A Closer Look at the Community-Centered Engagement Fall Intensive
A Closer Look at the Community-Centered Engagement Fall Intensive
A close-up look at this 3-part workshop that begins October 30
Hey Changemakers!
I want to spend some time sharing more details about the upcoming Fall Intensive for Community-Centered Engagement that I announced in a post last week.
The Intensive will begin on October 30, but it’s important to note that Monday, September 30, is the early registration discount deadline for the Intensive (use the code: EARLYBIRD), which is coming up quickly.
At its core, the fall intensive on Community-Centered Engagement is designed to connect you with an amazing and diverse group of professionals who share your goal of building a strong community-centered practice in your work and within your organization.
We are going to be working together on strategies and actions that can be implemented as part of your organization’s ongoing planning and programming aimed at expanding community involvement and opening up new pathways for meaningful co-creation and partnership.
We’ll be spending time on individual reflections, small group breakout work, and large group discussions, as well as through asynchronous support in a membership to an online community space for conversations, sharing, reflection work, and resources.
Week-by-Week Breakdown
The term community may be one of the most frequently used words when it comes to describing the shifting goals, values, programs, staff, and audience demographics —and even communication strategies — for organizations.
Yet often, we struggle to have a clear sense of what we mean when we talk about community.
Professionals use it too frequently in ways that overlook its inherent complexities, rendering the word vague (and sometimes unintentionally meaningless).
Developing a community-centered practice is a key part of being an effective changemaker. But in order to start that work, we have to have a clear understanding of what we mean.
WEEK ONE of the Fall Intensive
In week ONE of the Intensive, we will begin by unpacking the term community itself. Everyone comes at this word from a different place, and it’s important to take the time to examine the ways it can be misused in vague and problematic ways.
We’ll look at how our organizations — and ourselves as individuals — relate to the concept of community, and develop a working definition of ‘community’ for ourselves based on a Six Lens Framework that I introduce to the group. This framework really helps us break down the concept of community and create a working definition that each participant can bring back to their organization.
We’ll also begin to examine different kinds of approaches to community involvement, focusing especially on the asset-based approach, applying what we are learning to our own organizational work as we go.
WEEK TWO of Fall Intensive
In Week TWO, we will build on these foundations as we examine models of community involvement, audience participation, and co-creation, with the goal of understanding how these models can help guide a community-centered practice in our work.
At this point, we’ll also be engaging in group working sessions geared to applying community-centered strategies to your organization and programs you may be coordinating or planning. We’ll also look at some exemplary programs, and connect with a guest speaker working on one of those programs.
This kind of work will also continue through asynchronous support in the online community space, where attendees will be able to ask each other questions, share reflections, learn about examples of community-centered practice, and get support from others.
WEEK THREE of Fall Intensive
Week THREE is when everything comes together, as we discuss and develop strategies and actions that can be implemented as part of your institution’s ongoing planning and programming. The goal here is to begin work on an Action Plan that relates directly to the work you’re doing with your organization.
We’ll also talk through challenges to community-centered engagement, and I’ll be sharing models and examples of each strategy throughout.
Learn about Community-Centered Engagement through Community
One of my foremost goals for this Fall Intensive is to create an online community where we can learn from one another throughout this process.
I envision this as a space where colleagues can sign up together to work as a team on their community engagement strategies while also learning from those in other organizations who bring their own perspectives to the Intensive.
The three-part workshop is for any nonprofit professional or consultant in need of tools and support for community involvement and audience engagement strategies at their institution or through their work. But it is especially great for education and visitors services staff as well as those working in marketing, development, and curatorial departments.
Early career professionals, those in leadership positions, as well as students and volunteers are all welcome. We have a lot to learn from each other at all stages in our career!
To maintain the sense of community, we’ve capped the registration at about 20 registrants max, so if you are interested in signing up, I encourage you to do so soon. In the spring, we filled the workshop.
As a reminder, the Intensive also has an early registration discount (use the code: EARLYBIRD) if you register by September 30.
Reminder of Workshop Dates and Times:
Wednesday, 10/30, 2-4 pm Eastern (11 am-1 pm Pacific)
Wednesday, 11/6, 2-4 pm Eastern (11 am-1 pm Pacific)
Wednesday, 11/13, 2-4 pm Eastern (11 am-1 pm Pacific)
You'll receive a Zoom link and follow up details after you sign up.
As with the previous workshop I led, I am happy to discuss additional support with a check-in meeting for those who might not be able to every workshop. So if you are thinking about joining but have scheduling conflicts, or if you have any other questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me at murawski27@gmail.com!
I’m really excited to launch this workshop and bring together an incredible group for this fall’s Community-Centered Engagement Intensive.