Do local governments need to rethink community engagement strategies to meet the evolving expectations and behaviours of the UK's public?

Despite common media portrayals, communities in the UK are becoming increasingly culturally and racially integrated. This is evidenced by the 2021 census, which places people of mixed race as the fastest-growing racial group in Britain.

These shifts in the status quo have led to the continuous emergence of micro-communities, where diverse groups bond over shared passions, beliefs, experiences and practices.

When speaking with public sector organisations and charities across the country, at Intent* we frequently hear the same feedback: there is a growing sense of public distrust and disengagement, while limited resources make it challenging to connect with such varied groups through a single campaign.

Could the answer lie in lessons from the consumer sector?

Traditionally, there has been resistance to adopting consumer-driven insights within the public and charity sector. This hesitation often manifests in the challenges marketers face when transitioning to the public sphere, as differing backgrounds and approaches can lead to misaligned views on societal trends and public attitudes.

Our experience suggests that effective public engagement lies somewhere in between. While on-the-ground events and hyper-localised outreach have their place, we often see these efforts engaging the same community leaders and members repeatedly, limiting the reach and impact of campaigns.

When working with the UK’s largest environmental NGO, the RSPB, our goal was to connect the organisation with racially and ethnically underrepresented communities, create pathways to access nature, and recruit trainees to a specific programme. Instead of following traditional local engagement methods, we focused on micro-communities with a passion for the outdoors.

We partnered with UK-wide outdoor-focused CICs (Community Interest Companies) like Muslim Hikers and Black Girls Hike to engage underserved and urban communities effectively. By tapping into these networks and communication channels, we geo-targeted Muslim communities with an interest in nature, ensuring our message resonated through trusted, relatable voices. Messages delivered by trusted community members land more effectively and have a greater impact.

Increasingly, we see a higher return on investment when our clients partner with us, rather than investing in small-scale events or traditional market research firms that may lack cultural insight into the communities they seek to reach and rely on numbers to gauge success versus the impact on the ideology behind people’s decision making.

Empowering micro-communities to convey your message builds trust and lasting connections. This approach not only reaches target audiences more effectively but also creates messaging that is compelling, engaging, and memorable.

Intent is a dual-representation agency reimagining the traditional community engagement model and building the UK’s largest network of community-driven SMEs and CICs. We understand the pressures and goals of our clients. By partnering with ENGOs, local governments, and brands, we help establish long-lasting networks of micro-communities at a local level.

Ryan Cooper Henniker, Managing Director, Intent*