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.
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Hi all,
We are currently working on a project, Bundling Socio-Technical Innovations to Empower Women as Partners and Drivers of Climate Change Solutions. This is a CGIAR Initiative on Gender Equality (HER+): Harnessing Gender and Social Equality for Resilience in Agrifood Systems. The STIB framework addresses the gender-specific barriers and challenges that inhibit women’s empowerment and resilience in various contexts. The STIB framework was developed based on a literature review that examined the relationship between gender, technology, resilience and climate-smart agriculture. The literature review revealed that gender norms and structures significantly hinder women’s empowerment. Women face various issues, such as limited access to productive land, lack of credit for business support, disproportionate domestic and childcare responsibilities, limited access to education and training, and lower decision-making power within households.
The STIBs framework provides a comprehensive approach to addressing women’s barriers and challenges in achieving empowerment and resilience. By considering the specific contexts and leveraging various enablers, this framework aims to promote gender equality and women’s agency in the face of climate change and other challenges. Context-specific bundles of STIBs are integrated solutions tailored to address unique challenges within a specific environment. Combining social innovations, such as reforms of institutions and cultural practices, with technical advancements, such as new technologies or processes, these bundles aim to create comprehensive approaches that resonate with and effectively meet the needs of a particular context or community.
I am sharing here our work in two villages in West Bengal state in Eastern India: some of the blog posts are
Using Socio-Technical Innovation Bundles (STIB) and Theory of Change to Empower Small-Scale Women Livestock Farmers in West Bengal, India https://agrilinks.org/post/using-socio-technical-innovation-bundles-stib-and-theory-change-empower-small-scale-women
Collaboration, Coordination and Convergence: Key for Livestock Learning Labs to Build Resilience of Rural Women https://agrilinks.org/post/collaboration-coordination-and-convergence-key-livestock-learning-labs-build-resilience-rural
Women-Inclusive Livestock Development Helps Improve Women's Empowerment https://agrilinks.org/post/women-inclusive-livestock-development-helps-improve-womens-empowerment
Unleashing the potential of women livestock keepers https://www.rural21.com/english/a-closer-look-at/detail/article/unleashing-the-potential-of-women-livestock-keepers.html
I shall be discussing further about good practices’—tested methods that have proven successful in our contexts which can be tested & widely adopted. This will include ‘promising practices’—innovative approaches that have shown success in our context and have the potential for broader application but require more evidence through replications.
Looking forward for insightful & enriching contributions from diverse contexts!
Mahesh Chander
Principal Scientist
Div. of Extension Education
ICAR- Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243122 (UP) India
Good Evening Colleagues,
Community participation in agriculutral transformation is hurdled by several factors, especially in the developing countries like Pakistan. Let us discuss some of these factors with reference or the livestock value chain (LVC).
The main stakeholders of the LVC, the livestock and poultry farmers and butchers belong to poor socioeconomic background with little access to the state resources like policy making and funding opportunities. Their farming processing practices prevent their business setup from generating quality products and profitability. Above this, the price fixation policy call for lower prices, irrespective of the products quality. A good entrepeneur, struggling to make a place in the market through quality products, is discouraged by the irrationally low prices fixed by the district administrative authorities. Hence, the farmers and butchers raraly sustain their small scale operations and can not attract their growing kids to come into such businesses.
LVC is served by several public sector organizations like Livestock and Dairy Development Department KP Extension and Research Wings, taking care of extension and research needs of the livestock sector.
Livestock Markets and Slaughter Houses are being managed by Local Council Board, livestock education
is managed by Higher Education Department through various universities, Livestock Enterprises and Trade
are overseen by KP-LFWA, KPCCI and SMEDA; food quality by KP-FSHFA and price regulation by the district
administration. Fisheries have got their own Directorate General. Hence, 10 government/private organizations are taking care of a single livestock sector. All of these organizations work in total isolation without any mechanism for coordination or judicial access to the government resources. Hence, the issues of the livestock stakeholders across the livestock based food value chain remain ignored. This may not qualify to be called as a good governance model.
This Author, as Natinoal Consultant (Qureshi 2019, FAO KP Livestock Action Plan), was of the opinion that the private sector is suffering badly by the price regulating policies of the District Goverments. Price capping has restricted the growth of the dairy and meat industries. Young dairy and meat entrepreneurs providing high quality
products, are fined, punished and sealed by the district administration/. KP-Foof Safety and Halal Food Authority (KP-SHFA) while those selling low quality items keep on working.
Degree programs of three provincial universities have got non-accredited by the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council. Livestock Market and Slaughter Houses failed to attract attention of the Government. Private sector could not get appropriate patronage of the government to survive and contribute in economic growth of the province through generation of decent employment and exportable surpluses. Consumers could not get access to milk, meat and eggs of their desired quality. International opportunities like collaboration with Konya Technopark, Tukey could not be honored.
This Author suggested that Livestock Technopark Peshawar (LTP) may be established, initially as an LTP Task Force through an executive order of the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Later on, an Act of the Legislative
Assembly/Ordinance of Governor may be initiated. LTP will be an autonomous authority with full
regulatory, administrative, financial and legislative powers to protect all the stakeholders of the livestock
industry, and to engage all the relevant private and public sector organizations in the process. This would
create an enabling environment for the growth of the emerging entrepreneurs, through a coordinated
approach, targeted at generating decent employment and exportable surpluses. A balance approach
would provide a level playing field to all the stakeholders and ensure a private sector led growth as per
international standards. The Managing Board of Livestock Technopark Peshawar would comprise one
representative each of: i) DG LDD Ext; ii) DG LDD Res; iii) DG Fisheries; iv) Dean FAHVS UAP; v) Secretary
Local Council Board; vi) VC WUM; vii) KP-LFA; viii) Poultry Farmer; ix) Fish Farmer; x) Feed Processor; xi)
Dairy Processor; xii) Meat Processor; xiii) KPCCI; xiv) KP FSHFA and; xv) MPA.
Hi again,
Please find the attached submission included once again for your review for the “Empowering Marginalized Beekeepers in Upcountry Sri Lanka: A Pathway to Food System Sustainability”.
Thank you for your attention.
Best regards,
Dear Editor,
We are pleased to submit our contribution titled “Empowering Marginalized Beekeepers in Upcountry Sri Lanka: A Pathway to Food System Sustainability”. This piece details our community engagement efforts aimed at uplifting marginalized youth beekeepers through sustainable practices, enhancing their livelihoods, and promoting biodiversity in rural areas of Sri Lanka
Thank you for the opportunity to share our work. I look forward to your feedback.
Best regards, Hasitha and Shishanthi
Se adjunta documento conteniendo enlaces a documentos y videos referidos a la Convocatoria "Participación comunitaria para la transformación rural inclusiva y la igualdad de género"
Spanish and French translations see below
Dear Participants,
We are thrilled to welcome you to this call for submissions focused on community engagement for inclusive rural transformation and gender equality. We encourage you to share your valuable experiences, good practices, and lessons learned to contribute to this important initiative.
This call offers a unique opportunity to enrich the ongoing dialogue on how community-led collective action can help ensure that no one is left behind. We also invite you to share this call with your networks to help us reach a wide range of contributors.
Christiane and Andrea, our dedicated co-facilitators, will be with you throughout this discussion and are available to respond to any questions you may have.
We look forward to receiving your submissions and to engaging in an inspiring discussion that will foster learning and innovation in this critical area.
Wishing you all a fruitful and exciting conversation!
Warm regards,
Lauren Phillips, Deputy Director, and Adriano Campolina, Senior Policy Officer, FAO's Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division (ESP)
Spanish
Estimados y estimadas participantes,
Nos complace darles la bienvenida a esta convocatoria bajo el tema: “Participación Comunitaria para la Transformación Rural Inclusiva y la Igualdad de Género”.
Los invitamos a compartir sus experiencias, buenas prácticas y lecciones aprendidas para contribuir a esta importante iniciativa.
Esta convocatoria ofrece una oportunidad única para enriquecer el diálogo en curso sobre cómo la acción colectiva liderada por las comunidades rurales puede ayudar a asegurar que nadie se quede atrás. También los invitamos a compartir esta convocatoria con sus redes para alcanzar una amplia gama de participantes.
Christiane y Andrea, nuestras dedicadas cofacilitadoras, los acompañarán a lo largo de esta discusión y estarán disponibles para responder a cualquier pregunta que puedan tener.
Esperamos con entusiasmo recibir sus contribuciones y que puedan participar en una inspiradora discusión que fomente el aprendizaje y la innovación en este campo tan importante.
¡Les deseamos una conversación fructífera y emocionante!
Cordialmente,
Lauren Phillips, Directora Adjunta, y Adriano Campolina, Oficial superior de políticas, División de Transformación Rural e Igualdad de Género (ESP) de la FAO.
French
Chers participants et chères participantes,
Nous sommes ravis de vous accueillir ici pour cet appel à contributions axé sur « l'engagement communautaire pour la transformation rurale inclusive et l'égalité hommes-femmes ».
Nous vous encourageons à partager vos précieuses expériences, vos bonnes pratiques et les leçons apprises afin de contribuer à cette importante initiative.
Cet appel offre une occasion unique d'enrichir le dialogue en cours sur la manière dont l'action collective portée par les communautés rurales peut contribuer à ne laisser personne pour compte.
Nous vous invitons également à partager cet appel avec vos réseaux afin de nous aider à atteindre une grande diversité de contributeurs.
Christiane et Andrea, nos co-facilitatrices, seront à vos côtés tout au long de cette discussion et à votre disposition pour répondre à vos questions.
Nous sommes impatients de recevoir vos contributions et nous vous souhaitons une discussion stimulante qui favorisera l'apprentissage et l'innovation dans ce domaine essentiel.
Nous vous souhaitons à tous des échanges fructueux et passionnants !
Bien cordialement,
Lauren Phillips, Directrice adjointe, et Adriano Campolina, Fonctionnaire principal, FAO - Division de la transformation rurale et de l'égalité femmes-hommes (ESP)