Engaging Communities Better in Lebanon

As the previous programme director at Live Love Lebanon, Sara Saad made sure that the communities her organisation works with are actively involved in projects and focuses on making civil society work in Lebanon more participatory and inclusive.

Residents and Live Love Lebanon volunteer in initiatives to clean up and improve neighbourhood public space. Photo: Nahno volunteers

In Lebanon, local civil society organisations (CSOs) are often seen as the representatives of local communities, especially by international donors and coordination networks. But representation does not automatically mean inclusion. Limited participation strategies, tight budgets, rushed project planning, little familiarity with participation tools and deep-rooted socio-cultural barriers mean that people are often not truly involved in the projects that should benefit them.

Sara joined The Hague Academy’s Citizen Participation & Inclusive Governance course in 2023 to explore how organisations and governments can engage communities better, and how to bring those approaches into her own work.

Learning from inclusive approaches in practice

During the study visit to the Schilderswijk, a multicultural neighbourhood in The Hague, Sara saw how the municipality engages with marginalised and minority groups and builds trust.

“As an urban planner, the placemaking discussion resonated deeply with me. Witnessing first-hand the positive results of the municipality’s engagement showed me the transformative power of inclusive approaches in urban planning and design.”

The course also introduced her to social accountability: the responsibility of government officials to answer for their actions.

“This notion is absent in my own country. Learning about it broadened my perspective on governance and helped me envision the improvements we could achieve by introducing such practices in our context.”

Turning resistance into commitment

Back home, Sara made citizen participation a standard part of how CSOs design and carry out projects. Her action plan focused on closing the gap between representing communities and genuinely including them.

The idea initially met strong resistance. Colleagues feared that more participation would mean longer timelines, more complexity and bigger budgets, which are concerns that weigh heavily when funding is tight. Sara kept the conversation going, explaining the benefits and showing that participation tools can be adapted to fit limited time and resources.

“I highlighted how involving citizens could refine a project’s direction and objectives, so they are better aligned with the actual needs and expectations of the people we serve.”

Gradually, her colleagues came to see citizen engagement as a way to reduce risks, sharpen project goals and increase impact. As a result, Live Love Lebanon:

• adopted a Citizen Engagement Policy which is a framework for effective engagement;
• developed a Citizen Participation Handbook to guide staff in practice;
• designed a project on stronger citizen engagement under the 3RF (the Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework, a strategic partnership between the Government of Lebanon, civil society and the international community).

That project is now being implemented. Live Love Lebanon is setting up a neighbourhood committee so that residents can help shape a new public space project.