If you really want public input that goes beyond the traditional approach, we can help. What information are you looking for? From whom? Are you looking for what the general public concerns are? Or are you wanting to hear from potential opposition and/or support groups only?

You need to know what information you want, why you want it and where you’ll use it. You also need to decide how you’ll report the results to the research participants, agencies, etc.

• Opinion Leader Research – Is the input from potentially-affected opinion leaders important to your project? How do you identify them? How do you get their input in a fair and forthright manner?
• Market Research – Will an opinion poll, a focus group or a panel help you obtain the input you need? If you’re looking for representative public input – a cross-section of public opinion – these techniques may be the ones you need.
• Household Surveys – The ultimate in seeking input is to seek input from each stakeholder or household potentially interested in your project. You need to decide if you want to take this kind of comprehensive approach.
• Planning Meetings – Sometimes just having meetings with public representatives to ask questions about planning your project helps more than anything else – unless your project is not wanted. But then you’ll find out why, and what might make it acceptable.
• Advisory Panels – If you need to chart public input over time, panels of public representatives or stakeholders may be useful to you.

We Can Help You:

• We’ve handled all forms of public consultation – from strategy development to input delivery.
• We know how to develop the research methodology, create the questions and analyze the results.
• We facilitate planning meetings and can help you develop and manage stakeholder panels.