Community Engagement Approach Recommended Core Competencies, Readings and External Resources

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Recommended Core Competencies for Community Engagement Approach
Recommended Readings and External Resources

Recommended Core Competencies for Community Engagement Approach

Excellent communication skills:
- Active/reflective listening skills
- Two-way communication, open ended questions
- Empathy - capacity to see things from other’s people’s perspective, and be understanding and consider their situation, and can read the community’s feelings, cultural norms and adjust as needed to suit situation
- Conversations for change: capacity to lead/facilitate discussions to solicit conversations for change and motivate and influence people to change using their own reflections, and good negotiator.
Training of Trainers / Understanding of application of adult learning theory for effective training: having the skill to make an intervention (training or community discussion) interactive using different methods/activities and using of participatory tools.
Understanding of COM-B and stages of change and appropriate strategies of engagement at each stage.
Animal Welfare: good understanding of animal welfare in terms of the five domains framework and their human behavioural equivalents.
Understanding of gender mainstreaming to promote gender equality, as well as intersectionality and implications on vulnerable groups and related implications for planning and implementing projects.

The following C4A tools and resources may be useful to supporting capacity building related to these core competencies:

Recommended readings and external resources that support this approach and the development of recommended core competencies are provided below.

Recommended C4A Readings

Animal Welfare and Communities Learning Module – recommended for gaining an understanding of concepts of the five domains of welfare and how this can be used in raising awareness with communities
Human Behaviour Change Learning Module - recommended for gaining an understanding of behaviour change theory and best practices, the stages of change, and their importance to facilitating behaviour change
Community Engagement and Development Learning Module - recommended for gaining an understanding of the difference between community engagement and community development, and understanding principles and best practices essential to effective community engagement
Extensive Societal Outreach and Campaigns Approach - recommended to complement the community development approach by supporting awareness raising to improve knowledge, change perceptions, and/or develop social norms on a broad scale to support adoption of desired behaviours and improved animal welfare.
Ethical Considerations for Working with Communities

Community Engagement