We view Stakeholder Engagement as a complex understanding of relationships and communication processes.  The goal of Stakeholder Engagement is to increase awareness of an issue or process, involve those who are interested, and generate interest in those who are not involved.  Effective, proactive engagement requires recognizing both the technical and perceptual issues surrounding a subject and tailoring a simple, yet comprehensive message to a diverse audience.

Public Affairs Support

Our staff works to facilitate the communications flow between an organization and the general public.  Support may include writing, editing and publishing a variety of materials, arranging special events, supporting community relations and orientation programs, and engaging in interviewing and reporting tasks.  We prepare themes, messages and associated communication products; conduct audience identification and analysis; determine and build execution tactics, techniques and procedures; establish goals and milestones for plan execution; conduct communications training for organizational leaders and spokespersons and update communication plans as needed.  We also support organizational efforts by researching, developing, writing, editing and distributing news and feature stories, fact sheets, brochures, biographies and other materials to tell an organization’s story to internal and external audiences.

Community Relations/Involvement Plans

Community Relations Plans involve demographic research, target audience identification, interviews, and communication planning.  Our team of experts identify target audiences; conduct interviews and focus groups to assess communication needs; and develop strategic, targeted, and measurable plans for increasing community involvement.  We have developed an efficient and cost-effective process for gathering and analyzing data and identifying strategic, targeted, and measurable communications activities that respond to stakeholder preferences.

Public Participation and Outreach Plans

Our staff will ensure your message increases public awareness, involves those who are interested, and generates interest in those who are not involved. Effective, proactive outreach requires recognizing the technical and perceptual issues surrounding a subject and tailoring a simple, yet comprehensive message to a diverse audience. 

We utilize strategic communications to plan and implement communication campaigns tailored to target audiences, which include parallel internal/external message creation; multi-media products; media relation plans; tailored communication methods and venues in order to convey complex information in an understandable fashion. We ensure protocol and messaging is consistent throughout all outreach messages and materials. We employ care, communication and crisis approaches to risk communication in order to reduce community outrage and provide factual information on relevant hazards. We manage events to successfully implement stakeholder and media outreach activities; develop supporting collateral; and provide seamless delivery of all aspects of meeting management to ensure a clear and concise message. 

Restoration Advisory Boards (RAB)

Our team has coordinated, supported and facilitated Restoration Advisory Boards (RABs) meetings for various Department of Defense installations around the country. RABs were created to allow the public a voice in environmental cleanup issues at each installation.  The boards are a forum for an exchange of information and partnership among citizens, the base, EPA, and State regulatory agencies.  This voice is gained through the exchange of information which allows RAB members to provide input to the cleanup process.  The creation of the RAB was intended to increase community understanding and trust in the Department of Defense.

Our RAB involvement has consisted of providing facilitation services, venue selection and meeting logistics, agenda and presentation development, Information Repository (IR) and Administrative Record (AR) compliance, vendor coordination and payment, Web-based communication and outreach, development of bilingual community outreach materials and fact sheets, media relations, Final RAB Rule compliance, RAB elections, and much more. 

Risk Communication

We employ care, communication, and crisis approaches to risk communication in order to reduce community outrage and provide factual information on relevant hazards.  Drawing an organization or entity’s staff and impacted community members into a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship has been a hallmark of our approach.  We work to ensure your organization’s message is clear, consistent, and respectful.  Our team members are trained and equipped with the latest processes and practices for partnering, which has facilitated closer and more productive working relationships between organizations and firms, the regulatory community, and the public. 

Our personnel conduct iterative stakeholder analyses and prepare strategic risk communication plans to a variety of high-profile and potentially contentious situations.  We provide risk communication consultation and apply risk communication strategy to the development of public outreach materials.  We facilitate interactions between stakeholders and the public and convey scientific environmental restoration information and technical issues in a language that the public can easily understand. As part of this support we facilitate community outreach events including technical presentations and facilitate interactions between a variety of concerned stakeholders and participants.

Event Coordination and Management

We provide a variety of event coordination and management support services for events ranging in size from small, executive level board meetings to annual events with thousands of attendees.  Support includes all aspects of event coordination and participation such as: Identifying target audiences; message creation; creating, implementing and monitoring marketing and outreach plans; coordinating conference logistics and audiovisual needs; designing and or overseeing the design and production of posters, signs, brochures, and other graphic materials, full onsite execution of the event; and comprehensive after action reviews, reports and analysis.  We also support senior and elected officials through the development of minute-by-minute itineraries, presentations and talking points and all other distinguished visitor protocol requirements.