Infrastructure Engagement
Summary
Over the course of 2022, Copper Consultancy published three reports that explore public attitudes to infrastructure. Public participation is essential for the consents process for any major project. Once a project is underway, public sentiment and the risk from demonstrations or pressure groups mean that understanding of, and engagement with, infrastructure is part of any organisation’s risk mitigation and resilience strategy. Awareness and attitude will also shape how the public use new infrastructure once in place and consequently are an important part of any investment’s value.
Does Infrastructure Knowledge Matter?
Awareness and interest are the first steps of customer journeys. It’s a tool used frequently in marketing
and theory suggests that if people are aware and knowledgeable about a product they are more likely
to move towards taking an action. Applying that to infrastructure, does knowledge matter?
“Engaging with infrastructure can be intimidating, especially for people who feel less knowledgeable about
the subject, but our data shows that content could be a key to unlocking greater engagement from parts of
the population who feel less knowledgeable about the infrastructure and less likely to engage.”
Experience from working in the infrastructure sector over the last 25-plus years, suggests that the archetypal profile of individuals that tend to engage with projects is an older age demographic. In the second of three Attitudes report, Copper tested whether there really is a link between people’s age and their likelihood to engage with infrastructure.
“There is an opportunity to spark a new level of engagement with young people and infrastructure but a one size-fits all approach is unlikely to unlock this particular demographic. The emphasis is on us to take a diverse approach (channels, content, events and tactics) to increase engagement with new audiences, rather than relying on them to come to us.”
Psychologists argue that ‘belongingness’ is an integral part of the human psyche and that humans are inherently drawn to being part of something bigger than themselves. Belonging to a group could come in the form of family, friends, an interest group, the community around you or something else, and belonging (or not belonging) is a subjective experience unique to us all that is influenced by multiple aspects of our lives and the environment around us.
“While infrastructure projects might not immediately influence someone’s sense of belonging, they can tap into an innate desire to belong by communicating in a way that moves from ‘development that happens to communities’ towards ‘development that happens with communities’.