Public Engagement

Public engagement is premised on the belief that everyone has the right to be involved in decisions that will affect their lives. Governments and organizations around the world are increasingly engaging the communities they serve to inform the development of policies, programs and initiatives. Hearing from people with diverse lived experiences leads to more innovative ideas, better decisions, greater public support of outcomes and stronger democracies.

Public engagement can take many forms. Members of the public might share their perspectives individually through surveys or comments on a dedicated website, or they might join others in their community in conversations or other activities that allow them to share perspectives and work together to creatively problem-solve around an issue. In some cases, governments have designed permanent spaces through which citizens can share their voices, such as engagement websites, advisory councils, Citizens’ Assemblies, or child and youth parliaments.

At the SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, we are dedicated to building capacity of governments and citizens for continued public engagement and dialogue through our Initiatives and Consulting Services work. The Knowledge & Practice team at the Centre also builds this capacity by developing tools and resources on dialogue and public participation, consolidating knowledge from the field and sharing insights from our practice. Additionally, through our signature events, we recognize leaders in dialogue as they engage the public in conversation about society's most pressing issues.

Explore our resources below and find tools to support your work in public engagement.

Public Engagement Toolkit

This toolkit is designed to support high-quality public engagement by governments and institutions, and the implementation of Public Engagement Strategies.

At the core of the toolkit is a commitment to enacting a set of five principles for collaborative public engagement

Work in partnership with communities
Include participants reflecting the full diversity of interests and perspectives
Create conditions for actionable public judgment
Increase shared understanding
Commit to transparency about purposes, methods & outcomes

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