Engaging Matters

Doug Borwick on vibrant arts and communities

Community Engagement Network

The Community Engagement Network exists to strengthen the quality of community engagement work in arts organizations and to foster understanding of and support for CE in the nonprofit arts industry.

We hope to create a space for practitioners and administrators to share ideas and learn from each other. To learn tactics and ideas that have worked best, foster collaboration between organizations, and influence organizational planning to include CE as core focus.

If you would like to join the Community Engagement Network to be sure to receive information about future opportunities, you may do so either through the Facebook group Become Indispensable or, for those who prefer to avoid Facebook, sign up via https://forms.gle/EovwM8YkeSYLbF4d7

Conversations

The Community Engagement Network hosts a Conversations series. These are opportunities for engagement professionals working in or planning to work in the nonprofit arts to discuss issues of interest. Information about past and upcoming Conversations is given below.

Next CONVERSATION:
Defining Community Engagement Success

April 24th, 2023, 1:00 pm (EST) via Zoom
How do you measure the effectiveness of your partnerships? How do you ‘define success’ in your community engagement work? There are as many answers to those questions as there are communities across this country, but Jason Holland will share a few tools he developed over many years of community engagement work that he found to be effective. Have data that will appease your board while fostering a quality relationship with a partner organization that goes beyond the numbers. Jason is the former VP of Community Engagement for Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Southern California and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts.

The conversation will be held via Zoom. Please register in advance:  https://boisestate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwrd-ygpjwtGdaNGh6T4J51esw0-RUXe7zV
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

PAST CONVERSATIONS

Community Engagement – Where do we stand? Where are we going?

January 30, 2023, 2:00 pm (EST) via Zoom

The past two and half years have been challenging for arts organizations and the communities they serve. Join the conversation with your community engagement colleagues in the arts (dance, music, theater, visual art, and literary) to discuss the status of community engagement and what are we planning for the future. This conversation is an opportunity to share with others how you and your organization have adapted and to learn what others have done.

Summary and Status of Research in Community Engaged Arts

The Community Engagement Network hosted a Conversation titled Summary and Status of Research in Community Engaged Arts on Friday, April 29 from Noon to 1:00 pm EDT. 

This Conversation, led by Kathleen Riemenschneider, was a presentation of research in community engaged arts followed by a Q&A and discussion. The presentation presented a review of the research literature on community engagement and the arts. It also discussed what type of research has been conducted and some of the challenges in conducting the research. Here is a link to a paper that summarizes the concepts in the research literature related to community engaged arts: https://tinyurl.com/mr3wxjah 

Kathleen Riemenschneider, Ed.D., has developed and managed arts education and community engagement programs for 25 years. She has completed the Community Engagement Trainer training with Doug Borwick and serves on the Community Engagement Network advisory board. Dr. Riemenschneider founded the Cincy Emerging Arts Leaders in 2006 and has served on boards of directors and committees for non-profit organizations. Dr. Riemenschneider has a Doctor of Education in Leadership Studies from Xavier University, a MA in Comparative Studies from the Ohio State University, and a BA in English from Indiana University.

2022 and the Future of Community Engagement

The Community Engagement Network hosted a Conversation titled 2022 and the Future of Community Engagement on Friday, February 11 from Noon to 1 pm EST.

With a turbulent 2021 behind us and continued (and growing) uncertainty ahead, what are the prospects for community engagement in the arts and in what ways can it support rebuilding and expansion efforts? Our next Conversation will focus on what members are experiencing in their own organizations and what hopes (and fears) they have about this work going forward.

Here are some potential questions for the discussion:

  • As a result of COVID-19’s impact over the last 18 months, is your organization more or less dedicated to community engagement work? Why?
  • What is the current status of community engagement work in your organization?
  • What examples of community engagement work (in your organization or in others) give you hope?

CONVERSATION: Can We Talk? II

The Community Engagement Network hosted a Conversation titled Can We Talk? on Friday, October 8 from Noon to 1:00 pm EDT. 

The focus was on small group (3-4 people) discussions.

One topic was The Future of the Community Engagement Network. This will be an opportunity to discuss what the CEN could and should (or should not) be.

For everyone else, as before, this was a chance to talk about successes and frustrations in community engagement work. (Think, as a shorthand, of a support group.) The small group breakout rooms for the latter were organized around length of experience in the field. 

CONVERSATION: Benchmarking Equity

The Community Engagement Network hosted Conversations on Friday, May 7 and Friday, June 4 at Noon EDT on the topic: Benchmarking Equity.

In the nonprofit arts industry, the pursuit and achievement of equity can no longer be a “concern” or an aspiration. Achieving it is an existential imperative. But how do we get beyond talk? One option is to establish concrete goals–benchmarks–for ourselves. Knowing what categories to include and how to set meaningful goals is a way to begin. The Community Engagement Network will host a Conversation to discuss the options. Clearly, such a discussion will be neither definitive nor final. It is only a beginning, but a beginning that must happen.

This discussion will not focus on setting benchmarks for specific organizations. Many (most?) are not ready for that. It will be about identifying generic parameters and timeframes that can be adopted/adapted when organizations are ready to begin the work seriously. 

Discussion Prompts [We will divide participants into groups to address as many of the following questions as possible. Each group will record its thoughts on a common document.]

  • What must be true for an arts organization to be ready to begin a process of establishing equity benchmarks? (When is it demonstrably not ready?)
  • How can internal stakeholders who already suffer from systemic inequity be protected in a goal-setting process?
  • Can benchmarking be an effective tool for pursuing equity?
  • If so,
    • What specific goals (with time frames, perhaps using percentages) should be set in the following categories?
      • Public Statement of Commitment (What should be included?)
      • Personnel [Staff, Board, Volunteers, Participants]
      • Training/Preparation (for DEI work)
      • Programming
      • Community Participation
    • What other categories should be included?
    • Should there be different goals for different size organizations? For different types of arts organizations?
  • What other questions should be addressed?

Background Reading

CONVERSATION: Build Back Better

The Community Engagement Network hosted a Conversation on April 2, Noon EDT: Build Back Better: Community Relationships, Equity, and Participatory Activities 

The pandemic has stopped us in our tracks, forcing closures and cutbacks while generating anxiety about the future. It has also presented, if we choose to take it, an opportunity for rethinking. April’s Community Engagement Network Conversation will consider three areas in which we could emerge from this crisis stronger and as more important players in the lives of our communities. We will divide into self-selected groups to discuss 

  • The potential and pursuit of deeper community relationships, 
  • Greater support of cultural and social equity, and 
  • The development of participatory activities in the arts.

Discussion Prompts (in each topic):

  • What is the history of this work in your organization (or experience in the arts)?
  • What is the potential that “doing it better” represents?
  • What are things arts organizations can and should do to improve in this area?
  • What are examples of good work being done in this?

Background Reading

CONVERSATION: Equity and Engagement

The Community Engagement hosted a Conversation on March 5, Noon EST: Equity and Engagement.

Participants in February’s Conversation requested that we have a session dealing with diversity, equity, and inclusion. This is a far bigger topic than can be handled in a single session and peer conversations are not the right forum for deep learning about these issues; but talking about them is important. Equity and engagement are (or should be) closely linked. In this Conversation we will discuss the relationship between engagement and equity, the importance of equity for the future of arts organizations, and the prospects for establishing benchmarks for DEI work.

Discussion prompts:

  • Why do you believe equity is a critical issue for arts  organizations?
  • What has your organization done to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion?
  • What are your frustrations about the arts industry’s (or your organization’s) DEI efforts?
  • What is the role of benchmarks in ensuring that arts organizations take substantive action in pursuing DEI?

Background reading:

CONVERSATION: Engagement on a Shoestring

The Community Engagement hosted a Conversation, titled Engagement on a Shoestring (Early “Funding” of CE) on February 5, Noon EST.

In the arts there are never enough resources (human or financial) to do “one more thing.” This is often used as an objection to community engagement. Fortunately, initial efforts in community engagement can and should be simple and inexpensive, focused primarily on changing habits of mind. Over time, as relationships develop and experience is gained, successful community engagement will attract sources of funding that would otherwise never be available to an arts organization.We will focus on what are rightly the “shoestring” stages. If time permits we will begin discussing the reality of expanded funding for engagement. (If not, we’ll do that another time.)

CONVERSATION: Can We Talk?

The Community Engagement Network hosted a Conversation, titled Can We Talk?, on Friday, December 4 from Noon to 1:00 pm EST. 

For those who participated in previous Conversations, we will have a single longer breakout room session devoted to discussing successes and/or frustrations in community engagement work. Think of this as a support group. We will organize the rooms around your experience in community engagement.

As an alternative, for anyone interested, there will be the opportunity to choose a discussion of “Engagement Essentials” (definitions and principles for effective engagement) led by Doug Borwick.

If you would like to participate in the Conversation, sign up using this link:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJctcOmurj0jGdztzh3RAoHBDk3qJZfDdJgY
Feel free to invite colleagues.

If you would like to join the Community Engagement Network to be sure to receive information about future opportunities, you may do so either through the Facebook group Become Indispensable
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/668362663522307) or,
for those who prefer to avoid Facebook, sign up via https://forms.gle/EovwM8YkeSYLbF4d7

Discussion Outline:
Housekeeping
Breakout Rooms

  • Intro
    • Brief intros–Name, Position/Organization (if applicable), physical location
    • Select group “reporter” for possible sharing with whole group [take notes via chat box or whiteboard]
  • Discussion: What successes and/or frustrations have you experienced in community engagement work?

Final Debrief

  • Reports from groups
  • Best “Aha!” discovery

CONVERSATION 2: Activating Your Organization 2

The Community Engagement Network hosted a Conversation on Friday, October 23 from 11:00 am to Noon EDT addressing the topic of making arts organizations more “engagement friendly.” (Discussion outline below.) This is a follow-up to the September 10 Conversation but participation in that is not necessary to join this discussion.

Discussion Outline
Steps: Preparation

  • Identify/organize change leaders
  • Develop approaches
    • Administrative staff
    • Artistic staff
    • Board

For those who did not participate in the first Conversation:

Context: Needs of the Field 

  • Sources of resistance 
    • Inertia
    • Misunderstanding/negative assumptions
    • Fear of “one more thing”
  • The case for engagement: Why Engage?
    • Existential imperatives
    • The path to indispensability

CONVERSATION 1: Activating Your Organization (September 10, 2020) focused on strategies for making arts organizations more “engagement friendly.”

  • Context: Needs of the Field
    • Sources of resistance
      • Inertia
      • Misunderstanding/negative assumptions
      • Fear of “one more thing”
    • The case for engagement: Why Engage?
      • Existential imperatives
      • The path to indispensability

  • Steps: Preparation
    • Identify/organize change leaders
    • Develop approaches
      • Administrative staff
      • Artistic staff
      • Board

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