Community engagement in UK Aid Connect consortia: definitions and challenges

How is “community engagement” defined in consortia working and how have UK Aid Connect consortia continued to work with communities despite significant challenges?

Consortia tend to work with diverse communities who have been marginalised, often in complex and challenging contexts. The approaches consortia take towards “community engagement” are varied depending on who is involved and the context in which they are working in. There is no single definition of this engagement and multiple approaches can be used to meet the community’s context.

The impact of natural disasters and political and military coups have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and substantial funding cuts. Despite this, consortia and communities have found new methods of working together.

Through interviews with and research of UK Aid Connect consortia, we explore the various definitions and approaches to community engagement and examine how consortia have dealt with significant challenges in their work with diverse and marginalised communities.

This report has been produced as part of the Learning from Consortia programme.