Community planning and community engagement
Community planning aims to improve the quality and delivery of public services. At its heart is the involvement of local people in planning and managing services. The law states that local authorities and key partners must take part in community planning. This involves joint service planning and delivery between service providers. Crucially, this must be done in consultation with communities. This duty was introduced by the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003.
But involving communities is not just about meeting legal duties. Community engagement means that services and activities are planned and delivered jointly with the people who will use these services. It can also help to increase skills and confidence of local communities.
Much has been written about the relationship between community engagement and community planning. The links below take you to some of the most useful reports on how community engagement activity can work effectively within community planning.
Links to useful resources
Involving local people in community planning in Scotland - guidance on involving communities, including discussion of how to define ‘community’ and key principles for community engagement activity
Community planning advice note 5: effective community engagement – this guidance, produced by the Scottish Executive, sets out a number of underlying principles for community engagement.
Making it meaningful: involving communities in community planning – a learning point from the Scottish Centre for Regeneration.
