Ethical Community Engagement Framework

Ethical community engagement (ECE) is a framework to facilitate the meaningful inclusion of marginalised or disempowered groups in agricultural research-for-development.

Agriculture plays a key role in rural development, and the achievement of the sustainable development goals. However, processes of agricultural development can focus on ‘easy wins’ and inadvertently reinforce social inequality (between landowners and landless, or men and women, for example.)

Consisting of a set of principles and practices, the framework is designed to change the way researchers, government agencies and NGOs engage with communities, to ensure communities are empowered partners in a broader process of social change. It has relevance in contexts where different types of knowledge are required to support sustainable development and where there is a risk of power imbalances shaping and creating perverse outcomes.

We developed the framework in West Bengal and Bangladesh: https://siagi.org/about-siagi/

Read about the resource developed here: https://siagi.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/2019-09-siagi_rdi_ece-prinicples-and-practices_final.pdf

To find out more, contact: lucy.carter@csiro.au