Tools and tips to assist the development industry in undertaking best practice engagement. Explores the relationship between marketing, branding and engagement.

1. Marketing your Project
Social Planning and Community
Engagement
Kylie Fergusen

2. What will you learn more about?
How to use community engagement and
feedback in planning and designing
property developments
Methods of market research
How to design and manage a community
engagement plan
Benefits and risks in community
engagement

3. Video
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chXsLtHqfdM

4. WHY ENGAGE?

5. WHY ENGAGE?

6. WHY ENGAGE?
• To inform people who are affected by a development
• To receive ideas (the feedback might help you come up with a
better solution)
• To better understand your market/future profitability
• To assist your branding
• To present a positive image
• To facilitate smooth development assessment process
• To facilitate positive media coverage
• To generate interest and natural inquisitiveness

7. OTHER OFTEN UNINTENTIONAL BENEFITS
OF ENGAGEMENT
Build
knowledge
amongst the
community
Generate
enthusiasm,
optimism,
value, resilience
Ownership
of
outcomes
= MINIMISING PROJECT RISK

8. What is your Engagement Objective?
Inform
Consult
Involve
Collaborate
Empower
Increasing level of influence on
decision making
You are
mostly
operating
here
IAP2 Engagement Spectrum

9. A myriad of tools and techniques
depending on the engagement objective
INFORM
Flyers
Brochures
Postcards
Door to door volunteers
Surveys
Fact Sheets
Posters
Hotlines
News, Radio
Social Media

10. Flyers
Open Houses and
Presentations
CONSULT
INFORM

11. Engagement with youth
INVOLVE
CONSULT
INFORM

12. Design Charettes
Small Group
Workshops
CONSULT
COLLABORATE

13. EMPOWER

14. BEST PRACTICE ENGAGEMENT REQUIRES
MANY ELEMENTS
Time
$
How
adults/youth
learn
We don’t always have every element available
to us. Tailor the skills to the engagement
objective
Psychology
of human
behaviour
Body
language
Applied
statistics
Synthesizer
Motivational Active
Listening
Social Media
Graphic
Design
Facilitation

15. We all understand, learn and get interested in
different ways. Tailor the skills to the engagement objective

16. Practical Tips + Tools for Engagement in the
Development Industry
• Ways not to ask a question (particularly for flyers,
surveys, in workshops or small meetings)
• What background information should you always have?
• Why and how to write an engagement plan

17. 1. Be clear – use
plain English
• http://blog.thoughtstream.ca/universal-design-for-community-
engagement/
Describe the target demographic profile
you believe would be most likely to
benefit from the affordable housing
criteria established in the Masterplan .
What kinds of residents are mostly likely
to buy the affordable housing?

18. Gunning Fog Index
• assesses the readability of
text
• broadly based on an
assessment of the number
of syllables
• developed in the 1940’s to
help make newspapers
more readable.
• http://gunning-fog-index.
com/

19. 2. Dig Deeper – ask for rationale, understand the
emotion (but understand the risks of this)
Which option to you prefer
a) or b)
What is it about solution a) or
b) that makes it a better
option from your perspective?

20. 3. Be specific –
generic questions
anticipate too much
knowledge and might
result in generic
answers
Do you have any comments about the
proposed subdivision?
The proposed subdivision will result in
14% open space, located along the
creek and in neighbourhood park.
What do you think of this?

21. 4. Be spatial – relate to specific, known locations
How do you feel about medium to
high density living?
How do you feel about 4 storey
apartments being located around the
shopping precinct on Smith Road?

22. 4. Motivate involvement – use an active voice, be
personable, acknowledge emotion
How might we better manage the conflict
between the local school and nearby
residents?
What ideas do you have to reduce the
levels of frustration and anxiety that local
residents feel when their carparking is
taken by school staff and parents?

23. 5. Be honest and transparent, show respect and
integrity – be open that (eg) change is inevitable
What are the issues about the development
of large new supermarkets
What ideas do you have about ensuring the
character is maintained and the local retailers
continue to have viable and flourishing
businesses in the main street once
Woolworths is built?

24. 6. Provide Context – decisions
don’t take place in a vacuum.
What do you think about increased numbers and
heights of dwellings near the bus station?
The State Government 30 Year Plan has
determined that areas around bus stations should
encourage increased housing density. The local
council must generally support this state
government directive. Given this, how could we
best provide increased numbers of housing near
the McFerdie Bus Station?

25. Community Engagement Plan
Do you need one?
• Depends on both the size and complexity of the engagement activities
• Depends on the “risk” of what can go wrong if engagement is poorly planned
and executed
• You might need to consider other engagement plans (eg:
http://saplan.org.au/better_together
• You should confirm the commitments made in the plan
• If there are future owners or operators, they should be made aware of these
commitments so that the commitments survive in perpetuity unless
renegotiated with community and stakeholders.
• Ensure that all colleagues involved in the project - employees, contractors
and sub contractors
• The plan need to be flexible

26. Community Engagement Plan
Step 1 – Know why you are engaging
Jim Gerkin, Walking and Talking

27. Community Engagement Plan
Step 2 – Know who your stakeholders are
“Never go into an important conversation
unprepared…always be aware of the pre-existing
mood, the vibe, the experiences, the
expectations, and be prepared with well justified
and rigorous engagement tools that will withstand
scrutiny”

28. Questions to ask yourself about the community
1 How will they be impacted?
2 Do they perceive these impacts as positive or negative?
3 What is your role in facilitating measures to mitigate the negative?
4
Whose cooperation, expertise or influence would be helpful to the
success of your project and what is the stakeholder’s relationship with
this person?
5
Whose opposition could be detrimental to your project’s success - and
what is your relationship with them?
7
Who will make decisions about key aspects of your project and what is
the stakeholder’s relationship with this person/organisation?

29. Community Engagement Plan
Step 3 – Decide what engagement activities you should
use
What are the
available skills and
capabilities?
Do your staff feel comfortable undertaking the engagement
activities?
Will they need additional specialist assistance?
Who can they get further info and advice from?
What are the risks
of things going
wrong?
If things do go wrong, what might be the ramifications?
Are there impacts on timelines or budgets?
What are the political implications?
Is the risk worth taking?
What are the
available
resources?
What kind of lead time do you have?

30. Community Engagement Plan
Printed materials – fact sheets, newsletters, brochures,
letters, information sheets etc
TECHNIQUE IDEAS
WHAT CAN GO
RIGHT
WHAT CAN GO WRONG
KISS: “Keep It Short and Simple”
Make it visually interesting but
avoid a slick sales look
Include a postage-paid comment
form to encourage two-way
communication and to expand
mailing list
Be sure to explain people’s role and how their
comments will influence project decisions. Q&A
format works well
Can reach large
numbers of
people
Often are reported as not
reaching households
Information needs to be kept
up
to date

31. Community Engagement Plan
Print Advertisements - newspaper, newsletter etc
TECHNIQUE IDEAS WHAT CAN GO RIGHT WHAT CAN GO WRONG
Figure out the best days and
best sections of the paper to
reach intended audience
Avoid rarely read notice
sections – contact local people
to find out what sections of the
paper are read.
Ensure the advertisement is
large/visual enough to be
noticed
Potentially reaches broad public
Good way of promoting a simple
message such as the times of an open
day or public meeting
Can reach large target audience
Encourages written responses if
comment form enclosed
Expensive, especially in
urban areas
Only limited amount of
information to be shared
Only as good as the mailing
list/
distribution network
Limited capability to
communicate
complicated concepts
No guarantee materials will
be read

32. Community Engagement Plan
Surveys, questionnaires
TECHNIQUE IDEAS WHAT CAN GO RIGHT WHAT CAN GO WRONG
Do you need statistically
valid results before making
investment
Survey/questionnaire should be
professionally developed
Very helpful to get a clear
picture of what aspects of a
project people like and don’t
like – useful insights into
atttitudes
Good for individuals
who would be unlikely to
attend meetings
Provides input from cross-section
of public, not just
activists
Statistically valid results are
more persuasive with political
bodies and the general public
Response rate is generally
low
For statistically valid results,
can be labour intensive and
expensive
Level of detail received may
be limited if too many closed
answer questions
Poor survey design with too
many open ended questions
is very time consuming to
analyse and surveys can
become a a”whinge fest”

33. Community Engagement Plan
One to one interviews
TECHNIQUE IDEAS WHAT CAN GO RIGHT WHAT CAN GO WRONG
Where feasible, interviews
should be conducted by the same
person
Alternatively ensure each
interviewer is following a similar
line of questions and discussions
and presenting the same information
Provides opportunity for in-depth
information exchange in non
threatening
forum
Provides opportunity to
obtain
feedback from all
stakeholders
Scheduling multiple
interviews
can be time consuming
Often required in evenings
and on weekends –
potential for staff “burnout”

34. Community Engagement Plan
Open House
TECHNIQUE WHAT CAN GO RIGHT WHAT CAN GO WRONG
Someone should explain format at the
door
Have each participant fill out a
comment sheet to document their
participation
Be prepared for a crowd all at once —
develop a meeting contingency plan
Encourage people to draw on maps to
actively participate
Set up stations so that several people
(6-10) can view at once
Can invite local groups to be a part of
the event
Ability to draw on other team
members to answer difficult
questions
Less likely to receive media
Builds credibility and
opportunities for relationship
building
Can cover a wide range of
information in an engaging
way (pictures as well as
through conversations)
Difficult to document public
input
Agitators may stage
themselves at each display
More staff intensive than a
meeting
Quite costly

35. Community Engagement Plan
“Kitchen Table” Meeting
TECHNIQUE IDEAS
WHAT CAN GO
RIGHT
WHAT CAN GO
WRONG
Small meetings
with one or
several key
residents within
an impacted
neighbourhood
and usually at a
person’s
home
Make sure staff are very
relaxed, polite and
appreciative
Relaxed setting at a
convenient time is conducive
to
effective dialogue
Given the relative feeling of
intimacy in someone’s home,
always ask if it is ok first to
document (scribe) information
Maximises two-way
communication
Builds relationships
People feel more
comfortable and
often able to more
easily articulate their
thoughts
Can be costly and
labour intensive

36. Generalised Content of an Engagement Plan
CONTENT EXAMPLE
Objectives We wish to inform directly affected landowners about the new development
and how construction might affect them. In particular we will inform them
about:
 What the development will look like
 When is construction proposed to start?
 How long it will last for?
 How it might impact on them?
Principles  We will keep you regularly informed
 We will be open and transparent in our communications
Negotiables
+ Non
Negotiables
 We will negotiate on how we manage the impacts of construction (noise,
dust)
 We will not negotiate on any aspect of the new development
 We will not negotiate on the timing of construction
Stakeholders  Residents and businesses located within 1 km of the development
 Land owners as well as tenants
Activities  Typically there will be a range of tools/activities listed (such as a flyer
distributed to all households within a certain geographical location, an
article in the local newspaper and a public information session)
 Each activity will have its own timeline, responsibility and resourcing
requirements

37. How to use community feedback in planning and
designing property developments

38. Phase 1 Pre planning
Desktop market research,
prelim costings, zoning,
government palatability
Phase 2 Design
Master and concept
plans, detailed design
Phase 3 Construct
Phase 4 Ongoing
Ongoing management,
sales
Surveys
One to one meetings with
government agencies
Flyers
Design Workshops
One to one landowner
meetings
Community meetings
Letters to affected
landowners
Open House
Community Events
Community Committees
PROFILING AND MARKETING
You have learnt about future wants and needs of
your market, deficiencies and strengths you can
build upon
DESIGN, MARKETING
You are informed about what community and
government might/might not tolerate
DESIGN, CHARACTER, LAYOUT
You have received ideas to input into your
design/project
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
You have received clues about local community
leaders, champion agitators, motivators
ONGOING MARKETING, RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
You have developed a positive and ongoing,
mutually respectful relationship with stakeholders

39. Summary
• Minimise risk and maximise
market knowledge and
branding opportunities
• Engagement objectives
vary from informing,
involving, collaborating
through to empowering.
• Most engagement in the
property industry will
achieve informing and
involving
• Engagement activity should
match engagement
objective
• Don’t under estimate the
resources, lead times and
skill required to undertake
best practice engagement