COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Winning ‘Hearts and Minds’
Winning over both the Community and Stakeholders is no easy feat – Daniel O’Mahoney offers some well practiced advice
I had a conversation recently with a civil engineer and I told him how impressed I was with his very bold plans for the design of a tunnel.
He responded by saying that he had never been involved in a construction project that could not be completed. He added the biggest concern with all such projects was not the physical build – but the unpredictable and sometimes vociferous response that came from the public and key stakeholder groups.
The impact of poor stakeholder engagement can be judged in two ways. Firstly, the likely impact on the scheme in terms of delay. Secondly, the damage to the reputation and image of the companies involved.
Community-based pressure groups set up over fears that a major construction project will have an impact on the quality of life of those living closest to it have, in the past, influenced many a planning application.
The good news is that by dedicating resource, time and by good planning it is more than possible to ensure the project receives planning permission and moves forward as smoothly as possible.
Today, stakeholder or community engagement is often stipulated by the planning authorities and other regulators as being a major responsibility for the sponsors of large projects – and wind energy developments can often fall into that category.
With a major project, the range of stakeholders could be very large, some will be more important than others, but they all have the potential to cause damage. By way of example, they include Government Ministers, MPs, the media (both national and regional), residents and community and environmental groups. The strategy needed to win the ‘hearts and minds’ of key stakeholder groups has to be planned at the earliest possible stage and like all good business practice, needs to be based around a Plan.
THE KEY TO IT ALL IS COMMUNICATION.
There are two elements to this. First, active communication which includes
• the identification of key stakeholders • understanding their concerns • understanding how they want to be communicated with
• setting up regular lines of communication – one-to-one, panels, online
• Ensuring that all questions and concerns are answered – no matter what they are.
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www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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