Following on from my blog about the Power of Proactive Engagement, I thought I’d tell you a little more about an innovative community engagement case study by one of our clients, the Water Corporation.
The WA Water Corporation has begun work on its groundwater replenishment scheme. Groundwater replenishment is an innovative concept where treated wastewater is further treated to drinking water standards and recharged into groundwater supplies. The water can then be stored in the ground and taken out sometime later for further treatment and supply a drinking water system.
This project began as a trial in 2009 using a proactive engagement approach. The overall project has been a tremendous success, with support from the regulators, stakeholders and the community.
The aim of the communications strategy during the trial was to raise awareness and encourage community discussion about groundwater replenishment as a future water source. The trial successfully employed a “two-step” approach involving stakeholder and community engagement, with regular assessment and community feedback loops.
Consultation Manager was used from the beginning, continuing to this day, to manage community and stakeholder engagement.
Engagement approach
Engagement activities included:
- Stakeholder briefings across the health, environment, community and government sectors
- Community advisory panel
- Community events
- Establishment of a Visitor Centre, with tours to schools, community and technical audiences
- Community open days
- In-school program
- Social media
- Webpage
- Newsletters
- Reports, performance and annual
- Feedback through on-line forum, focus groups, community advisory panel, media monitoring, and surveys (annual community support, pre and post tours and email surveys.
Relevant Consultation Manager System features
Consultation Manager was used to track community and stakeholder engagement with an individual project set up for the Groundwater Replenishment Trial.
- Potential stakeholders were added to the database, invited to participate and subscriptions tracked using stakeholder groups and distribution lists
- A dedicated project team tracked its engagement with stakeholders and the community, with a community engagement officer ensuring all contacts were captured in CM and linked to the relevant stakeholder
- The Campaign Management feature was utilised to issue various communications, including use of the feature’s analytics to measure the effectiveness of each campaign
- Regular event statistics and consultation reports were run to monitor issues ongoing, with adjustments made to strategies and key messages.
If you would like any more information about community and stakeholder engagement, please do not hesitate to get in touch, john.steyntjes@consultationmanager.com.
Consultation Manager would like to extend our genuine gratitude to Water Corporation for providing the information included in this case study.
Learn how other organisations manage small and large scale engagement projects. Download the free information sheet for your industry.
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The Power of Proactive Engagement
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Spotlight on Consultation Manager’s: John Steyntjes
