This is a long-term process. An institutional culture of CE at UBC will be built upon a foundation that is developed over many years. While the principles behind traditional consultation are valuable, developing a CE strategy is not conducive to a series of consultations that result in a final paper. To remain true to the spirit of CE work, a process to develop a strategy requires multi-pronged, on-going engagement. The Community Partnership Unit becomes a curator, building and confirming the strategy through input, interaction, and learning over time. The contents of the strategy expand and adjust continuously. In this way the strategy is always current, versus a one-time snapshot that is periodically reviewed. As this work unfolds, elements of the strategy will be firmed up and solidified. For example, “principles” or a “vision” in Figure 3 may be solidified sooner than other parts. The development of other elements leads to some being confirmed over time, with other areas remaining open for change.
Figure 3: A process for developing the Community Engagement Strategy
