Community Participation Is More Than Attendance

Ensure participation is based on belonging, contribution and choice, rather than arrival.

A participant can attend a program each week and have no influence, few relationships or no sense of belonging.

It is very easy to count attendance. Participation is more complicated: access, communication, valued roles, mutual relationships, and freedom of choice for how to participate.

Why this matters for community service professionals

The job of community service staff is frequently a place where a referral, a program or a resource needs to become a lived reality. Whether a technically viable option is useful depends on the practical details: communication, access, timing, trust and follow through. These details become apparent and a connection is treated as something that is to be confirmed, rather than something that has to be counted.

What better coordination looks like

Community practitioners can see beyond transportation and enrolment to the circumstances that allow for contribution.

Define meaningful participation

Discuss with the person what they want to do, learn, contribute or experience and how they will know it is worthwhile.

Remove the practical friction

Consider timing, sensory environment, communication, physical access, cost, transport and staff expectations.

Create a valued role

Seek out opportunities for them to add value, to make decisions and to establish and foster relationships instead of being a passive recipient.

Make the change last

A helpful change is not only specific enough to practise, but small enough to review. Decide who will do the first thing, where it will be noted and when the person will be asked if that helped. Where multiple services are involved, verify individual service commitments in isolation, not during a meeting. Keep what is working, modify what is not and eliminate anything that was put in place for a specific purpose that no longer needs to be there.

Questions for the next review

What would “meaningful participation” look like for the person?

Which part of the arrangement is assumed and which part of the arrangement is pending?

What will be seen by the person and team that shows they are making progress with this approach?

Keep the boundary clear

Participation is not for incentives or to meet program targets. Respect the person's right to refuse, modify or adapt their participation in the activity.

A practical example

A person who joined a garden group spoke little and was described as being ‘disengaged'. They were given responsibility for watering and a quieter arrival time, and started to welcome other members and extended their stay.