Registration and refreshments
08:45 to
09:30
Chair’s welcome and opening remarks
09:30 to
09:40
Speaker:
Nicholas Duffin.
Independent Consultant.
Looking ahead to 2025 – preparing for future challenges facing the delivery of successful consultation and engagement
09:40 to
10:05
- What does current political context mean for future consultation?
- What will future consultation look like?
- Anticipating external trends that will have an impact on consultation and engagement
- How is public perception of infrastructure project changing in 2025?
Speaker:
Cathryn Tracey.
Director.
Burges Salmon.
Panel discussion: Considering future direction of consultation – how will speeding up the planning process and future reforms affect consultation for new infrastructure projects?
10:05 to
10:55
- The impact of project speed on the consultation and engagement process – what do reduced project timelines mean for engagement?
- What does a new pre-application service mean for future consultation
- Learning from consultation in 2024, how is engagement changing?
Speakers:
Jade Fernandez.
Head of Stakeholder Engagement.
SSE Thermal.
Tom McGarry.
Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs, Electricity Transmission Strategic Infrastructure.
National Grid.
Katie Jackson.
Head of Engagement.
WSP.
Morning networking and refreshments
10:55 to
11:25
The risk of getting consultation wrong - developing an effective strategy and identifying possible challenges
11:25 to
11:50
- What are the potential risk and pitfalls faced during consultation?
- Ensuring compliance - demonstrating you have met consultation requirements
- How to design a successful strategy considering both realistic consultation constraints and community expectations
Speaker:
Jon Harvey.
Engagement - Energy Lead.
WSP.
Engaging stakeholders to inform an infrastructure project's skills and employment strategy
11:50 to
12:15
- The increasing need to implement an outline skills and employment strategy earlier in the development timeline
- The importance of properly engaging and consulting the right stakeholders in forming such a strategy
- The relationship between such initiatives and social value consideration
Speaker:
Poppy Tremayne.
Stakeholder and Skills Manager.
RWE Renewables.
Networking Lunch
12:15 to
13:15
Driving local involvement – engaging the community in the decision-making process
13:15 to
13:40
- How to facilitate peer to peer engagement - creating bottom-up support for your project
- Understanding interest groups and community champions who can mediate local concerns
- Building trust with the community to overcome future challenges faced throughout project delivery
Speaker:
Kirsty Leiper.
Head of Communications.
Fred. Olsen Renewables.
Tailoring community engagement to promote greater inclusivity and increase participation
13:40 to
14:05
- Which groups are experiencing barriers to participation?
- How can we tailor community engagement to increase participation of seldom heard groups?
- From consultation to benefit realisation - how can we ensure that all groups can access the benefits delivered by a project?
Speaker:
Giulia Privitera.
Head of Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement.
Nadara.
Embedding social value into your project – using consultation and engagement to demonstrate project’s benefits
14:05 to
14:30
- Understanding what the local area needs and reflecting this into your communication strategy
- Effectively presenting social value outcomes to communities
- How can social value be measured? - What are the social value metrics to consider?
Speaker:
Catryn Newton.
Community Investment and Communications Director.
Bute Energy.
Afternoon networking and refreshments
14:30 to
15:00
Ensuring ongoing engagement and messaging throughout project development and onto delivery
15:00 to
15:25
- Challenges in maintaining communication throughout project lifecycle
- Adapting key messaging based on evolving audience support and project timeline
- Conducting long-term engagement from pre application to post consent and delivery
Speaker:
Beth Motley.
Director – Energy and Utilities.
Counter Context.
Panel Discussion: Practical advice for developers – learning lessons from different types of infrastructure
15:25 to
16:10
- How different sectors overcome common challenges faced during consultation process
- Successes and models that can be applied to new projects
- Engaging local communities in wide areas with multiple projects
- Beyond formal engagement – new creative opportunities for designing a consultation strategy
Speakers:
Gillian Arnot.
Senior Stakeholder and Community Manager.
ScottishPower Renewables.
Rebecca Evans.
Head of Consents for Major Projects.
Cadent Gas.
Kirsty Scarlett.
Head of Community Engagement.
Wessex Water.
Chair’s closing remarks
16:10 to
16:20
Close of conference and networking drinks
16:20 to
17:20