Helen J Sheil

This revised professional development manual is for facilitators (paid and unpaid), those on the front line of community engagement and management. The title Growing and learning in rural communities, reflects the source of motivation for my search to discover ways to engage across divisions created by stereo-typical myths and policies that enshrines benefits for some at the expense of communities and landscapes.The introduction to nine strategies that engage community members and decision makers in dialogue has proved to be a foundational resource for those tasked with reframing community and organisational relationships towards mutually beneficial partnerships. Each strategy is accompanied by underpinning theory followed by suggestions for implementation and examples of outcomes from community engagement programs. Participants share insights of how hearing the reality of diverse life experiences challenged, or affirmed, their own views and relationships. In regular use by universities and government departments involved in facilitating community engagement across sectors. The regional approach offers a human-scale understanding of the impact of global, national and regional policies on community relationships and the environment on which they depend. The stories record communities taking steps towards leading change, participating in planning towards mutually beneficail partnerships. The outcome is to transform relationships with agencies and organisations shifting experiences from despair to optimism.