Costing statement: Community

engagement
Background
Community engagement refers to the process of getting communities involved
in decisions that affect them. It can include the planning, development and
management of services, as well as activities which aim to improve health or
reduce health inequalities.

Guidance recommendations
The NICE guidance on community engagement to improve health (NICE
public health guidance 9) provides 12 recommendations. These are based on
four important, interlocking themes: prerequisites for success (including policy
development); infrastructure (to support practice on the ground); approaches
(to support and increase levels of community engagement); and evaluation.
The recommendations present the ideal scenario for effective community
engagement.

• Prerequisites for successful community engagement (recommendations

1–5) cover the need for coordinated implementation of the relevant policy
initiatives; a commitment to long-term investment; openness to
organisational and cultural change; a willingness to share power; and the
development of trust and respect among all those involved (including
public sector organisations and community members).

• Infrastructure (recommendations 6–8) covers the provision of appropriate

training and development to help improve communications between the
local community and service providers and to attract more people to
community groups. (For example, by offering the opportunity to gain new
skills and potential employment in the health and social care sector.)
Partnerships (both between sectors and with the local community) and

Costing statement: Community engagement 1 of 4

 local input into area-based initiatives and regeneration activities are
essential to ensure community engagement activities are coordinated and
reflect the community’s views.

• Approaches to community engagement (recommendations 9–11) outline

how ‘agents of change’ and a range of other approaches can be used to
encourage local communities to become involved in health promotion
activities and area-based initiatives to address the wider social
determinants of health.

• Evaluation (recommendation 12) describes the type of evaluation

processes needed to increase understanding of how community
engagement and the different approaches used impact on health and
social outcomes.

Resource impact
Many public sector organisations already have strategies, policies and
procedures in place to support community engagement activities. These may
need auditing to ensure they comply with the recommendations. Where they
do not comply –or do not exist – then extra resources may be needed. It is
difficult to identify the exact costs involved; organisations will need to assess
what resources are needed to carry out each activity.

The following section describes some of the resource implications; in

particular, it identifies areas where there may be a significant financial impact.

Prerequisites for successful community engagement

Resources are required at national, regional and local level to ensure
community engagement activities (including area-based initiatives) can be
coordinated across and within departments. The geographical area covered,
the diversity of the communities involved and the content of the initiative will
all have an impact on planning and implementation costs.

The resources that may be required include: staff time, external professional
advice, research, consultation (with members of the local community), needs

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assessment and the use of focus groups and a range of other methods to
engage with and respond to the local community’s suggestions. The costs of
meeting, such as hiring of meeting venues and the provision of services such
as Braille and loop systems and crèche facilities, also need to be considered.
At provider and commissioning level, diversity training may also be needed, to
raise cultural awareness within the organisations involved.

Infrastructure
Effective delivery of community engagement activities requires a sound
organisational infrastructure. This includes the provision of appropriate
training and development for all those involved (including those working in the
public sector and members of the local community).

Training topics may include: business planning and financial management,

organisational change and development, participatory research and
evaluation. Training needs to be ongoing to ensure organisations and
individuals can meet the future needs of the community.

Local needs should be assessed by those involved in planning the activity.

Assessment should cover: the numbers of people involved, the level of
training they require and the potential costs involved in hiring venues,
equipment, trainers (internal or external) and the related administrative work.

Encouraging local people to be involved in area-based initiatives and the

development of joint working programmes will also have a cost impact, for
example, in terms of the time involved in consulting with a wide range of
groups to develop and implement the programme.

Approaches to community engagement

The guidance outlines how local ’agents of change’ could be recruited on a full
- or part-time basis to encourage communities to get involved in activities to
improve their health and to tackle the wider social determinants of health.
Those involved in planning and designing the activity should decide on the
type and number of people or groups needed. Community workshops to

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identify local needs and ensure a high level of participation in activities to
improve health and promote good health are also recommended.

The potential costs associated with these approaches may include: salaries,
child care, transport, venue hire, equipment, access provision for people with
special needs and coordinating costs.

Evaluation
The guidance states that before a community engagement activity is
introduced, the organisations involved should identify and agree evaluation
objectives in collaboration with members of the target community. Evaluation
costs will depend on the nature, size, aims and objectives of the activities
undertaken. Funding may be required for data collection, collation and
analysis systems, and dissemination of the evaluation results and staffing.

Savings and benefits

Where community engagement activities are already in place, ensuring that
they follow the guidance recommendations could make more effective use of
resources.

Different types and levels of community engagement may result in cost

savings indirectly through improved service delivery (that is, more appropriate
and accessible services and improved uptake of those services) leading to
better outcomes.

Conclusion
Some organisations may require additional funding to implement this
guidance; while others may need to evaluate existing resources invested in
community engagement. Recruiting ‘agents of change’ and delivering training
programmes will certainly have some cost implications where they are not
already in place. The financial impact will depend on local circumstances and
should be considered locally.

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