Public Engagement

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Climate and energy infrastructure and policy decisions involve genuinely competing values and interests. Some people prioritise national climate obligations; others focus on local landscape impacts. Some accept that change is necessary; others feel their concerns are being overridden. Some can afford to act; others face genuine constraints.

Standard consultation approaches - online surveys, drop-in sessions, written responses - often entrench these divisions rather than navigating them. They capture initial reactions rather than considered judgments, and they favour those with time, confidence, and technical literacy.

I design and deliver engagement processes that surface these competing values rather than responding to the loudest voices, providing decision-makers with a realistic picture of what they need to navigate. This includes deliberative forums (citizens' assemblies and juries), participatory engagement on energy infrastructure siting and local plan development, and consultation design that genuinely informs both the public and the decision-makers.

What I offer:

Deliberative Mini-Publics (Citizens' Assemblies and Juries). Design and delivery of deliberative forums where representative groups of residents engage in depth with complex climate decisions. This includes recruitment using stratified random selection, expert speaker management, facilitation, and analysis using both qualitative methods and quantitative techniques such as Q-Sort methodology to identify areas of consensus and irreducible disagreement.

Participatory Energy Infrastructure Engagement. Working with communities to understand their concerns about proposed renewable energy or grid infrastructure, and helping developers and planning authorities design engagement that builds understanding and identifies areas where compromise is possible. This includes supporting the development of community benefit structures, shared ownership arrangements with commercial energy developers, and supporting the establishment of community energy co-operatives where there is appetite.

Consultation Design and Strategic Advisory Advising public authorities and infrastructure developers on how to design consultation that genuinely informs decision-making rather than simply meeting statutory requirements. This includes identifying which engagement methods are appropriate for different stages of decision-making, and how to communicate complex technical information to diverse audiences.