Stakeholder and Community Engagement

At WSP, we know that successful projects are underpinned by effective engagement with our clients and the communities they serve. Through collaboration with the full spectrum of diverse stakeholders and audiences, we contribute to the creation of a better future for our cities, regions, communities and environment.

Multi-sector experience

Our engagement team has a wealth of experience in developing bespoke strategies to engage and communicate with our clients’ target audiences.

By involving stakeholders and communities to shape proposals in a planned and effective way, we can reduce social and reputational risk, minimize project delays and maximize stakeholder support. With well-designed engagement and communication at the front-end continuing throughout the mandate, we deliver successful, innovative projects for clients across a full range of sectors and business lines.

The proof of our engagement and communication expertise is in the award-winning projects we have delivered for more than 30 years. These projects s include resilient property developments, precincts and cities; major transportation and infrastructure projects; power generation and transmission solutions; and diverse initiatives and community projects for all levels of government and not-for profit organizations.

The power of co-creation

The evidence shows that the most positive impacts of projects on communities are achieved when stakeholders are part of the process from the start – from engagement around the policy through all stages of the project life cycle, from concept to delivery to decommissioning.

We enable different stakeholders to help shape projects at the outset, so that our clients can make informed decisions based on the best available evidence and insight. Using a research-led approach with our trained professionals in certifications such as IAP2, we take time to understand the unique requirements of each client and the context of their project, as well as identify the needs and concerns of the key stakeholders and communities of interest. This enables us to position our clients’ projects and initiatives in strategic, inclusive and visually engaging ways to enable delivery.

Effective engagement reduces project risks, creating opportunities for both improved efficiencies in project delivery, and, importantly, better solutions for the affected communities.

Our approach involves:

Strategy: we develop research led, bespoke engagement plans designed for the local social, economic and technical context.
Engagement: we provide clear and concise information to enable stakeholders to form their views, while reducing potential objections.
Communications: we bring projects to life using the best and most appropriate strategies, tactics, tools and channels. We translate technical information into accessible and “fit-for-audience" insight to compel attention and attract the right level of participation at the right time, place and form.

Diverse capabilities

We bring the best of WSP’s diverse capabilities to our clients across the project lifecycle, from strategy through to delivery. We integrate our wide-ranging services across strategic advice, policy, infrastructure, environment and sustainability with our expertise in digital and traditional communication techniques and program and project management skills, in order to deliver innovative, smart, practical and strategic solutions.

In addition, we draw on our global technical expertise across the buildings, transportation, environment, industrial and energy sectors to address any aspect of a project, whether this means mitigating impact on the environment, promoting biodiversity or developing accessible transport plans.

In this way, we support the delivery of projects that are resilient, future-ready, supporting stakeholder buy-in and acceptance, creating the best outcomes for our clients and collaborating with stakeholders to help shape their communities.

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