Introduction/background: Worldwide, civic engagement initiatives concerning serious illness, caregiving, and bereavement are gaining momentum, as a result of the increasing interest in communities addressing challenges around these topics. In Flanders too, a diverse range of civic engagement initiatives are being developed, among which two research-initiated neighbourhood initiatives in municipalities in Herzele and Sint-Kruis (Flanders, Belgium). Most of the existing civic engagement initiatives around serious illness, death and loss have not been evaluated thoroughly, though this would generate important knowledge about community development on these topics. Aim: To offer insights into the facilitators and barriers in the development process of neighbourhood civic engagement initiatives in two municipalities in Flanders (Belgium), e.g., the municipality context of development, stakeholder engagement, complexity and compatibility of developed initiatives. Methods: To study the development process of the initiatives, we performed observations (n=159) of all meetings between stakeholders, interviews and focus groups (n=72) with the different stakeholders, and a document analysis of all the relevant written materials (n=32). The results were iteratively analysed using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Results: The studied civic engagement initiatives were both initiated by the municipality, which facilitated the co-creative process with formal and informal stakeholders in the neighbourhood. We identified a lack of leadership engagement to formulate and support clear goals for the project, as a barrier. These goals and interests should be compatible with existing municipality projects and with the interests and needs of the people in the neighbourhoods. Non-compatibility decreases stakeholder engagement since stakeholders do not wish to conduct new initiatives but want to strengthen the topics of illness, death and loss in their regular activities. A challenge is to not just include ...