Engaging communities in participation: Participation for what? For whom? By whom? And how?

This paper presents a theoretical frame and process that may be used to clarify purpose inherent in community engagement activities and strategies, and to evaluate progress against these criteria. Participation, empowerment and civic governance are themes of research and practice embraced by disciplines as diverse as health promotion, community psychology, community development and urban planning. Workshop participants were encouraged to reflect on their own practice in light of the theoretical models developed in these disciplines. In this way, the workshop helped promote understanding of the need – and opportunity – to develop interdisciplinary approaches to conceptualising, implementing and evaluating university-community engagement initiatives.