STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Sound infrastructure planning requires an ongoing commitment to engage communities throughout the decision making process. This improves the likelihood of meeting community needs and expectations, and reduces objections to development. Infrastructure Australia 2015
STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CREDENTIALS 2016
PPR is Australasia’s largest and most awarded communications agency. We specialise in connecting our clients with their stakeholders in ways that are relevant, meaningful and engaging. As “The Change Agency”, we partner with our clients to achieve and communicate change that makes a difference. We don’t settle for the status quo and neither do the organisations that partner with us. From residential land development to transport infrastructure, community initiatives to mining and resources operations, our aim is always to create the best possible outcome – for the project, the community, our client and stakeholders. Our starting point is the internationally recognised IAP2 spectrum of public participation – but rather than a one size fits all approach, we refine the model to reflect the needs of our clients and their stakeholders, recognising that no two communities are the same. And we employ a range of skills to bring stakeholders and communities into the conversation.
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The process is as important as the outcome for building trust
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STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CREDENTIALS 2016
OUR APPROACH These principles underpin our engagement activities:
Accessible – we maximise participation by ensuring there are lots of different ways for the community and stakeholders to contribute to the process
Meaningful – we identify upfront the negotiables and non-negotiables, and avoid over-promising and under-delivering
Transparent – we tell the truth, even if it is not the outcome that was hoped for, and we explain our reasons
Responsive – we are available and contactable, so that our clients’ stakeholders deal with a real person rather than receiving an automated, generic response
Timely – we engage early in a project life cycle to take advantage of stakeholders’ local knowledge and expertise during the development phase
Empathetic – we recognise the impacts that our clients’ projects can have, and we understand the concerns of communities and stakeholders
Accountable – we don’t hide behind bureaucracy, we document our conversations and we report back on our decision making process
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Great strategy is the foundation of great results. Effective planning is the pathway between the two.
OUR PROCESS Stakeholder engagement is a discipline that can be full of management speak, acronyms and academic theory. But hiding behind jargon is not our style. So here’s our process in a nutshell… At the start of a project, we ask lots – and lots – of questions. • What are we trying to achieve? • Who do we want to engage with and what is their level of awareness, interest or influence over our project? • Who will benefit from our project? • What are the major impacts of the project likely to be? • What level of engagement is appropriate? • How much influence can the community and other stakeholders have? • Are we consulting with them? • Involving them? • Collaborating with them? • Or empowering them? So many questions. But time invested at this stage is critical to the success of our engagement programs. Our strategies are comprehensive and achievable, with clearly defined objectives. We agree upfront the definition of ‘success’ – with our clients and with their stakeholders – and use robust evaluation mechanisms to measure how well we have met our objectives. Our aim is to ‘close the loop’ in everything we do - whether that is providing feedback to stakeholders about issues they have raised, or measuring our performance against agreed criteria. In this way we deliver engagement programs that are accountable – to our clients, to the community, and to stakeholders.
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STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CREDENTIALS 2016
Good communication is the cornerstone of effective engagement
Community and stakeholder engagement requires a broad range of skills including high level strategic counsel, rigorous record-keeping, written communication, group facilitation and mediation. PPR has a proven four-step process for developing, implementing and evaluating sound engagement strategies.
1: Understanding
2: Planning
Your project
What do we want to communicate?
Your business
With whom do we engage, and how?
Your stakeholders
When do we commence engagement?
Your obligations
Closing the Loop
4:
Evaluation
3: Delivery
Record keeping and evaluation tools
Detailed implementation schedule
Continuous improvement
Alignment with business objectives
Ongoing feedback shaping the strategy
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STEP 1
UNDERSTANDING We work hand-in-hand with our clients to agree objectives and measures of success. We also carefully assess our stakeholder audiences and obtain valuable insights into the communities in which they live and work.
Understanding our clients’ objectives: • Project scope definition • Risk assessment • Situation analysis
Understanding Understanding stakeholder aspirations and concerns: • Horizon scanning • Social impact assessment • Social impact management planning
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STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CREDENTIALS 2016
Understanding who we are engaging with: • Stakeholder identification • Stakeholder analysis • Community profiling
STEP 2
PLANNING Based on our understanding of client objectives and the stakeholder environment, we carefully assess the most effective way to reach those stakeholders, recognising that no two communities are the same. We work closely with clients to agree: • What we will communicate – the way we explain a proposal can be vital to its success • Who we are targeting – how far and wide do we need to go? • The tactics we employ to achieve maximum cut through, recognising that different social and demographic groups access their information and engage in different ways • The communication and engagement techniques available to maximise participation levels • The timing of our consultation program
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STEP 3
DELIVERY We often work as part of multi-disciplinary project teams, fulfilling the stakeholder engagement role and freeing up our clients to focus on their core business. Where clients have in-house capabilities to deliver engagement programs, we work alongside them in a support capacity, providing the tools and messaging to deliver successful outcomes. Our engagement delivery services include:
Engagement Management Open days Workshops Reference groups Surveys Briefings Doorknocks Familiarisation tours Events Information lines – set up and management
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Communications Services Social media strategy and management Media relations Advocacy Media training Speech writing Proposal writing Tender responses Digital and design
STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CREDENTIALS 2016
Tools Signage Newsletters Displays Infographics Presentations Websites Direct mail Fact sheets FAQs Advertorials
STEP 4
EVALUATION Evaluation is key to the success of any stakeholder or community engagement program. This starts with good record keeping. As part of the planning process, PPR develops the following tools, which can be tailored to support the roll out of the engagement program: \\ Stakeholder \\ Enquiry
Using the following evaluation model*, we provide ongoing feedback to clients and their stakeholders as the engagement program moves forward, enabling amendments to be made to the strategy, messaging or timetable as required.
contact databases
and complaints registers
\\ Stakeholder
contact trackers
\\ Commitments \\ Meeting
Measuring success
registers
minutes
Evaluation of community engagement approach INGREDIENT
Accessible Influential Deliberative
SCORE
+
-
+ Conforms with best practice
Local
-
+
Sustainable Resources Feedback
O
- No evidence to suggest conformation with best practice
+
O Neutral
Ingredient
Definition
Accessible
Sufficient information allowing participation and engagement established to reach all in the community.
Influential
Demonstrated devolved community influence in the decision making process.
Deliberative
Processes aimed to create open dialogue, reasoned discussion and establish mutual relationships.
Local
Process actively seeks local knowledge and expertise.
Sustainable
Requirement to assess the costs and benefits of social, economic and environmental factors.
Resources
Evidence of engagement undertaken at all stages of the process with adequate time, resources and skills.
Feedback
Process to respond to feedback and report back on outcomes.
* ‘The policy driving community engagement in public infrastructure planning’ Laura Stewart 2015
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WHY CHOOSE PPR?
Are you wondering why you would choose a communications agency for stakeholder engagement services? Don’t worry, it’s a question many people ask before they start working with us. The answer is simple. PPR is in the business of creating conversations to achieve specific outcomes. For some clients, we create conversations to encourage stakeholders to choose their product or service over a competitor’s. For others, we create conversations that put issues that are important to our clients on the agenda of decision-makers.
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STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CREDENTIALS 2016
And for our clients working with us in stakeholder engagement? We create conversations that help inform and shape projects to achieve the best possible outcomes. We do this using a variety of tools, for a broad cross section of industries and organisations, with a diverse range of stakeholders. So – what’s the difference between PR and stakeholder engagement? There are more similarities than differences, but the differences are significant ones.
\\ There
is a difference in emphasis – engagement is not about ‘selling’ a message, it’s about sharing information and inviting feedback.
\\ There
is a difference in objectives – the aim of engagement is not to persuade the community or stakeholders of the ‘rightness’ of your cause, it’s to enable them to actively participate in the process and create a balanced outcome for everyone.
\\ And
there is often a difference in tone of voice – the language of engagement is more inclusive and conversational, a dialogue not a monologue.
Both disciplines rely heavily on effective communication – and at PPR, communication is our core business.
We create conversations that help inform and shape projects to achieve the best possible outcomes.
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OUR WORK Sector:
Oil and Gas
Sector:
Property
Services:
Issues analysis Stakeholder mapping
Services:
Stakeholder mapping Community and stakeholder engagement Media relations Issues management
When one of the world’s leading suppliers of energy was assessing potential onshore and offshore LNG processing sites in Northern Australia, they commissioned PPR to undertake a detailed issues analysis and stakeholder mapping exercise for each potential location. This major piece of work provided the intelligence and understanding that was used to inform the development of a stakeholder engagement program to support the company’s business objectives.
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STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CREDENTIALS 2016
When the developer of a new marina and tourism precinct was required by the Environmental Protection Authority to undertake community consultation as part of securing environmental approval, PPR was commissioned to develop and implement a strategy covering key stakeholder, community and media engagement. Active opponents of the development were identified, monitored and steps put in place to neutralise negative messages. As part of the strategy, PPR operated an information line to give the public direct access to project updates. Following an exhaustive Public Environmental Review and subsequent appeals, the Environment Minister gave his conditional approval in June 2014.
Sector:
Construction
Sector:
Transport
Services:
Stakeholder engagement
Services:
Tender preparation Communications strategy Stakeholder engagement
The development of a new 60,000-capacity sports stadium within an urban environment required extensive consultation with local communities and other stakeholders. PPR was engaged to undertake stakeholder consultation and provide communications advice in relation to the preferred location for the stadium. A comprehensive stakeholder engagement campaign was developed and facilitated, with a supporting media relations program implemented concurrently to keep the broader community informed about the project’s progress.
Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, PPR researched and developed a winning tender for the sinking of a railway line within a busy urban environment. Following contract award, PPR developed the communications strategy for the project and managed all aspects of community and stakeholder engagement over a three year period. This included seconding a PPR staff member in-house, full time for two years.
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Sector:
Industry
Sector:
Local Government
Services:
Stakeholder engagement Media relations
Services:
Stakeholder engagement Media relations Social media
An amendment to existing legislation to strengthen the protection of an industrial area from encroaching residential development was due to be debated in State Parliament, but was attracting significant opposition from land developers. PPR was engaged to support local industry through the public comment period, by ensuring that key stakeholders were fully briefed about the proposed amendment, and motivated to make submissions in favour of the proposal prior to the matter being presented to Parliament. Stakeholders included local industry, local government, State and Federal MPs, industry bodies and local communities. At the close of the public comment period, the majority of submissions to State Government were supportive of the amendment to the legislation.
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STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CREDENTIALS 2016
Two local government authorities joined forces to secure $290 million in State and Federal funding for two major road projects, engaging PPR to run an intensive campaign to bring pressure to bear on Government Ministers. The trigger for the campaign was a by-election following the sudden passing of the local Federal Member. PPR hit the ground running with a four week campaign designed to educate the community about the issue and encourage them to make their views known to the State and Federal Governments. More than 20,000 emailed submissions reached Government Ministers on this issue. As a result, a $116 million commitment from the Federal Government, together with a $29 million funding pledge from the State Government has kickstarted the road building project.
Sector:
Infrastructure
Sector:
Mining
Services:
Stakeholder engagement Communications strategy
Services:
Community and stakeholder engagement Communications strategy Digital | Design
The design of a major freight route through dense urban areas and greenfield sites impacted a wide range of stakeholders, from the freight industry to local communities, property owners to commuters. PPR was engaged during the detailed concept design phase to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to work with stakeholder groups and communities of interest to define the ultimate concept for the route. This involved both high-level stakeholder engagement and grass-root community relations, to ensure the final concept had the broad support of impacted stakeholders.
PPR was engaged by an Australian-owned gold mining company to ensure accurate information was provided to a local community about a proposal to develop a new mining operation. The proposal was advertised for public comment for a four week period by the Local Government Authority. With just a few days’ notice, PPR developed briefing materials, FAQs and a ‘door knocking’ program to ensure the community and stakeholders were able to make informed submissions to the Council about the issue under consideration. The strategy included establishing a proposal-specific website with the ability to make submissions to Council directly from the site. The Council subsequently reported that the majority of the submissions received were supportive of the proposal.
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MEMBERSHIPS
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STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CREDENTIALS 2016
CONTACT US Louise Richardson Director Stakeholder and Community Engagement Louise.Richardson@ppr.com.au (08) 9388 0944 0401 810 541
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