Planning and delivery of community and stakeholder engagement to inform the assessment of electricity supply options for the Daintree Electricity Supply Study.
Situation Explained
The Department of Energy and Public Works engaged Leisa Prowse Consulting to deliver a community and stakeholder engagement process as part of the Daintree Electricity Supply Study. The study aimed to assess potential electricity supply options and determine an appropriate long-term solution for delivering a sustainable energy supply for the Daintree region in Far North Queensland.
Leisa Prowse Consulting led the planning and delivery of the community and stakeholder engagement strategy. The engagement was designed to capture community and stakeholder feedback about:
- existing and alternative supply arrangements
- economic and commercial considerations
- technical considerations
- perceived environmental, social and cultural impacts.
Sustainable electricity supply in the Daintree region is a sensitive issue for the local community. As a result, diverse community views were expressed during the project. This key project challenge required sensitive and respectful facilitation of Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG) meetings to carefully manage divergent opinions as they emerged. It also required the team to listen with empathy to the community during drop-in sessions.
Our Approach
Our team developed the Community and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy following an initial Engagement Planning Workshop with the then Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy. The Community and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy outlined activities and timeframes to be delivered over three phases. These phases related to:
- introduction of the project and establishment of the SRG
- evaluation of options and shortlisting
- detailed analysis and implementation plan.
Our team worked with the Department to identify key stakeholders. We invited these key stakeholders to participate in the SRG, and we developed the SRG Terms of Reference.
Throughout the project, Leisa Prowse Consulting led and delivered a range of engagement activities including:
- two community newsletters distributed to Daintree residents, businesses and ratepayers, and a project mailing list
- a project webpage, with links to the online survey and copies of the newsletters
- two SRG meetings
- an online survey responded to by community members
- two drop-in sessions in the Daintree area, attended by Daintree residents and business owners.
Results
Feedback captured during the engagement activities provided deep insight into:
- varying energy needs and expectations for businesses and residential properties
- additional electricity supply options
- importance of upfront and ongoing costs and affordability
- expectations about subsidies, grants and funding
- importance of protecting environmental and heritage values.