Working with Institutional Stakeholders: Propositions for Alternative Approaches to Community Engagement

Jeffrey G. Cox, Minwoong Chung, Joseph A. Hamm, Adam Zwickle, Shannon M. Cruz and James W. Dearing
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Jeffrey G. Cox: Department of Communication Studies, Albion College, 611 East Porter Street, Albion, MI 49224, USA
Minwoong Chung: Department of Communication, Michigan State University, 404 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824-1212, USA
Joseph A. Hamm: School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, 665 Auditorium Road, East Lansing, MI 48824-1212, USA
Adam Zwickle: School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, 665 Auditorium Road, East Lansing, MI 48824-1212, USA
Shannon M. Cruz: Department of Communication Arts & Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
James W. Dearing: Department of Communication, Michigan State University, 404 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824-1212, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 20, 1-11

Abstract: Community engagement is a vital aspect of addressing environmental contamination and remediation. In the United States, the Superfund Research Program (SRP) forms groups of academic researchers from the social and physical sciences into Community Engagement Cores (CECs) and Research Translation Cores (RTCs), which focus on various aspects of informing and working with communities during and through the resolution of environmental crises. While this work typically involves engaging directly with members of affected communities, no two situations are the same. In some cases, alternative approaches to community engagement can be more appropriate for community improvement than traditional approaches. In particular, when research teams become involved in contamination crises at a late point in the process, their contributions can be better directed at supporting and reinforcing the work of institutional stakeholders charged with remediating pollution. Relevant factors include issue fatigue among a local population, and contamination that is due to a major employer. Supported by literature and experience, we offer several propositions that we believe lay out conditions that warrant such an approach by academic teams, rather than their direct engagement with unaffiliated individuals in communities.

Keywords: community engagement; environmental communication; contamination; institutional stakeholders; remediation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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