Community engagement refers to the process by which community benefit organizations and individuals build ongoing, permanent relationships for the purpose of applying a collective vision for the benefit of a community. Community engagement is a type of public participation that involves people in problem-solving or decision-making processes. It is a multifaceted, ongoing process. The importance of engaging the community is grounded in the belief that the public has a right to participate. The public health community believes that by using our "collective intelligence" and working together, we will more accurately identify problems and develop more elegant and effective solutions. It is also believed that conflict will be minimized if people have had a chance to "buy into" the process.