Leadership and engagement of all community groups is a fundamental value of the CRD’s mission. When community members lead their own process to transform and promote community and economic prosperity, the work is owned by the community, and new leadership is developed. CRD provides resources and opportunities to build any needed capacity to do this effectively.

Leadership is a broad talent in community members that comes in different shapes and forms and works to achieve different objectives, goals, and outcomes. Community members may need the opportunity to discover and/or strengthen it. CRD leadership development can be both a catalyst and a supporter of this process.

In the context of CRD, leadership development, and engagement go hand-in-hand. Transforming communities to build on existing strengths, address needs and promote prosperity must be built by and for all community members, which include groups of different ages, backgrounds, ethnicity, religions, orientations and identities, disabilities, long-term health conditions, and education levels. CRD provides a platform for outreach and engagement of all audiences.