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Strengthening communication and stakeholder relationships to meet strategic objectives and regulatory requirements

Engaging and communicating with stakeholders proactively is more critical than ever before. Agencies and project proponents must navigate shifting regulatory requirements and public expectations for stakeholder involvement in their projects. Identifying and addressing risks before they arise is increasingly important.

SWCA has helped clients develop, manage, and implement stakeholder engagement and strategic communications strategies for decades. We provide a full-service offering for all types of clients and every stage of the project lifecycle. Our approach centers on building trust, credibility, and respect between stakeholders and our clients through meaningful engagement and clear communication. We help clients involve stakeholders in the process and incorporate stakeholder issues, concerns, and expectations into project design, planning, and decision making.

Our clients benefit from a team of experienced professional communicators and facilitators with the following skills and capabilities:

  • Managing challenging stakeholder relationships and engaging vulnerable communities
  • Science communication knowledge and training
  • Deep understanding of federal and state regulatory processes (NEPA, CEQA, ESA, NHPA, etc.)
  • Custom technology solutions including collaborative mapping, interactive web meetings, virtual open house platform, and 360 visualizations
  • Seamless integration with experts and teams across SWCA’s other services

20+ Experience in 20+ States

50+ Virtual Public Meetings Since 2020

65 Local specialists in 21 offices

Specialties

Public Involvement and Stakeholder Engagement

From infrastructure development to environmental planning, poorly managed stakeholder relationships create risk for projects. “Non-technical risks” are increasingly prevalent and impactful, creating schedule delays, increasing costs, and derailing projects. We support effective stakeholder engagement across the full project lifecycle.

Public Involvement and Stakeholder Engagement  →

Strategic Communications

Achieving strategic communication objectives means delivering the right messages to the right audiences through the most advantageous means. We support clients in developing and implementing communications strategies that align with and support their broader organizational goals and objectives.

Strategic Communications  →

Professional Facilitation

We are trained in multi-stakeholder facilitation, environmental conflict resolution, and process design for virtual and in-person settings. SWCA facilitators pay attention to and manage dynamics that are often overlooked, help clients anticipate and head off potential risks, and free other team members up to focus on their primary roles. We are deeply experienced in third-party/neutral facilitation that supports meaningful input, constructive dialogue, and collaborative decision-making.

Professional Facilitation  →

Collaborative Technology

We provide state of the art technology and mapping tools to support outreach and education, interactive web meetings, public input, collaborative planning, and implementation tracking. We help clients select the right technology for their collaboration needs and build on existing templates to create customized tools for each project.

Collaborative Technology  →

Project Spotlights

Meet the Experts

East

Meg Perry

Meg is a facilitator and stakeholder engagement specialist with 12 years of experience supporting engagement and collaborative decision-making for a wide range of environmental challenges across the U.S.

meg.perry [at] swca.com (Contact Meg  →)
Central

Rolf Lund

Rolf has more than 30 years of public affairs experience in both the public and private sectors, first as an advisor to federal and state local officials and then in public relations for a utility. Consulting since 2008, he has worked on energy infrastructure projects across the U.S.

rolf.lund [at] swca.com (Contact Rolf  →)
Rockies

Sarah Lupis

Sarah has more than 17 years of experience in strategic and conservation planning and has led stakeholder engagement for NEPA and Section 106 consultation. An award-winning presenter, she’s taught hundreds of scientists to write and present more effectively.

sarah.lupis [at] swca.com (Contact Sarah  →)