Beyond Inclusion: Equity in Public Engagement

Beyond Inclusion: Equity in Public Engagement proposes eight principles to support the meaningful and equitable inclusion of diverse voices in public engagement processes across sectors.

Inclusion is integral to ethical and effective public engagement. Hearing from people with diverse lived experiences leads to more innovative ideas, better decisions, and stronger democracies. However, many groups of people remain under-represented in engagement processes due to systemic barriers and inequities.

Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue developed the Beyond Inclusion guide through a participatory research and consultation process from 2019-2020 involving community members, engagement practitioners, and representatives from governments and civil society. While the Centre began with a framework of inclusion, participants emphasized the importance of equity - building reciprocal relationships and sharing power with communities to co-create accessible and meaningful engagement processes.

The guide includes strategies to help enact the eight principles and address barriers, suggested approaches to common challenges practitioners face, real-world case studies, and a list of further resources to support inclusive engagement.

Source: Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
Author information: Nicole Armos

Year of publication: 2020