Tips from the CHIA project community panel
- The information in this section is produced to encourage and support users to enhance and expand on current engagement practices. It is acknowledged that community engagement must be conducted as part of every planning process but that, in most instances, this could be expanded and maximised for greater project success and positive health impacts for communities.
- It is important to be mindful of managing the expectations of communities - which can be a key challenge for any project. This can be done by being very clear on what decisions (or aspects) of a project can be influenced, to what extent, and why, by communities. Transparency and honesty is key to this, and communities need access to appropriate knowledge and clear information in order to make informed decisions and develop rational opinions.
- It will be impossible to please everyone throughout the lifecycle of a project. Not all community members or organisations will be happy with developments however, regular continued communication and open and honest dialogue throughout the project will help with acceptance and support.
- When people understand (and where possible, are involved in) why decisions are made and actions taken, they are more likely to be supportive rather than challenging.
This includes situations that affect or delay projects, such as supply issues or changes to cost as a result of inflation. These are out with project management control but should be communicated when they arise as to allow the community to have an understanding or awareness of potential changes and consequences to any local development. - Where possible, include the project developers in discussions with the community involved before the project design and contractual obligations have been finalised. This would allow project developers the time to incorporate and plan the delivery of requests from the community.
- It is important that local people and groups feel that that those driving projects and developments are accessible and contactable to encourage and build positive and trusting relationships. This will also reduce challenges and discontent.
- Not everyone in the community will be interested in being engaged but it is important that opportunities are presented at every stage of a development to allow people the option to be more involved or informed.
- Try to keep people involved at all stages and take them on the journey with you - keep their contact details where appropriate in line with GDPR legislation and ensure you allow for touch points throughout the project lifecycle. Always look at ways to expand these lists in a manageable way.
- Always consider equalities in all operations, be mindful of demographics as well as barriers to engagement, identify and reduce barriers and ensure that the people involved are as representative as possible in both communities of place and interest.
- Evaluate demographics regularly and take steps to include audiences that are not currently represented, for example, young people (access through schools, youth groups, universities or colleges), ethnic minorities (access through schools, faith groups or interest groups etc), people with disabilities (access through local interest group and regional or national networks).
- Every local authority in Scotland will have their own internal guidelines or strategies for community engagement. Some of this will be mandatory, but it is worth considering whether this guidance contains any new or different ideas that could benefit your project. The best approach will vary by project, so it is useful to consider this guidance alongside the requirements of your local authority.
How do we do community engagement well?
The National Standards highlight that the way in which community engagement is undertaken is very important:
"Community engagement is supported by the key principles of fairness and equality, and a commitment to learning and continuous improvement. Good quality community engagement is:
- effective − in meeting the needs and expectations of all the people involved.
- efficient − by being well informed and properly planned; and
- fair − by giving people who may face additional barriers to getting involved an equal opportunity to participate."
Engagement will take place at the beginning of every infrastructure and capital investment project as is the legislative requirement for master planning, however the quality of engagement both at this stage and for the duration of the entire project lifecycle needs to be identified, considered and planned.
It is also important when planning engagement, to consider the appropriate level that is required for any given stage.
What methods are most suitable?
There are many different methods of community engagement - the most common types for each level are listed below:
There would however be scope within community benefit areas for people to be engaged in a more collaborative and empowering manner and having greater control over developments such as community grants and small financial investment schemes. Such additional engagement opportunities should always be considered, where possible, in a good community engagement process.
Identifying the most appropriate level of engagement necessary, will assist in identifying engagement methods that can be implemented.
When do we do it, what could community engagement look like in capital investment?
Time, commitment and adequate resources are required to facilitate community engagement well and ensure that suitable processes are planned and implemented effectively. Engagement is very rarely easy, however the benefits we see from a well-designed process should justify the resources invested.
To ensure best practice and high-quality processes are developed, community engagement activities should be considered and planned not only into the beginning (first phases) of a project but also throughout every stage of a project's lifecycle. Consideration should also be given to resourcing such activities with dedicated staff that have experience of engagement and oversight of all activities throughout the lifecycle.
While every project and associated phases and requirements will be different - key ideas for what engagement could look like at each stage are suggested in the table below:
Things to think about - design stage
Project Stage | Things to think about | Methods |
Design | Definition of local place issues: Begin the conversation with communities around the potential project under development as early as possible. Their input will enable overall plans to be developed that incorporate community opinion and needs from the beginning. This will strengthen project purpose, clarify vision and increase local support. Processes: Conduct desk-based community research and mapping at the very beginning of any planning process to identify existing local plans, current issues and key stakeholders for place and interest. From research, contact identified key stakeholders to assist with widening community reach and deepening engagement possibilities. Such stakeholders will include anchor organisations, interest groups, local networks and committees, community councils, community groups/associations, faith groups, schools, further education establishments and social connections, etc. Speak to local people, groups and organisations about:
Consider any existing community, place or action plans that are already in existence and how the planned project could integrate and compliment any previously identified activities/themes. Talk to people already involved with such plans. Equalities: try to get as broad a range of contributors as possible (and necessary) by applying national standards of community engagement at this point and throughout the project lifecycle. Additional Plans: consider developing plans for both engagement (including a communications element) and monitoring & evaluation practices for the duration of the project's lifecycle - these plans should be continuously updated from ongoing dialogue and action. Suitable recording procedures should also be implemented to record all engagement and evaluation activity throughout the project lifecycle including a confidential contact list for those involved in ongoing engagement.
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Design | Making the case for change: The Strategic Business case outline should be informed by previous engagement conducted at the master planning stage reflecting local opinions and issues and incorporating potential solutions and opportunities where appropriate. Communities at this stage could contribute to identifying potential sites for development, resources or amenities required to be included in such developments and any community benefit opportunities that would be desirable. Processes: Provide engagement opportunities for communities to: Ascertain what communities (and those affected by the development) think of any pre-concept plans or visions produced.
If engagement in the master planning stage identified key stakeholders in the community, consider setting up a small steering or reference group to enable more detailed discussions to take place around design elements going forward. Alternatively, this could also be achieved using appropriate existing structures (a local community board etc) Equalities: This is the time to build on developing relationships and ensure good communication channels are developed.
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Design | Establish Project Strategy: As designs start to be developed from the business case, this is the phase where communities can start to see a vision emerging and can actively contribute to:
Processes: Provide engagement opportunities for communities to:
Consider forming a lived experience or community panel for deeper discussions where you can explore ways to make options or designs more suitable for local people and take these discussions, suggestions, and comments into consideration in shaping design, format and/or delivery. Test any alterations to designs or changes with wider public. Should any panel be brought together - think about extending its role through all further design and delivery phases. This is the stage when a health and equity impact exercise might be undertaken. It is recommended that the CHIA screening workshop for this exercise includes community members.
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Design | Option Development and Preferred Option Design: Once concept is agreed and formally approved, communities can continue to be included and influence preliminary and detailed designs. Engagement can also be enhanced to augment community influence into the tender process for contractors. In these design phases, more information may be required to be gathered from communities that could influence more detailed designs. The aim of engagement at this point is therefore, to ascertain how to maximise suitability for users and/or local communities, identify if there are any gaps in design or design elements that could be adapted or revised to maximise benefits. Processes: To influence design and guide tender processes, provide engagement opportunities for communities to:
Continue to work with communities, groups and organisations to ascertain ways in which they wish to be further involved and ensure that communication avenues are clear, accessible and responsive.
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Things to think about - build stage
Project Stage | Things to think about | Methods |
Build | Procurement Approach Identified Project contractors will have a very visible presence within the local area and be accessible to local communities. Their operations will have a significant impact, especially within construction projects, and their engagement experience and practices will be important to maintaining and strengthening community relationships. The appointment of suitable contractors will therefore be a key component in the success of any capital investment project. Considerations should therefore be given to involving communities in the procurement process both in the creation of tenders to go out to public contract and in the awarding of contracts. Processes: Local communities can be engaged in procurement processes through:
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Build | Approved Design Delivered Moving towards physical activity, this design stage would see engagement with communities focussed more around information on project progression and development. Such engagement could include discussions around the dissemination of community benefits. Processes: During the construction phase, communities could be engaged in a number of ways including:
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Things to think about - operational stage
Project Stage | Things to think about | Methods |
Operate | Infrastructure Operation Moving to the operational phase of the project, this is where the quality of previous engagement can be monitored, especially where the project in question requires community use and support. Previous engagement within the construction phase should have already looked at potential future activities and usage and therefore in this phase, engagement moves more towards developing potential activities further, encouraging use and monitoring success to date. Processes: Provide engagement opportunities for communities to:
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Operate | Monitoring and Evaluating Delivery Monitoring and evaluation of engagement activities should be planned and integrated from the very first stage of project development (master planning) and continue throughout the whole planning and delivery lifecycle. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of all engagement activities allows for changes and alterations to be made to engagement practices which will maximise their success, impact and reach. In addition, where information is gathered and recorded continuously throughout the project development it then becomes easier to evidence progress and impact on completion. Processes: Opportunities for Monitoring and evaluation within engagement activities will include:
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