The Great Artesian Basin (GAB), located in north-western NSW, is the world’s largest and deepest underground freshwater resource.

Today, protecting these natural water resources is critical for Australia’s economic viability and water security for the future.

SMEC’s water specialists and Communication and Stakeholder Engagement team have developed a strong and collaborative relationship with Water Infrastructure NSW (WINSW) to help deliver key water security and resilience projects. These projects aim to establish better-operating environments and efficiencies which will help deliver long-term benefits for the environment and the communities who rely on these water supplies.

Building trust – the key to successful engagement

SMEC’s National Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Team Leader, Alyse Phillips, knew that building trust would be crucial in achieving the best outcomes for the project and the water systems.

“Establishing trust and a positive outcome starts long before any of our team members touch down in the community. It’s important to establish clear messages and objectives within the project and work collaboratively with our clients to help raise community awareness and establish trust,” said Alyse.

Raveena Grover, Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Advisor at SMEC, was pivotal in building this relationship with WINSW. Establishing effective and productive relationships enabled SMEC to deliver highly detailed and nuanced content for NSW communities in the Murray Darling Basin.

After establishing this relationship, SMEC’s Skye Jamieson, Senior Advisor, was engaged to provide knowledge and engagement support for a program in the GAB region in January 2021.

Skye made several hundred calls and drafted dozens of emails to landholders and stakeholders to encourage participation in the program. This involved building trust, using key messages and engaging with landholders to collect feedback.

SMEC’s services provided to WINSW achieved improved stakeholder relationships, significantly increasing landholder trust and engagement. Farmers across the GAB have had mixed experiences with various government projects. Learning and adapting to these legacy experiences were key to the engagement approach.

Skye received positive feedback for her work developing communication and engagement plans, a suite of communication material and direct liaison with GAB landowners. Following this, Skye was engaged to provide support for a water security program across NSW.

Better community outcomes for the future

Across all programs, Skye and Raveena worked to translate highly technical information into communications material which enabled transparency and genuine sharing of information. Communities were clearly informed of the program benefits, potential impacts and timeframes, and therefore able to provide beneficial and meaningful feedback.

Overall, SMEC’s commitment to client service and effective relationship building resulted in positive community engagement results for the water infrastructure projects. The combination of detailed and community-focused engagement plans and strategies, high-quality packages of communication materials and consistent, proactive client engagement resulted in outstanding feedback.

Importantly, the dedication of the team to developing authentic community relationships has led to improved trust, essential to the success of these vital programs and to ensure the best possible outcomes for our environment and communities.