An important area of primary research undertaken when embarking on any large scale project entails engaging or consulting with relevant and interested parties. Public engagement is the broadest term used to describe the increasingly necessary process that companies, organizations, and governments must undertake to achieve a “social licence to operate.” Engagement can range from simply informing the public about plans for a project, to engaging in more consultative practices like getting input and feedback from various groups, and even to empowering key community members in the final decision-making process. If you have been asked to complete a survey or provide feedback on a design or proposed project, then you have likely been part of a public engagement campaign.

For projects that generate social, economic, and environmental impacts, engagement and consultation is an increasingly critical part of the planning and development stages. Creating an understanding of how projects will affect a wide variety of people, organizations, and the environment is beneficial for both the company instigating the project and those who will be affected by it. Listening to feedback and concerns — especially from those with “lived experience” — can be helpful in identifying and mitigating risks that could otherwise slow down or even derail a project. For impacted parties, the consultation process creates an opportunity to both stay informed and be heard. They can inform the company about local contexts that may not be obvious to those from outside the community, raise issues and concerns, and help shape the objectives and outcomes of the project.

Who should be consulted?

When determining who you need to engage with, consider who (or what) will be impacted by the project, and who has the potential to impact or influence project decisions and implementation.

Consider using the Four I Framework (shown in Figure 5.6.1) for engagement and consultation:

“Relevant parties” include individuals and groups who have the power to influence the project (decision makers, people with political or economic power), those who are invested (financially or otherwise), those who might simply be interested in the project, and those who will likely be impacted by the project, either positively or negatively. They can be internal – people from within the company or organization (owners, managers, employees, shareholders, volunteers, interns, students, etc.) – and external, such as community members or groups, investors, suppliers, consumers, policy makers, etc. Increasingly, arguments are being made for considering non-human parties such as wildlife and the natural environment as well.^[1]

Historically, the term “stakeholder” has been used as a catch-all term to refer to any individual or group who may have a direct or indirect “stake” in the project. However, in the Canadian context, this term has come to be seem as problematic, especially in Indigenous contexts. Here is an explanation for why from the BC Government website on Terminology in Indigenous Content:

When engaging in projects, it is becoming increasingly important to engage and consult with a wide variety of relevant and interested parties, and this often includes Indigenous communities and organizations. Therefore, it’s wise to consider alternatives to the word “stakeholder” that you might use in various contexts to more precisely determine who should be consulted and what kind of engagement is needed.

Engaging and consulting with relevant parties can contribute significantly to the decision-making and problem-solving processes. People most affected by the problem and most directly impacted by its effects can help you to

• understand the context, issues, and potential impacts more fully
• determine your focus, scope, and objectives for solutions
• establish whether further research is needed into the problem.

People who are also attempting to solve the same or similar problem can help you

• refine, refocus, and prioritize solution ideas
• define necessary steps to achieving them
• implement solutions, provide key data, resources, etc.

There are also people who could help solve the problem, but lack awareness of the problem or their potential role to influence outcomes. Consultation processes help create the awareness of the project to potentially get these people involved during the early stages of the project.

Mapping the Social Landscape

The more a group will be materially affected by the proposed project, the more important it is for them to be identified, properly informed, and encouraged to participate in the consultation process. It is therefore critical to determine who the various relevant parties are, as well as their level of interest in the project, the potential impact it will have on them, and power they have to shape the process and outcome. You might start by brainstorming or mind-mapping all the people and groups you can think of in the “social landscape” that might influence or be affected by your project. See Figure 5.6.2 as an example.

Social Landscape Map for Traffic Citation System

Once you have identified the individuals, groups and organizations that may be impacted, interested and involved, you can then organize them into categories or a matrix. One standard method of organizing is to determine which ones are likely to support the project and which are likely to oppose it, and then determine how much power or influence each of those groups has (see Figure 5.6.3). For example, a mayor of a community has a high level of influence. If the mayor fully supports the project, they would go in the top right corner of the matrix. Someone who is deeply opposed to the project, but has little influence or power, would go at the bottom left corner.

A matrix like this can help you determine what level of engagement is warranted:  where efforts to “consult and involve” might be most needed and most effective, or where more efforts to simply “inform” might be most useful, or even where you might try to recruit volunteers. Also consider the level of knowledge each party has on the issue, level of commitment (whether in support or opposed), and resources available.

Levels of Consultation and Engagement

Levels of engagement range from simply informing people about your plan to actively seeking consent and placing the final decision in their hands. This range, illustrated in Figure 5.6.4, is typically presented as a “spectrum” of engagement from the lowest to highest level of engagement.

Depending on the type of project, the potential impacts and the needs of those involved, you may engage in a number of levels and strategies of engagement across this spectrum using a variety of different tools.

Many tools are available to help structure different kinds of engagement. Table 5.6.1 lists many options, categorized by where they tend to fall on the spectrum. Depending on how you use them, some strategies may fall in more than one category.

Planning an Engagement Project

There is no single “right” way to engage in consultation. Each situation will have different contexts and requirements so each consultation process will be context-specific and will require a detailed plan based on research and analysis. A poorly planned consultation process can backfire as it can lead to a lack of trust between those being engaged and the company doing the engagement. In such cases, the “engagement” can seem like a public relations stunt, or even an attempt to deceptively persuade. Therefore, it is critical that you carefully plan the process in advance, and do the preliminary work to determine the needs and goals of the process and the relevant parties involved. In particular, make sure that whatever tools you choose to use are fully accessible to all parties you plan to consult; an online survey is not much use to a community that lacks robust internet infrastructure.

As you can see, consultation and engagement processes require strong communications skills. Effective communication is the foundation for meaningful engagement, which relies on the following skills:

• Written and visual rhetoric: Create and disseminate useful written and visual information that will motivate relevant parties to participate in the consultation process.
• Interpersonal and intercultural skills: Relate to people in face-to-face situations to develop meaningful relationships and build trust. Actively listen to those being engage; make participants feel comfortable and secure;  remain mindful of cultural factors that may affect interest level, trust, accessibility, impact, values, or opinions.
• Public speaking: Present information to large audiences in a comfortable and understandable way, u sing “natural language” to enhance understanding of complex information. Aim to create effective visual aids that assists the audience’s understanding by illustrating ideas clearly.
• Active Listening: Focus on the feedback from participants and react in ways that provide them with the time, space, and security needed to be heard and understood. Report back accurately and fully what you have heard from participants.

Engaging Responsibly

Engagement and consultation activities in a university setting that involve gathering information from “human subjects” — people — require Human Research Ethics Approval, a complex process (see Ch. 5.7 Human Research Ethics for more details on this). Collecting data from human participants is a form of “human research” and you must be aware of and follow strict ethical guidelines as laid out by your academic institution. Abiding by these guidelines is part of your responsibility to maintain academic integrity. For example, if you plan to implement an engagement strategy such as conducting surveys or interviews with participants outside of your class, make sure you have explicit permission from your instructor before you begin, and that you are following the Human Research guidelines of your institution.

Please note: Engagement and consultation with certain groups and communities requires specialized knowledge and should only be undertaken by engagement professionals who have had the requisite training to engage respectfully with vulnerable or marginalized groups about sensitive issues. For more information, see the following resources:

Cana Uluak itchuaqiyaq:  Equipping Organizations, Researchers, and Educators in Effective, Equitable, and Respectful Engagement with Marginalized Knowledges, Communities, and Issues

Brenden Boyd and Sophie Lorefice: “Understanding Consultation and Engagement with Indigenous Peoples in Resource Development.” The School of Public Policy Publications, vol. 12(22), 2019.

Dimayuga, D. McGregor, & K. Murphy. “A review of collaborative research practices with Indigenous Peoples in engineering, energy, and infrastructure.” Energy, Sustainability and Society, vol.13(1), 2023. pp.  1–17.