Challenge
Copper was appointed to support early-stage stakeholder engagement for the West of England’s transformative Future4WEST mass transit scheme.
The project faced unique hurdles:
- the need to streamline public scepticism resulting from a legacy of failed infrastructure attempts
- the conceptual nature of the scheme at this early stage
- multiple local authorities with differing demographics and priorities needing to align
- COVID-19 restrictions making traditional in-person engagement impossible during critical early phases.
The overarching challenges were to build credibility, define the project’s vision, and generate early consensus and stakeholder buy-in.
Approach
- Early alignment – conducted internal workshops with partner unitary authorities to establish shared project values and a consistent narrative to present a united regional voice
- Transparent early engagement – ran sector-focused webinars with key stakeholder groups – including business, environmental, transport and community organisations – to explore priorities, concerns and aspirations
- Data-driven insight gathering – used interactive tools to capture qualitative and quantitative feedback during all sessions, directly feeding into the development of the project strategy
- Inclusive, blended participation – delivered hybrid community panel sessions after restrictions eased, ensuring seldom-heard voices were represented and all nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 were considered
- Narrative building – helped shape a compelling and unified story to position mass transit as essential infrastructure to improve air quality, reduce congestion and support sustainable regional growth
Value delivered
- Established early trust and credibility by engaging stakeholders while scheme options were still in development
- Built a cohesive cross-council narrative to demonstrate regional unity in support of the project, which was crucial for future central government funding
- Gathered meaningful, representative input from nearly 40 stakeholder groups, shaping the strategic outline business case
- Laid strong foundations for inclusive, community-informed consultation activity