System Engagement
The type and intensity of community involvement work at the outset of whole systems obesity work is hugely varied and heavily dependent on the local context, on the history of community engagement approaches in the area and the level of expertise and funding available. The ‘family’ of community engagement activities is one way of organising some of the many possible approaches and have been well-received by local authorities and partners. All communities have assets that can support health and wellbeing. Some of these assets will be well-known to professionals from the local authority and some will be new to them. Community asset mapping can help with facilitating this process.
Points to consider when asset mapping:
- it is an incremental process. New assets will emerge as work progresses
- it can be used as a tool to engage community members
- it is a potential way of engaging the ‘unusual suspects’ (those considered hard-to-reach), using simple creative and social research methods (see below)
PHE’s Strategic Health Asset Planning and Evaluation (SHAPE) tool is a free, online resource providing information on health, social care, education, transport and other physical assets. The tool is free (you need to register first) and can be accessed online at: https://shapeatlas.net.