What is Community Engagement?

'Developing and sustaining a working relationship between one or more public body and one or more community Groups, to help them both to understand and act on the needs or issues that the community experiences'. 
(Source: National Standards for Community Engagement).

‘The process of involving communities in the planning, development and management of services… community Engagement takes many shapes and forms. It can involve simple exercises in consultation through to the formation of multi-agency partnerships with community representation at the centre. Underlying community engagement is the commitment of the service providers and planners to listen to those for whom the services are planned’.
(Source: Community engagement – How to guide’ Scottish Centre for  Regeneration 2003)