Road and rail:
early engagement
by Molly Campbell, Premier Strategy Director Having worked on a few of Victoria's largest road and rail projects, I'm excitedly watching High Speed Rail taking shape with its first leg - Newcastle to Sydney.
A thought I keep coming back to:
Early engagement on major linear infrastructure is important, but it sure isn't easy.
When you engage early on a broad corridor or corridor options, you don't know enough to provide satisfying answers.
For a major rail or road project, feasibility might mean a broad corridor, multiple options and a long list of things still being worked out.
Engagement best practice says: engage early. But communities understandably want answers.
On top of that, it can cause unnecessary stress, sometimes for years, for people who are within a corridor option to think their home or life may be impacted, when in the end that option is not selected.
Saying “we don’t know yet” isn’t particularly satisfying. And neither is saying, "it's up to the technical team".
So, the challenge is finding the sweet spot.
Engaging early enough to gather feedback that genuinely informs decision-making. But being clear enough about what you're engaging on, and what the processes (and timeframes!) are from here to give people clearer answers.
Done well, early engagement is about understanding the places, hearing what matters to people, identifying issues early and building relationships before final decisions are made.
Key steps to successful early engagement
Understand the places
Learn about the local area, environment and communities.
Hear what matters
Listen to people’s perspectives, concerns and aspirations.
Identify issues early
Spot and address potential issues before they become bigger problems.
Build relationships
Create trust and stronger partnerships for the journey ahead.
