Community Liaison Model: An Emerging Best Practice for Community Engagement at the Intersection of Climate and Public Health
Written by Julia Nassar, Clean Energy and Climate Planner II, and Sharon Ron, Senior Public Health and Regional Planner
June 27, 2023 - Meaningful climate action requires meaningful, community-driven engagement. Community engagement can build local awareness of climate and sustainability action, inform climate action goals, and build local resilience. Community-driven engagement centers the communities impacted first and worst by climate change and empowers them to define the challenges they face and the solutions they prefer. Community-driven engagement is most meaningful when it comes from the community itself, in a "by the community, for the community" approach. The Community Liaison Model is one emerging engagement approach where residents lead localized engagement with their family, friends, and neighbors.
There are many forms of community engagement, with varying degrees of difficulty and public impact. Figure 1 below outlines the Continuum of Community Engagement:
This blog post explores several types of municipal-led community liaison programs, featuring local and national examples, with a focus on climate readiness. The liaison types described below include one-way liaisons, two-way liaisons, and project liaisons.
- One-Way Liaisons: Distributing Information.
The one-way liaison model is used to disseminate information or resources to the community, or “Inform” in the Community Engagement Continuum. It is named "one-way" because the information or resources only flow from the local government to the community via the liaisons, i.e., liaisons are not collecting input back from the community. For example, the Phoenix Office of Heat Response and Mitigation in Arizona operates the "We're Cool" program, where volunteers target heat vulnerable populations, like the unhoused population, to share information on heat stress and available cooling resources, such as the nearest cooling center, and to distribute resources like cold water bottles and fans. This program has become an essential aspect of Phoenix's heat response. Although one-way models do not collect input from the community at large, they should co-develop resources and outreach plans with the community liaisons. - Two-Way Liaisons: Consulting the Community Gathering Community Input.
The two-way liaison model, on the other hand, seeks to both distribute information and collect feedback from the public. This model can represent either “Consult,” “Involve,” or “Collaborate” in the Community Engagement Continuum. For example, in the MetroWest Climate Equity project, a cohort of Community Climate Liaisons co-designed a survey and conversation guide on climate resilience and local climate action. Liaisons organized and led conversations with their networks on these topics. Climate conversations raised awareness about the threat posed by climate change, defined the impacts residents were most concerned about, and developed recommendations for local climate action. A cohort of liaisons continue to work with municipal sustainability and planning staff on the implementation of the identified action steps. - Project-Based Liaisons: Empowering Liaisons via a Community Action Project.
Project-based liaisons are empowered to create a local project in their neighborhood to help engage the community and advance the municipality's climate and sustainability goals, i.e., “Empower” in the Community Engagement Continuum. For example, the City of Somerville's Climate Forward Ambassadors program seeks to educate residents about climate change, giving them tools and guidance to engage their community via a climate action project. The City also provides project guidelines, such as how to incorporate principles of equity and environmental justice into the projects. Sample projects include: a template for a household climate action plan; heat preparedness conversations and training for home health aides; a climate change literacy survey; and a family-oriented bike safety event, among others.
Multiple Model Liaison Programs
Some liaison programs can encompass multiple model types. For example, the Cambridge Community Corps (C3) is a network of paid ambassadors coordinated by the Cambridge Department of Public Health that follows both the One-Way and Two-Way Liaison models. Initially established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, C3 was created to facilitate the distribution of COVID tests, testing information, vaccination details, and other related resources. Over time, C3 has gained recognition as a valuable group with strong ties to the Cambridge community and, as a result, their role has expanded to support other City efforts, such as gathering input for the City’s Participatory Budgeting. Now, C3 members are undergoing training on climate readiness topics (e.g., climate justice, extreme heat vulnerability, etc.) to support the City in achieving its climate and social resilience goals.
No matter the type, successful community liaison models are grounded in equity. This is reflected in everything from recruitment to training. Municipalities should provide all new community liaisons with workshops on climate justice, compensate their liaisons fairly, and recruit a racially and culturally diverse set of liaisons, targeting outreach to prominent language groups in the community and the members of their community who will be impacted first and worst by climate change. Lessons learned from liaison program managers highlight the importance of offering climate and community engagement training to empower the liaisons and build their confidence.
Community liaison programs are emerging as a powerful tool to enhance community engagement and offer opportunities to meaningfully involve a broader range of voices. By leveraging the local expertise, passion, and dedication of community liaisons, municipalities are better able to plan for and take local action to enhance local climate resilience. For resources, case studies, and additional information, visit MAPC’s Community Engagement Hub.