Local Projects - Local Influence

We highlight the importance of

• Early and meaningful engagement between mayor/municipal councils and project stakeholders.
• The need for a joint and collaborative public engagement strategy to involve local communities, through necessary project stages. This includes inviting local communities to consultation events/processes, ideally, while different project locations are being considered with flexibility to shape project outcomes. Public engagement should include a variety of instruments and should actively involve all relevant stakeholders which also includes vulnerable citizens and young people. Some possible instruments include local opinion surveys and engaging local dialogue formats, ideally conducted in partnership with the municipal authorities.
• Establishing concrete mechanisms to address concerns from local citizens and stakeholders. Providing opportunities for feedback through the necessary stages of project development. Ensuring transparency by engaging in regular, continuous, accessible, and appropriate information sharing about the project to citizens through various communication channels, such as local newsletters, community boards, and online platforms.
• Ensuring that project developers and local governments are enabled and equipped through appropriate frameworks to set aside sufficient resources for effective communication with citizens, while also supporting local civil society organisations to enable their active participation.
• Engaging with local interest representations (e.g. local citizen associations), including existing and/or potential energy communities that might be interested in investing in the project.