Community Engagement Starter Kit™
Digital course and toolkit to help you engage with your local community with confidence
If you’re new to engaging with your local community and want guidance to help you understand what it involves, plan your approach, and communicate with confidence, the Community Engagement Starter Kit™ is the place to begin.
The Community Engagement Starter Kit gives you a clear understanding of what community engagement involves so you can start engaging with confidence
Starting to engage with your local community can feel like a big responsibility, especially when you’re new to it. You might be expected to communicate with local people, respond to concerns, or build relationships without fully understanding what that involves. It can leave you second-guessing your decisions, trying to piece things together on your own, and feeling unsure whether you’re doing the right things.
The Community Engagement Starter Kit was created to give you a way to build your approach step by step. It helps you understand what community engagement is, plan your activity in a manageable way, and feel more prepared to deal with different situations as they come up. You can start using it straight away and return to it whenever you need guidance.
Who the Community Engagement Starter Kit™ is for
The Community Engagement Starter Kit™ is for anyone looking for guidance on how to engage with the communities their organisation operates in. It’s designed for you if:
✅ You’re new to engaging with your local community and don’t know where to begin
✅ You’re unsure what a community engagement plan is or what it should include
✅ You’ve been asked to communicate with local residents and want to feel more prepared
✅ You want a method that helps you feel capable and in control
✅ You want to take a proactive approach to engagement rather than waiting for issues to arise
✅ You're looking for a toolkit you can return to as you develop your approach
What the Community Engagement Starter Kit™ helps you do
The Community Engagement Starter Kit™ guides you through the key elements of community engagement, so you can feel more prepared in your role. It will help you:
🟡 Plan your community engagement activity step by step
🟡 Communicate in a way that makes local people feel informed
🟡 Handle questions and concerns in a professional, measured way
🟡 Stay organised when new situations or requests come up
🟡 Build a plan you can use day to day and adapt as you learn
The Starter Kit walks you through each stage step by step, supporting you as you develop your plan and start engaging with your community. It’s a resource you can come back to whenever you need it.
What’s inside the Community Engagement Starter Kit™?
Step-by-step frameworks – A structured approach to designing and implementing a community engagement strategy that fits your business
Essential tools and templates – Practical worksheets to help you map stakeholders, collect feedback, plan communications, and track your progress
Guidance to build a long-term engagement plan – Create a structured approach to planning your activities throughout the year, with clear goals and regular checkpoints
UK-specific compliance and best practice – Understand the legal and regulatory considerations that apply to engaging with the community
Topics covered in the Community Engagement Starter Kit™
Introduction to community engagement
Why community engagement matters, what it involves, and how to approach it in a way that works for your business.
Developing a community engagement strategy
Set objectives, define your purpose, and align your engagement approach with business values and priorities.
Stakeholder mapping
Identify key stakeholders, understand their interests, and plan how to involve, inform, or respond to them effectively.
Creating a communications strategy
Develop clear, consistent communication plans to support your engagement activities and build trust.
Collecting and managing feedback
Establish feedback channels, respond to concerns, and use what you learn to shape future engagement.
Crisis management
Prepare for community-related challenges and know how to respond if something goes wrong.
Compliance and legal considerations
Understand your obligations under UK law and make sure your community engagement activities are responsible and compliant.
Producing your community engagement plan
Bring everything together into a structured, achievable plan that supports your long-term goals.
Employee volunteering
Design and support volunteering activities that benefit your team and the wider community.
Charitable donations and sponsorships
Manage donations in a consistent, transparent way that supports both your business and your local community.
Measuring success and continuous improvement
Set KPIs, track progress, and evaluate your engagement activity so you can review and improve year on year.
How to use the Community Engagement Starter Kit™
The Community Engagement Starter Kit is designed to be practical and flexible, so you can use it in a way that works for your business.
🔹 Work through the modules step by step to develop your community engagement strategy
🔹 Dip into individual sections whenever a new issue, opportunity, or challenge arises
🔹 Use the editable worksheets and templates online or print them out, whichever you prefer
Whether you're starting from scratch or building on work you’ve already done, the Starter Kit gives you the structure and tools to make community engagement part of how your business operates.
Start engaging with your local community today!
Frequently asked questions
Who is the Community Engagement Starter Kit designed for?
How is this different from free resources or articles on community engagement?
Will it take a lot of time to work through?
Do I need previous experience with community engagement?
Hi, I'm Emma Smith, founder of Nia Avanna.
I’ve spent over a decade working in external affairs and community engagement, helping businesses improve local relationships, reduce complaints, and address issues before they escalate.
Over time, I developed a way of working that helped me understand the needs of local people, communicate in a way that keeps people informed, and plan engagement activity in a way that aligns with both community needs and organisational goals. It’s this approach that sits at the heart of the Community Engagement Starter Kit.
I hope the Starter Kit helps you feel more prepared as you begin engaging with your local community, so you can get started with confidence.
