Each strategy should be developed in close consultation with the identified gatekeepers. Because engagement is a long term process and not a one-shot venture, there need to be outcomes and benchmarks of progress to sustain the effort for both the organization and the individual target communities. At the meetings with the target communities, it is essential for the representatives of the organization listen skillfully to what they are being told. The responses made by the organization through its representatives need to address what the communities have said. The responses need to be framed in the language used by the communities with whom engagement is the hoped-for outcome.
Training is required to develop skills for engaging communities.
Representatives of an organization have to be very skillful listeners. They also have to be easily able to be open to possibilities and have a mind-set which values dialog with constituents as a process to overcome stumbling blocks. Perhaps using the School Improvement Plan as a vehicle would be a good idea. It already is a familiar requirement for school personnel. It is developed in collaboration with all of the stakeholders in the individual school community.