What is Community Engineering?
- Includus Admin
- Aug 26, 2025
- 3 min read
Designing Systems Where Everyone Thrives
By Bacilia Angel, Founder & President, IncludUs
We don’t just hope for change. We engineer it.
At IncludUs, we use the term community engineering to describe something radical, yet rooted: a disciplined process of designing equitable systems with and for communities — especially those who have historically been excluded from power, resources, and recognition.
But what does that actually mean?
Let’s break it down.
Community Engineering = Systemic Change from the Inside Out
Community engineering isn’t a metaphor. It’s a strategy. It combines:
Design thinking
Liberatory practice
Data and narrative power
Local wisdom
…all structured toward building solutions that shift systems, not just symptoms.
We ask:
What would housing, education, wellness, or civic engagement look like if they were built by and for the communities most affected?
Then, we engineer the infrastructure to make that vision real.
Why Traditional Solutions Fall Short
Too often, well-meaning institutions deploy “programs” in underserved communities without local leadership, cultural trust, or long-term accountability. These efforts might produce temporary services, but rarely produce systemic change.
That’s where community engineering comes in.
We center those closest to the problem — not just in consultation, but in ownership. We build the tools, pathways, data, and storytelling needed to:
Translate community vision into institutional language
Design policies that reflect lived experience
Scale local success without losing soul
Our job is not to lead from above — it’s to build alongside those who’ve already been leading on the ground.
How We Practice It at IncludUs
From mobile mental health clinics to cultural festivals that reached over 10M new people in 2024, every IncludUs initiative follows this blueprint:
Problem Solving: Continuous improvement in equity, healing, infrastructure—rooted in community wisdom and pursuit of systemic belonging.
Community-Led Design: We co-create with local organizers, artists, and residents.
Cultural Narrative: We integrate storytelling — with artists and trusted storytellers — that affirms identity and fuels belonging.
Strategic Infrastructure: We support fiscal tools, digital hubs, legal scaffolding, and evaluation frameworks. We connect grassroots work to policy, media, and investment for lasting impact.
Philosophy: Guiding principle that every decision and process serves justice, dignity, and agency.
This is how we’ve launched national efforts like:
Grita Canta Vota: a civic engagement campaign that uses music and culture to activate Latino voters and shift civic power.
Pertenecemos: a citizenship and belonging campaign using music to mobilize.
Susie’s House of Healing: a mental wellness network centering women of color.
El Verde Es Vida: an environmental justice campaign led by rural Latino voices.
This Isn’t Charity. It’s Engineering Power.
We don’t believe in fixing broken people. We believe in fixing broken systems.
Community engineering is a call to reimagine power — not as something to hoard, but something to build and share.
We are not consultants. We are co-designers. We are not service providers. We are system shapers. We are engineers — of equity, of belonging, of a better tomorrow.
What system would you redesign if you could? Tell me below — or message me. Let’s build it.
If this vision moves you, reach out. We’re always looking for mission-aligned champions.
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Engineering for a Better Tomorrow is written by Bacilia Angel , founder of IncludUs — a national nonprofit building the systems equity needs by supporting bold, community-led ideas.
We turn vision into action across health, education, economy, environment, civic life, and leadership — because inclusion shouldn’t be a trend. It should be the infrastructure.
Want to partner, collaborate, or support the work? Reach out: bacilia@includusfund.org Follow: @includusfund | LinkedIn
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