Fostering Resident Voice and Influence

Summary

This report presents insights the Casey Foundation gained after more than a decade of working with residents to achieve better results during Making Connections, the Foundation’s signature community change effort of the 2000s. The report discusses the value of resident engagement and leadership, provides examples of activities and lessons learned and demonstrates the impact those activities had — and can have — in communities.

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Message From the Casey Foundation's Vice President of the Center for Community and Economic Opportunity
• Message From the Director of the Center for the Study of Social Policy
• Background & Purpose of This Report: Introduction
• Purpose of This Report
• The What and Why of Resident Engagement: What Is Resident Engagement?
• The Value of Resident Engagement
• The How of Resident Engagement and Leadership
• Getting Started: Seeding Resident Activities and Relationships
• Lessons Learned
• Deepening Capacity: Resident Engagement Activities Geared Toward Achieving Results
• Sustaining Successful Approaches
• The Impact of Resident Engagement and Leadership
• Conclusion

Key Takeaway

Sustaining Resident Leadership Means Shifting Power to the People

Resident engagement usually needs some clarification — what it is, what it contributes, how to finance it and what has been learned about meaningful rather than symbolic engagement. Ultimately, prioritizing resident leadership is about shifting influence and power to the people, and unless that is recognized and honored, the encouragement of resident voice tends to be superficial and results in resident frustration when nothing really changes.