Community engagement for inclusive rural transformation and gender equality
Community engagement is now recognized as a critical component of international development practice and humanitarian assistance. It facilitates agency and the empowerment of all social groups in rural communities, enhances local participation, sustainability and ownership, and builds upon local resources and capacities, thereby leaving no one behind.
Recognizing the importance of community engagement as a key factor in achieving a world free from hunger and poverty, and as a prerequisite for community-led collective action, FAO organized a series of five webinars between 2020 and 2021 titled ‘Community Engagement Days.’[1] This created a space for academics, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), development and humanitarian agencies and field development practitioners to come together to explore the concept of community engagement, exchange experiences and good practices as well as challenges and opportunities to bring these approaches at scale.
The webinars provided an opportunity to share research and field experiences across five interlinked themes (gender, resilience, peace, evidence, and collective action), encouraging reflection and dialogue on community engagement strategies, practices and approaches. Nearly 1,000 participants from NGOs, governments, the United Nations (UN), international development organizations, civil society, the private sector, and academia joined the series.
Based on these conversations it became clear that while multiple definitions of community engagement exist – and there is no “one size fits all” – these definitions do share common approaches (community-led, rights-based, gender-responsive/gender-transformative); principles (inclusive, participatory and people-centered, conflict-sensitive) and characteristics (contextual and adaptive, and empowering). The key outcomes of the webinars highlighted the importance of recognizing and challenging power dynamics, integrating reflexivity in research and implementation, prioritizing gender equality, fostering resilience and peace, and supporting collective action. Furthermore, the need for systematic knowledge sharing and creating spaces for ongoing dialogue and peer-to peer learning was emphasized to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of community-driven initiatives.
The Community Engagement Days webinar series was not a standalone initiative but a platform for discussion aimed at exchanging experiences, forging innovative alliances and partnerships to highlight the value of community engagement in both development and humanitarian contexts.
Given the scope of the series, the shared experiences were just a snapshot of existing approaches and practices. To provide an opportunity to expand the audience and hear voices from a variety of actors, the Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division of FAO (ESP) initiated this call for submissions and invites stakeholders to share their experiences, good practices and views on community engagement for inclusive rural transformation and gender equality.[2]
This call for submissions is open to individuals and organizations from both the development and humanitarian sectors who have experience implementing community engagement strategies, interventions, approaches/methodologies, or innovations. It also welcomes contributions from a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, education, health, sanitation, civic engagement and others critical to inclusive rural development.
Through this initiative, FAO is eager to hear more, learn, and exchange insights both internally and externally on what interventions and practices have worked and what can be improved in community engagement and community-led collective action to achieve inclusive rural transformation and gender equality. By capturing a diverse range of contributions, FAO aims to promote the adoption and scaling-up of community engagement approaches, address barriers to their implementation and refine these practices to make them more inclusive, effective, and sustainable.
| Please use the submission template in any of the three languages (English, French or Spanish). The background document can serve as a reference for completing the template for submissions. |
The submissions will be publicly available on this webpage and featured in the proceedings report of this call, enhancing the visibility of participants' work and fostering learning, inspiration, and networking among a broader audience. Depending on the relevance and content, FAO may also include contributions in knowledge products such as case studies, compendiums, and reports, and use them to inform its work on community engagement and collective action, with due acknowledgment of the contributions. Beyond this call, the initiative offers participants the potential for continued engagement and collaboration, laying the groundwork for further learning, networking, and community-building.
Criteria for submissions
We are looking for ‘good practices’—tested methods that have proven successful in multiple settings and can be widely adopted. We also consider ‘promising practices’—innovative approaches that have shown success in a specific context and have the potential for broader application but may need more evidence or replication. Both types contribute valuable insights for continuous learning and improvement.
To ensure that relevant experiences are captured, we are looking for practices with the following criteria:
| 1. | Engagement of the community: Interventions should deliberately and actively strive to engage a wide range of segments and groups within the community to ensure inclusivity and broad-based participation, fostering a sense of ownership and collective empowerment among all community members, this should in turn strengthen community-led collective action. This means that they should go beyond merely targeting specific groups or formal structures, such as community-based organizations (farmer organizations, cooperatives, and self-help groups) as entry points. Instead, they should engage diverse groups within the community, fostering inclusivity, collective participation and shared benefits. These interventions promote a collective added value where everyone at the community level, regardless of their direct involvement, can benefit. Ideally, the community itself should be the primary entry point for the intervention, though approaches that indirectly impact the wider community are also welcome if they emphasize community value. Additionally, community-wide interventions do emphasize the participation of groups that are typically left behind. While these interventions are designed to be open to everyone, they are strategically inclusive by deliberately creating spaces and opportunities for marginalized or underserved groups to participate. |
| 2. | Inclusive and gender-responsive/transformative: The intervention should prioritize inclusivity, ensuring active engagement from all segments of the community, regardless of age, ethnicity, disability, gender identity/expression, etc. These efforts acknowledge that gender intersects with various social dimensions and identities, including age, ethnicity, indigeneity, health, psychological resilience, disability, socioeconomic and political status or other characteristics. This intersectionality creates compound inequalities and layers of disadvantage and privilege that the interventions aim to address, promoting greater inclusivity, equality, gender transformative change and positive masculinities.[3] This also involves challenging discriminatory gender social norms and unequal power dynamics and fostering attitudes and behaviors that support gender equality and women’s empowerment. |
| 3. | Rights-based and empowering: The intervention should aim for a process of change over an extended period, rather than relying on short-term or one-off activities such as workshops, trainings or consultations. It should adopt a rights-based approach[4], grounded in the principles of participation, inclusion, accountability, non-discrimination, transparency, human dignity, empowerment and agency. The intervention should position itself at the highest levels of participation (see Figure 1 below), promoting tailored and sustained engagement to achieve long-term impact. By enabling marginalized groups to influence decision-making and enhancing the capacity of individuals as rights holders to know and claim their rights, as well as ensuring that states and public authorities, as duty bearers, fulfill their obligations, accountability, impact, and sustainability can be strengthened. By recognizing and redressing structural inequalities, and by fostering the exchange and development of skills, knowledge, and confidence, community engagement enhances both practical abilities and inner resilience, ultimately contributing to sustainable development. |
| 4. | Self-facilitation and/or participatory facilitation: As a continuous and participatory process the intervention/experience can be self-facilitated by local actors from the outset, embodying bottom-up leadership, or it can be guided by an external facilitator who works closely with the community. The facilitation is focused on enhancing local stakeholders’ empowerment and ensuring their ownership and agency throughout the intervention and beyond (post-project), adopting a forward-looking approach. If the intervention is externally facilitated, facilitators should guide a participatory process that promotes community ownership and autonomy, allowing the intervention to be sustained independently after the project's conclusion. The most effective intervention facilitates the empowerment of the community to take full control, delegating authority, ensuring long-term impact. |
| 5. | Proven implementation: The intervention should either have been implemented or still be ongoing, and should incorporate learning processes throughout its execution. This includes lessons learned and results that can be shared or documented through this call. This knowledge can be generated in various ways, including local and generational knowledge, storytelling, and formal studies or evaluations. The intervention should showcase positive outcomes and lessons learned as well as challenges identified through both traditional and participatory methods. |
While FAO is particularly interested in approaches that specifically meet these criteria, we also recognize the value of methods used at specific phases of an intervention to ensure community engagement. This includes approaches for design and delivery processes or tools used for monitoring, evaluation and learning. Although the call acknowledges that meaningful engagement requires a participatory lens embedded throughout the entire planning and project cycle for higher outcomes and ownership, it is open to learning about tools and methods that support these goals at specific stages of an intervention/project.
Figure 1 Adapted from Pretty (1995), Arnstein (1969), International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), and White (1996). Figure 1 depicts various types of community participation, reflecting different levels of engagement in development interventions at community level. The progression goes from lower to higher levels of community engagement, but it does not prescribe a linear or hierarchical path. Instead, the figure offers a range of possible approaches to facilitate participation, tailored to the specific context and objectives of the intervention. As engagement deepens—from simply providing information to transferring decision-making power to the community— the community’s sense of empowerment and ownership over the process grows. Greater levels of engagement foster collective action, enhance accountability, and enable the community to take the lead in shaping their own development.
The call for submissions is open until 27 November 2024.
We thank participants in advance and look forward to learning from you!
Conveners:
- Lauren Phillips, Deputy Director, FAO - Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division (ESP)
- Adriano Campolina, Senior Policy Officer, FAO - Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division (ESP)
Co-facilitators:
- Christiane Monsieur, Project Coordinator, FAO - Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division (ESP)
- Andrea Sánchez Enciso, Gender and Community Engagement Specialist, FAO - Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division (ESP)
How to take part in this call for submissions:
To take part in this Call for submissions, please register to the FSN Forum, if you are not yet a member, or “sign in” to your account. Please review the topic note to understand the criteria we are considering for this call. If you wish to learn more about community engagement, you may refer to the background document. Once you have completed the submission template, upload it in the box “Post your contribution” on the call webpage, or, alternatively, send it to [email protected].
Please keep the length of submissions limited to 1,500 words and feel also free to attach relevant supporting materials.
[1] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2021, March 3). Tapping into community engagement for empowerment. FAO Flexible Multi-Partner Mechanism. https://www.fao.org/flexible-multipartner-mechanism/news/news-detail/en/c/1378190
[2] The call for submissions is directly aligned with the thematic components of collective action within FAO's Programme Priority Areas (PPAs), specifically Better Life 1 (Gender Equality and Rural Women’s Empowerment), Better Life 2 (Inclusive Rural Transformation) and Better Life 3 (Agriculture and Food Emergencies).
[3] A gender-transformative approach “seeks to actively examine, challenge and transform the underlying causes of gender inequalities rooted in discriminatory social institutions. As such, a gender transformative approach aims to address the unequal gendered power relations and discriminatory gender norms, attitudes, behaviours and practices, as well as discriminatory or gender-blind policies and laws, that create and perpetuate gender inequalities.” FAO, IFAD, WFP & CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform. 2023. Guidelines for measuring gender transformative change in the context of food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture. Rome, FAO, IFAD, WFP and CGIAR. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc7940en
[4] A rights-based approach to community engagement emphasizes the fundamental human rights of all individuals, ensuring equal opportunities for everyone to claim and enjoy their human rights. Central to this is agency, the ability of individuals to define their own goals and act upon them. By promoting meaningful participation, accountability, non-discrimination, transparency, human dignity, empowerment and rule of law (‘PANTHER’ principles) this approach not only addresses power imbalances and systemic barriers but also fosters individual and collective agency.
Topics
- Read 32 contributions
Ms. Alice Webb
I'm posting this summary paragraph on behalf of the Participation, Inclusion and Social Change cluster at the Institute of Development Studies. I am going on maternity leave shortly, so for any follow-up and questions, please contact Jo Howard ([email protected]) or Marina Apgar ([email protected]
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In the Participation, Inclusion and Social Change cluster at the Institute of Development Studies, we focus our work on actively including marginalised groups in systems change.
This includes research and engagement in both urban and rural settings, on a variety of themes, including livelihoods, peacebuilding, gender and sexuality, access to sanitation and hygiene, child rights and participation, migration and disability inclusion.
In order to actively include and engage different groups, we share, learn and innovate in methodological approaches, including evaluation methodologies:
Some examples of our project work include:
Some of the tools we use include:
Dear all, I hope this email finds you in good health and having a great day at work. Attached I am sharing the proposal of the Provincial Cooperative for the Promotion of Agroecology in Nampula - CPPAN, an organization that advocates for increased production and productivity using peasant family farming (agroecology), in order to guarantee food sovereignty for the peasants of the province of Nampula, Mozambique and beyond.
Best regards
Boaventura Avelino
CPPAN
Transforming community engagement through reflection, power analysis, and action
Based on the intervention David Archer did during the Community Engagement Days in 2021. Video recording
Community empowerment is often discussed in development circles, yet too rarely do we address the underlying power structures within and around communities. Effective community-led development requires critical consciousness—a practice rooted in Paulo Freire's belief that education and engagement must be liberating rather than domesticated. This concept of empowerment guides ActionAid’s REFLECT approach, which combines participatory methods with local insights to enable communities to self-organize and mobilize.
At the heart of any transformative approach is an ongoing cycle of reflection and action. This means starting with the assumption that communities already have knowledge and are capable of analyzing their own challenges. By supporting facilitators trained to foster these processes rather than dictate solutions, we create spaces where community members themselves lead the way. This principle applies beyond local projects; it is essential within social movements and development institutions.
However, we face challenges from an industry increasingly driven by short-term, outcome-based funding models. Real change demands flexibility and respect for the organic, often non-linear paths communities may take. Ultimately, the role of external actors should be that of a supporting cast, amplifying the voices of local leaders and adapting to their unique insights. As development professionals, we must embrace participatory practices at every level—engaging communities, analyzing our own institutional power dynamics, and consistently reflecting on our actions.
David Archer
Head of Programmes and Influencing
ActionAid International
@DavidArcherAA
Dear
Ms. Christiane Monsieur
Dear Moderator,
The Joint Programme on Gender Transformative Approaches for Food Security and Nutrition (JP GTA)[i] is a collaborative initiative of the three United Nations Rome-based Agencies (RBAs) —FAO, IFAD, and WFP—in collaboration with and through financial support from the European Union.
Its objective is to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) by supporting the RBAs and their partners to embed gender transformative approaches (GTAs) in their policy dialogues, programmes, working modalities and institutional culture, and enhancing their collaboration on zero hunger and gender equality.
A gender transformative approach “seeks to actively examine, challenge and transform the underlying causes of gender inequalities rooted in discriminatory social institutions. As such, a gender transformative approach aims to address the unequal gendered power relations and discriminatory gender norms, attitudes, behaviours and practices, as well as discriminatory or gender-blind policies and laws, that create and perpetuate gender inequalities.”[ii]
GTAs operate across multiple levels of the socio-ecological model (individual, household, community, organizational, and macroenvironmental), and each level is vital for transformative change to occur. Community-level GTAs are essential in fostering collective agency and participation and in facilitating the empowerment of community members to address discriminatory gender norms and unequal power relations within their own contexts. Through inclusive and participatory methods, community-level GTAs promote dialogue and strengthen social cohesion, creating an enabling environment for sustained gender equality and social transformation that can ripple out to broader societal levels.
For insights on GTAs, The ‘Compendium of 15 good practices’, published by the JP GTA in 2020, showcases successful GTAs across different settings, including at community-level, such as Dimitra Clubs, Community Conversations, and Social Analysis and Action (SAA)[iii].
Additionally, the JP GTA has developed several guidance documents that can be of relevance to community engagement approaches:
- These Guidelines include step-by-step guidance to formulate qualitative and quantitative indicators of gender transformative change to help gender experts and food security, agriculture and nutrition programme specialists in their efforts to design, implement, monitor and evaluate gender transformative interventions. They also present an overarching framework for measuring gender transformative change, including key dimensions and a socio-ecological model for identifying spheres of influence.
- The Guidelines are available in English and Spanish.
- The abbreviated "At a glance" version is also available in English and Spanish.
Guide to formulating gendered social norms indicators in the context of food security and nutrition
- This guide will assist with formulating indicators to measure changes in gendered social norms in the context of food security and nutrition. It also offers an initial set of example indicators that programme implementers can draw on to assess social norms change in the context of food security and nutrition programmes. It draws from existing indicators from literature and programme experiences around measuring social norms, including in other sectors, and creates original indicators as well.
- The Guide in available in English and Spanish.
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to consultation and best regards,
The JP GTA Team
[i] For more information about the JP GTA visit the website: https://www.fao.org/joint-programme-gender-transformative-approaches/overview/about-the-JP/en
[ii] FAO, IFAD, WFP & CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform. 2023. Guidelines for measuring gender transformative change in the context of food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture. Rome, FAO, IFAD, WFP and CGIAR.
[iii] FAO, IFAD and WFP. 2020. Gender transformative approaches for food security, improved nutrition and sustainable agriculture – A compendium of fifteen good practices. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb1331en
Dear Moderator ,
Greetings from Katosi Women Development Trust!
I hope all is well with you !
Please find attached my answered templet for the Community engagement for inclusive rural transformation and gender equality call
Kind Regards,
Kasoga Jackline, Business Development Officer
Spanish translation is below
Dear Community,
We’re delighted to see such diverse contributions in our Call for Submissions on 'Community Engagement for Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality.'
From community-led sanitation initiatives in Ethiopia to economic empowerment for farmers in the UK, the empowerment of women farmers in South Sudan, sustainable biomaterials training with Indigenous Peoples in Mexico, social and behavior change interventions by UNICEF and other relevant experiences from Argentina, India, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and Zambia. Each of these contributions enriches our understanding of how inclusive, participatory approaches can drive meaningful change, strengthen rural livelihoods, and promote gender equality.
To inspire further discussion, we encourage you to share thoughts, questions, or even additional experiences inspired by these approaches!
For those sharing their good practices please use the adequate Template, on the right of this page under “Resources”. We’d love to hear your insights on:
- The core challenges your practice addresses and the desired outcomes it aims to achieve.
- The key stakeholders involved and how their roles contribute to community ownership and sustainability.
- How your approach includes different community groups and promotes gender equality, using methods like intersectionality or rights-based frameworks.
- Any lessons learned or strategies for adapting this practice in new contexts.
If you prefer, you can also use the chat to share your experiences, focusing on the key outcomes of using community-led approaches, emphasizing inclusivity and gender equality, your main lessons learned, and why you believe it added significant value to your intervention by leveraging the power of collective action.
Let’s continue this vibrant discussion and deepen our knowledge on inclusive, participatory community engagement.
Whether you’re sharing experiences, posing questions, or reflecting on these themes, your contributions help us collectively explore pathways to inclusive rural transformation and empowerment.
Looking forward to your thoughts and valuable experiences!
Facilitators, Andrea and Christiane
SPANISH TRANSLATION
Estimados y estimadas participantes de esta comunidad,
Estamos encantadas de ver contribuciones tan enriquecedoras en esta Convocatoria de Prácticas sobre “Participación Comunitaria para la Transformación Rural Inclusiva y la Igualdad de Género.”
Desde iniciativas de saneamiento comunitario en Etiopía hasta el empoderamiento económico de agricultores en el Reino Unido, el empoderamiento de mujeres agricultoras en Sudán del Sur, capacitación en biomateriales sostenibles con pueblos indígenas en México, intervenciones de cambio social y de comportamiento por parte de UNICEF y otras experiencias relevantes de Argentina, Burundi, India, Pakistán, Perú, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Uganda y Zambia. Cada una de estas contribuciones enriquece nuestra comprensión de cómo los enfoques inclusivos y participativos pueden generar cambios significativos, fortalecer los medios de vida rurales y promover la igualdad de género.
Para inspirar un mayor diálogo, los invitamos a compartir sus pensamientos, preguntas o experiencias adicionales.
Para quienes compartan sus buenas prácticas, utilicen la plantilla adecuada, ubicada a la derecha de esta página en la sección “Recursos”. Nos encantaría conocer sus ideas sobre:
- Los desafíos principales que aborda su práctica y los resultados deseados que busca alcanzar.
- Los actores clave involucrados y cómo sus roles contribuyen a la apropiación comunitaria y a la sostenibilidad.
- Cómo su enfoque incluye a diferentes grupos comunitarios y promueve la igualdad de género, utilizando métodos como la interseccionalidad o enfoques basados en derechos.
- Las lecciones aprendidas o estrategias para adaptar esta práctica en nuevos contextos.
Si lo prefieren, también pueden utilizar el chat para compartir sus experiencias, enfocándose en los resultados clave de utilizar enfoques comunitarios, enfatizando la inclusión y la igualdad de género, sus principales lecciones aprendidas y por qué creen que esto agregó un valor significativo a su intervención aprovechando el poder de la acción colectiva.
Continuemos con esta vibrante discusión y profundicemos en nuestro conocimiento sobre la participación comunitaria e inclusiva.
Ya sea compartiendo experiencias, planteando preguntas o reflexionando sobre estos temas, sus contribuciones nos ayudan a explorar colectivamente vías para la transformación rural inclusiva y el empoderamiento.
¡Esperamos sus pensamientos y valiosas experiencias!
Facilitadoras, Andrea y Christiane