What are the National Standards for Community Engagement and who are they for?
The National Standards for Community Engagement are good-practice principles designed to improve and guide the process of community engagement.
Community engagement is a way to build and sustain relationships between public services and community groups - as well as a way organisations like community groups, voluntary sector groups and the private sector can better involve people in what they do.
Download the National Standards.
The Seven Standards
About the Standards
They are clear principles that describe the main elements of effective community engagement. They provide detailed performance statements that everyone involved can use to achieve the highest quality results and the greatest impact.
The National Standards for Community Engagement are not designed to replace existing community engagement or participation frameworks. They are intended to act as a central benchmark and reference point for best practice. They are designed to reflect the developing policy relating to participation, engagement and community empowerment in Scotland.
The standards are helpful for:
Public sector bodies and elected representatives to help them plan how to involve communities in shaping local plans and services, identify who should be involved, and make sure that the community engagement process is fair and effective.
Third sector organisations and community groups to help them involve their members or the wider community in shaping the services they deliver, and to make sure that they accurately represent members' or communities' views in other decision-making processes.
The private and independent sector to help agencies and businesses to involve and work with the community in planning developments and designing services.
