Early engagement with iwi and hapū, communities and stakeholders, invariably paves the way for successful project outcomes. Understanding the views of others early in a project, helps to highlight issues and provide early consideration of alternatives and can increase acceptance of the solution. Information sharing and collaboration with communities can unlock a wealth of local knowledge and provide enriched project outcomes. Ultimately, engagement supports community buy-in for robust decision making and community ownership of outcomes.
WSP’s engagement specialists pride themselves on building trusted relationships. Our team undertake engagement using best practice and adhering to the values and code of ethics of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2). Our broad experience includes developing and implementing sound Engagement Strategies and Communication Plans, programme planning, project implementation, and engagement during construction. We tailor our methods to the needs of the project, the people, and the place. We can deploy a range of ‘on the ground’ engagement tools, and have extensive experience with community drop-in sessions, pop up events, facilitated workshops, one on one meetings and interviews, questionnaires and surveys, and digital engagement.
Our community engagement specialists are supported by our dedicated iwi and hapū engagement specialists, property consultants and by WSP’s Research Team, which includes behavioural and social scientists specialising in social research, impact assessments and the provision of a range of digital engagement tools. Through a collaborative approach with our clients, we can enhance project outcomes and create a better future together through valuable and effective engagement and public participation.
We provide comprehensive engagement planning and implementation to ensure the feedback that is provided is valuable in achieving improved project outcomes. Our engagement specialists are adept at leading engagement specific projects, as well as slotting into a multi-disciplinary team as part of a wider project. We work across the full spectrum of physical and social infrastructure projects, including transport, water, land development, planning, environmental and social projects.
Our specialist services include:
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Engagement planning and delivery
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Stakeholder management plans
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Communication plans and management
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Iwi and hapū engagement
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Preparation of engagement materials (e.g. flyers, booklets, media articles)
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Survey design, implementation and analysis
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Consultation analysis and reporting
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Facilitation services e.g., public open days, workshops
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Digital engagement and online tools, including map-based surveys
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Technical support services
