Community Engagement
At Compass Consulting Services, LLC we find the definition of Community Engagement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 1997 to be an accurate foundation for our efforts to adequately engage communities and specifically BIPOC communities. The CDC defines community engagement as “Working collaboratively with and through groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues affecting their well-being’.
We strive to effectively engage the desired target population through helping to establish clear goals for the engagement that supports a win/win relationship between the client and the desired community or communities. The win /win relationship is then achieved through the use of collaborative planning and culturally and community-relevant engagement activities including interviews, focus groups, surveys, or community events. At Compass, we value the use of culturally relevant approaches in our work because we fully acknowledge the historical impact of systemic racism on BIPOC communities in this country.
Compass provides services to help clients understand their target community and to develop effective engagement plans. In addition, we provide the necessary people power to get out in the community and meet people where they are. We use technological platforms and other effective community-specific approaches to increase participation from the target population.