Ideas

Communities are strongest when people see themselves as part of something larger and interconnected—a truth repeatedly affirmed by research and history at the heart of meaningful social change. Community Science’s Strength of Community framework calls us to expand traditional boundaries so more people can see themselves as part of a wider, interconnected whole. This kind of inclusive, expansive community is not just about being together—it’s about acting together. When people feel genuinely connected, they are more likely to support one another, collaborate across differences, and improve local conditions—socially, culturally, economically, and politically.

What Creates Sense of Community?
Drawing from McMillan and Chavis (1982), a strong sense of community rests on four pillars:

1. Feeling included in a group in both small moments and collective identity (belonging)
2. Believing one’s voice counts and actions can make a difference to the group (agency)
3. Trusting that the group can meet their needs and the needs of others (mutual support)
4. Sharing an emotional connection, built through shared history and experiences (collective identity)

While it can be easier to form community among people who seem similar, true strength emerges when we look beyond surface-level similarities. Authentic community must be cultivated—through conversations, relationship-building, working toward common goals, celebrating wins, navigating setbacks, and growing together. This is how communities not only endure but transform.

Why Diversity and Equity Efforts Weren’t Enough
Over a decade ago, institutions across philanthropy, nonprofits, and government pushed for greater diversity. That work mattered—and still does. Later, with heightened awareness of injustice, came new equity and justice commitments focused on correcting systemic exclusion. These efforts were well-intentioned and necessary. But in hindsight, we see more clearly why they fell short: we skipped a critical step—strengthening community.

We focused on who was in the room (diversity) and how they were treated (equity), but not on how people relate to one another, build trust, develop shared purpose, and work together. What was missing?

• The muscle to identify real commonalities, not just assumed ones
• The ability to bridge across differences, not just sit beside them
• The conditions for sharing struggles and aspirations
• The practice of collective action, especially when power is uneven

Without these elements, our efforts were fragmented. Strengthening community gives diversity and equity the connective tissue they need to become transformative.

What Weakens Community—and How to Rebuild It

1. Stop Everyday Interactions That Divide Instead of Connect

We’ve all seen it:

• Someone shares a personal story; we respond with an opinion [active listening].
• Someone cites data; we counter with an anecdote [evidence vs. narrative].
• Someone asks a question; we reply with certainty [intellectual humility].

These habits seem small, but they undermine curiosity and relationship-building. Multiplied across people, groups, institutions, and systems, they create a culture where we stop listening and stop learning.

What to do: Notice these patterns in yourself and others. Interrupt them. Replace certainty with curiosity. Ask questions. Make space for understanding (even when you disagree).

2. Mistaking Extremes for the Majority [public perception bias]

Research shows that only 10 to 15% of people sit at the extremes of most issues. The vast majority—70 to 80%—are open to new perspectives and want to find common ground. Yet our public discourse rewards outrage over nuance and certainty over dialogue. The result? We act like everyone is an extremist, even when most people aren’t. And in doing so, we miss opportunities to build community where it matters most.

What to do: Stay open. Ask why someone believes what they do. If they’re among the reachable majority, keep the conversation going. That’s how change—and connection—happens. If they’re not among the majority, let it go.

3. Public Shaming That Shuts Down Growth

Accountability is vital. But public shaming often shuts down curiosity and risk-taking. People retreat into their in-groups, and the potential for bridging vanishes.

What to do: When harm occurs, address it—respectfully and privately when possible. Invite reflection instead of humiliation. Strengthening community means creating space for learning, not just correction.

4. Overemphasis on Group Differences Instead of Shared Impact

Pointing to disparities between groups is essential to highlight inequity. But if we only emphasize who is worse off, we risk reinforcing division and perpetuating a “hierarchy of oppression” mindset.

What to do: Focus conversations on shared impacts and common aspirations. Facilitate dialogue about how disparities affect all communities and what the future looks like when equity is realized for everyone.

Rebuilding Our Capacity to Strengthen Community
The truth is, people want progress. But we’ve grown out of practice with the skills that make progress possible—especially in today’s noisy, distracted, social-media-dominated, polarized environment. To rebuild strong communities, we must rebuild our capacity to engage with each other. That means stopping the four practices mentioned above and instead exercising these habits that allow connection, collaboration, and collective action to thrive—both at the individual level and, when these habits extend beyond interpersonal behavior, at the organizational and institutional levels:

1. Curiosity & inquiry – Ask before assuming (and systematic inquiry to move it from interpersonal to institutional practices)
2. Critical thinking – Challenge your own conclusions [and use findings from research and evaluation studies to support evidence-based reasoning to support change strategies at the organizational and institutional levels]
3. Lived expertise – Treat experience as data, not anecdote (and leverage community knowledge as an essential, legitimate data source)
4. Evidence use – Seek what the research actually says (and facilitate and support data-informed decision-making)
5. Intentionality – Know when to emphasize commonality or difference (and design and implement a strategic communications plan from the start)
6. Iteration – Test, learn, and adapt (and create frequent feedback loops to discuss what was learned and what needs to stay or change)
7. Deep listening – Not just waiting to talk (and create spaces for active listening, not token input)
8. Respectful disagreement – Critique ideas, not people (and be transparent about decision-making responsibilities and power)

These aren’t just professional skills. They are best practices and building blocks for fostering sense of community that continuously expands to create wider, interconnected wholes —and they can be re-learned.

Final Thought: Strengthening Community is the Strategy
If we want diversity and equity efforts to go beyond representation and fairness—if we want real, lasting transformation—then we must commit to strengthening community as the foundation. That means investing in the relationships and practices that turn groups of people into communities to have collective impact. The work of strengthening community is far from soft—it is the hardest, most essential work of all. It demands time, patience, and an acceptance that progress is rarely linear. Breakthroughs and setbacks can happen all at once. And because people are complex and ever-evolving, this work requires perseverance, empathy, and resolve.

For funders, advocates, elected officials, nonprofit leaders, researchers, and all others invested in building stronger, more equitable communities: we don’t have to start from scratch. We have decades of place-based research, evaluation, and lived history to learn from and build upon.