Some of the most directly rewarding work we do as consultants is centred around the strategic and best practice advice we provide companies on communicating with various ‘communities’. Such projects are typically large scale and medium to long-term, and while some level of outrage can be involved, our work is designed to mitigate this on behalf of our clients and wherever possible avoid it altogether.
For example, when Vision Senior Living purchased the high profile former Feltex site in Christchurch, the Auckland headquartered retirement village operator called upon Convergence to develop and manage a comprehensive community relations strategy. Our solution was an integrated plan involving liaison with councillors and community board members, holding public meetings, writing and distributing regular updates to neighbours, and identifying other interested and/or potentially affected parties. Vision’s subsequent resource consent applications for approval to sell off some of the land to a supermarket required further attention to informing the local community and establishing mechanisms designed to facilitate two-way communication. This project is currently on hold due to the economic climate.
For the last five years we have worked with the Izone industrial park owned by Selwyn District Council. When we learned that zoning changes meant Izone had become New Zealand’s largest fully zoned industrial development, Convergence recommended the Izone board adopt a best practice approach to community relations to ensure ratepayers are fully informed about the reasons behind Council’s investment in creating the industrial park. Our strategy was approved and Convergence now produces regular newsletters printed in community newspapers containing articles about businesses relocating to Selwyn, liaises with local media about Izone ‘news’ and has facilitated resident surveys. An open day is planned as are links with schools and community groups. Our recommendation in mid 2010 that Izone establish a business association for its landowners was also accepted and Convergence helps convene quarterly meetings, manages the agenda and minutes, and acts as a conduit between businesses, Council and the developer R D Hughes Developments.
Over the years we’ve also assisted the Transit’s Canterbury / Westland office (now the NZ Transport Authority) with dozens of local communications-related tasks – from newsletters and mailbox drops informing residents about bus-laning projects, to advising on road realignments, and publicising bridge and roading upgrades.
Since 2006 Convergence has worked with the Central Plains Water irrigation scheme backers, the largest ever resource consenting project in the South Island. The scale of this project is vast – potentially irrigating 80,000 square kilometres of farmland, more than 100 resource consent applications, a multi-million hearing process involving over 1000 submissions, nearly 400 individual and corporate shareholders, and hundreds of affected and interested parties from landowners to lobby groups. While not all our advice has been taken, the CPW scheme has provided us invaluable experience and knowledge of RMA processes.
Prior to establishing Convergence, Erin Jamieson was communications manager at Lyttelton Port of Christchurch for four years. During this period, and also when LPC became a Convergence client, Erin was required to develop and deliver a comprehensive community relations programme on a variety of sensitive issues such as coal dust, port noise, pollution and other environmental issues. This success of this work was critical to maintaining the port’s commercial operations as it is situated in extremely close proximity to nearby houses and businesses. Often working closely with the legal team, Convergence also developed strategic communications plans to assist the company obtain a variety of resource consents that often ended up before the Environment Court.
Leigh Harris has completed IAP2 (International Association of Public Participation) training. P2 broadly involves any process that involves the public in problem solving or decision making and uses public input to make decisions. Our IAP2 training means we are skilled at identifying all aspects of various problems and opportunities, working with ‘communities’ to develop alternatives, and facilitating interested and affected parties to make decisions. The IAP2 spectrum, link below, is central to understanding the different levels of engagement. While many clients believe they are ‘consulting’ with communities, invariably they are really simply ‘informing’.