Chapter 4: Engagement Principles
Principle Three – Embracing Adaptive Engagement
Principle Three – Embracing Adaptive Engagement
At its most basic, Adaptive Engagement refers to the expectation that engagement initiatives adhere to evidence-based process goals, working principles, and attributes (many of which we outlined throughout the Guidebook) – while remaining, to the maximum extent possible and responsive to local priorities, needs, conditions and circumstances.
As we all know, the circumstances, priorities, issues, people, organizations, regulations, politics, and history (to name but a few) all vary from community to community. It’s within these contexts that engagement initiatives must operate and be maximally responsive if they are to be successful. It is also important to remember that these conditions are dynamic.Â
The range of conditions and priorities your initiative may encounter include physical changes on the ground (e.g., a new issue emerges that the group hadn’t anticipated such as an irrigation tunnel collapse or new regulatory issue that requires immediate attention), changes in the group’s thinking about priorities, additional information that has emerged, or a new funding opportunity that the group now wants to pursue.Â
While external or internal changes will occur that affect your group’s direction and priorities, you are best able to approach these new developments, to the maximum extent possible, through the evidence-based methods we have highlighted throughout the Guidebook.Â
Whether or not you chose to use the structure and functions of the process model we have developed, adopting an adaptive engagement approach – an approach grounded in the foundational goals, strategies and principles of effective engagement while remaining maximally responsive to conditions on the ground – provides your engagement initiative with the best opportunity to succeed. For a more detailed discussion of these internal and external relationships see both Chapter 3 and Chapter 6.
Adaptive Engagement in the Water 4 Ag Project
Experiences from our project provide a look at how adaptive engagement played out in two of our sites:
At one site, the collapse of an irrigation tunnel meant that the previous priorities the local leadership committee had established took precedent over, at least for the time being, previous priorities and plan because it presented a more immediate circumstance to which the group felt compelled to respond.
In a second example, a new data set that had previously not been available provided a much clearer picture of some of the issues the group had been discussing, forcing the group to revise its conclusions and priorities for addressing the problem.
In both cases, however, these groups undertook addressing these new circumstances consistent with the evidence-based approaches outlined here – allowing them to be as strategic and purposeful as possible.
Tools & worksheets
Trust Building Worksheet
The purpose of this worksheet is to help you explore some of the ways your initiative can position itself to make the most of its opportunities to foster trust among participants and between conveners and participants.
Additional resources
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