Community engagement and social value are two terms that are strongly intertwined. They are now both receiving much deserved attention from governments, clients and other key stakeholders in construction projects. By focusing on community engagement as your construction project runs, a rise in social value can be the outcome. You leave something behind that benefits the wellbeing of the people affected by it.
The general definition of social value is ‘everything that matters to communities and/or society’. Community engagement means ‘informing and involving all affected stakeholders around your building site to create awareness’.
Why can these two terms not exist without each other? What can you do in terms of community engagement to create lasting social value for your local residents? We answer these questions here.
How did community engagement and social value become so important in construction?
A few decades ago, construction companies did not pay much attention to community engagement. They were there, in the area, to do the job. When finished, they would move on to the next project, cause disruption again, finish, and leave. What was much less clear then, as it is now, is how their project had a negative impact on the communities around it.
Many claim that the rise of social media has a lot to do with the emergence of initiatives like the Considerate Constructors’ Scheme. It provided community members with an outlet and a way to express their unhappiness about, for example, site dust, building noise, and closed roads. This gave them the power to protest and create bad press.
As a result of this, community engagement became a hot topic. What was first a necessity for construction companies to retain a good image, turned into something really positive. Community engagement and social value are terms clients now look for in a sales pitch. It is of benefit to both the local communities and the construction companies and often leads to heartwarming stories of two completely different worlds coming together to create beautiful things.
Creating social value through community engagement
Community engagement officers working at a building site have an extensive job description. They are responsible for all the communication that goes out to the local residents, interest groups, shop owners, churches, schools and other external stakeholder groups. That means sending out letters, notifications, putting up notice boards and organising town hall meetings.
However, this is not community engagement. Simply informing all parties around the project of what is happening, results in one-way communication. Community engagement can only exist if the locals are involved and that means that they at least are encouraged to answer back. The community engagement officers nowadays need to push for more.
There are several levels of community engagement, of which only the last one results in long-term social value benefits.
1. Minimal community engagement
We speak of minimal community engagement if you just inform the local communities of important events and if you let them in on the discussion. For example, you organise a monthly meeting with the local residents to let them know the upcoming plans and allow them to ask questions and present ideas.
You post door-to-door letters, use an SMS-service, a social media page, and a notice board to display news and schedules. Locals are informed, but are not really encouraged to engage.
2. Proper community engagement
The situation described above does not cut it anymore. This is community engagement in its early stages. Clients, governments and communities are looking for more, for innovative initiatives, and original ideas.
Proper community engagement involves real interaction between the construction companies and the local parties. It entails visiting local schools, setting up a community lounge, using an app like SitePodium to communicate milestones and updates, listening and acting, caring about the mood in the area, and carrying out requests and ideas from the local residents.
3. Community engagement leading to social value
If you want to also increase social value in the area, then you take it a step further. You organise a treasure hunt for the children, invite local residents to your building site, hand out free coffee every Thursday morning, and organise a yoga class for residents and site workers every Tuesday afternoon. These initiatives have an immediate positive impact on increasing social value around your construction site.
If you want to leave a lasting impression, you leave behind a gift, like a vertical garden or a vegetable patch for community members to maintain. You invite local artists to enter a competition to design a mural and the winner will have their art on display in the community. You make benches out of the trees you felled, you build a running track or place gym equipment in the park, and you organise a celebration for everyone to attend once your project is completed.
Social value does not have to cost
These are only a few examples of how you can use community engagement to increase social value around your building site and to really leave something that benefits the community behind. Even if your budget is low, simply hiring a van handing out free coffees (in reusable mugs with your company’s logo on it, of course) will be talked about and remembered until long after you are gone.
Another good and budget-friendly way of increasing social value around your building site is to let your teams do volunteering work at the local parish or charity organisations. This is not only a great way to show you care, it is also nice for your employees to do something different for a day, something that helps others, and something that brings your building site and the community closer together.
In the end, everyone benefits
The benefits of this approach to the local community are clear. You also gain by placing focus on social value, because you put yourself ahead of your competition. Your staff will love it, will be proud to work for you, and are happy in their jobs. And the lasting impact that you leave behind will give you exposure and a good name through the stories that the local residents are able to tell for years to come.
Take the road to social value with SitePodium
At SitePodium we are happy to see that social value around construction projects is finally taking centre stage. We have been working on promoting community engagement for years now, with increasing social value as its main goal. Our app encourages and boosts communication between all stakeholders in every construction project. It is user-friendly, adaptable, and it measures and presents the results of your efforts in usable formats.
Community engagement and boosting social value around your project becomes achievable, measurable and fun with SitePodium.
Do you want to know more about what our platform has to offer your construction project? Contact us to discuss this further or download our brochure for more detailed information. Leave behind a lasting impression, leave competitors in the dust and raise the bar with SitePodium.
