requires people to act together on an equal basis, contributing their lived experience, skills and ideas about what works to make our communities better. By adopting a Co-production approach, decisions affecting people are made with them, not for them.

Clarity of purpose

It is important, from the outset, to be very clear about the reason for engagement. The issue under consideration may be better suited to formal consultation, or another approach to gathering community views.

Consultation

Consultation also forms an essential element of structured engagement and participation plans, for any change process being considered, as having a defined beginning, middle and end: it might be part of an ongoing period of engagement, but it is a process in its own right. Its remit should be finite and the scope for stakeholder input and influence should be clearly stated.

There is a specific requirement for NHS Boards to formally consult on issues which are considered major service change – the process for that has not changed. See ‘Part 5 – Governance and decision-making’