What is community engagement?

Posted by admin on March 25, 2008

The term ‘community engagement’ describes the process by which governments and industry involve civil society in their decision-making processes. Many forms of community engagement exist, ranging from advisory bodies, consultative forums, direct public participation in consensus decision-making, through to public meetings where the community is informed about a project or a decision.

Community engagement in chemical management is not just a ‘nice idea’, it is a right enshrined in the international Bahia Declaration on Chemical Safety, 2000. The Australian Government signed the Bahia Declaration, which acknowledges the community’s right to know:

“Communities have a right to participate meaningfully in decisions about chemical safety that affect them.”

NTN lobbies for community right to know, and our members participate in the assessment of applications for confidentiality of chemical information. To learn more about right to know read our report National Pollutant Inventory- Is it serving the communities right to know?

NTN members have participated in the following forums:

Stockholm Stakeholder Reference Group
National Industrial Chemical Notification & Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) Community Engagement Forum
National Industrial Chemical Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) Technical Advisory Group
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) Community Consultative Committee
NChEM Advisory Committee
Hazardous Waste Reference Group
NSW Gene Technology Expert Committee

Read more

Effective community engagement

Assessing a community engagement process

Community engagement principles

Community engagement protocol

Plan of action