Community Engagement: Volunteerism or Remuneration?

It is not volunteerism that we need. Not even social responsibility.

What we need is community engagement and tangible benefits for each and every party involved. Only then can a project prosper in the long term, long after the unique champions who push them are gone.

Find tangible, identifiable and relevant benefits for the community and its members, make them aware of those benefits and make sure they enjoy them right away and you are on the right track.

This benefits can not be vague generic statements as "a more informed community, increased governance, increased visibility and voice for the community". Although they are valid benefits, they are note perceived as tangible or do not have a significant impact in the lives of community members in the short term.

Some Tangible Immediate Benefits communities can appreciate and process and be motivated by include:

• Lower costs for the expenses of community members (food, production resources, etc.): through aggregated purchases, better negotiated terms, etc.
• Lower communication costs for long distance calls.
• Higher prices for sales made by community members: Increased negotiation power, aggregated sales, access to market prices, access to larger or more diverse markets.
• Training, certificates and diplomas that can help them apply for better jobs.
• Direct participation in policy strategies and implementation.

If I volunteer to work in the community telecenter, what will I get out of it? Social recognition and self-satisfaction may not be enough in the long term for financially pressured citizens.

Mechanisms of in-kind payments have been quite successful in many telecenters experiences, such as: free game or internet access time, waive of the registration fee for courses, etc. to those who volunteer to provide assistance to other users, train others, develop content, etc.