THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ALMANAC

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Sustaining Equitable Community Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, the social sector that engages with the community had to quickly pivot and adapt their strategies to minimize disruption. The Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health (a part of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene), a team that facilitates ongoing community engagement across East Harlem, reached out to TYTHE for strategic direction and capacity-building support. 

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OUR STRATEGY

The TYTHE team spent time researching and reflecting on the innovations seen across the field that allow facilitators to continue reaching people in a safe and inclusive way. These innovations inspired the team to create a database of strategies and ideas that sustain community engagement. In addition to research, the team facilitated workshops with members of the Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health to learn more about the challenges and needs of their community, one that was especially hard-hit by the impact of the pandemic. Inspired by the farmers’ almanac, this resource helps organizations plan for comprehensive and inclusive engagement that can be facilitated in-person, remotely, or through a hybrid combination of both.

In 2021, the Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health asked TYTHE to support a second version of the Community Engagement Almanac that updates the content and includes a more robust section on evaluation, a case study from the Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health, and translations of critical tools into Spanish to facilitate the utilization of the almanac by more diverse audiences. 

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THE OUTCOME

The Community Engagement Almanac

The Community Engagement Almanac serves the needs of community-based organizations across a variety of sectors to continue providing equitable and intentional engagement despite ever-changing community dynamics, programs, and services. The almanac incorporates tools and assessments to build team capacity, mini-guides that include checklists and planning tips, and a catalog of ideas that serves to inspire with different strategies and activities that boost participation, energy, and collaboration.  The latest version of the Community Engagement Almanac can be found here. 

The Community Engagement Almanac Webinar Series

To support organizations in distributing the Almanac’s resources, TYTHE created a series of webinars that introduce key components and concepts, and encourage the implementation of innovative practices. The webinars, feature interviews with community members from within the DOHMH’s Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health, TYTHEdesign, and the East Harlem community, best practices, and examples of what can be found in the tool. The webinars can be accessed here.

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Client: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Collaborators: Hillary Clark, Kristina Drury, Aliza Sarian and Claudie Mabry

Year: 2020-2022