Evaluating the success of a hospital's community engagement process.

This case study outlines how an Ontario hospital initiated an intensive Citizens' Advisory Panel related to budget and service provision decisions. The article describes the community and management context, community engagement process, resulting recommendations, and board response. It article further identifies the process and findings of a concurrent independent evaluation and highlights important takeaways, such as the required time commitment, the need for skilled facilitators, and the value of transparent board decisions.