Maximise your property development’s success – 6 tips for community engagement

In today’s digital age, successful development projects depend on meaningful connections with the community you intend to work in. Individuals within these communities are not just observers; they are informed, connected and possess the influence to make, shape or break a project.

In a world where digital platforms amplify voices, undertaking authentic community engagement as early as possible is a smart investment—and how you do it matters. Three Plus has partnered with many businesses to deliver tailored, impactful community engagement strategies.

Working across varied sectors in different environments and scenarios, we’ve gained valuable insights. Here’s an overview of our six top tips for delivering effective community engagement:

1. Foster Inclusivity in Engagement: Avoid large, impersonal town hall meetings that can be dominated by a few. Instead, opt for smaller, personal interactions through pop-up consultations, focus groups and one-on-one chats. This approach ensures diverse community voices are heard and valued, leading to richer and more constructive feedback.
2. Recognise the Power of Individuals: Individual voices, especially those amplified through social media, can significantly impact a project whether positively or negatively. Acknowledge the complexity of communities and plan for the influence of vocal individuals by preparing to address potential issues and risks proactively.
3. Unify Your Team Around Strong Messages: Develop clear, informative key messages in collaboration with your project team, considering diverse expertise and stakeholder concerns. This unified approach ensures everyone involved conveys consistent information, enhancing the engagement’s effectiveness.
4. Invest in Visual Storytelling: Visuals play a critical role in communication, enhancing understanding and sparking people’s imaginations. Use various forms of narrative imagery, such as infographics, photos, renders and even augmented reality/virtual reality applications to clearly present your project’s vision to the community.
5. Engage with Openness and Diligence: Love your NIMBYs and seeming opponents. Embrace negative feedback as an opportunity for deeper understanding and engagement. Don’t shy away from difficult conversations. Instead, use them to ask questions, gain insights, demonstrate responsiveness and build trust with the community. Minds can change.
6. View Engagement as an Ongoing Dialogue: Successful community engagement is not a one-off task but a continuous conversation. It offers the chance for genuine collaboration that can enhance the project’s credibility by embedding local knowledge, setting it up for long-term success.

The Three Plus team, which includes IAP2 accredited professionals, offers reliable and creative expertise designing and implementing multi-faceted community engagement strategies. Embedding ourselves within client teams, we bring passion and creativity to each project – we love what we do and our clients tell us we do it well.

Contact us today for a chat about how our bespoke community engagement strategies can elevate your property developments and infrastructure projects.

Three Plus’ strategic advice was crucial to Sekisui House obtaining development approvals for each of their controversial projects, Yaroomba Beach on the Sunshine Coast and West Village at West End. A range of tactics were employed to mobilise individuals, small business and industry to positively position both projects with the Queensland Government and their respective local Councils.