Collaborative Engagement Process

Stakeholder Visioning is an important aspect of our  project management approach so that we can determine your goals and requirements. By utilizing a collaborative engagement process we can capture the success criteria for the project and explore all of the possibilities and benefits of green buildings.

Integrated Designs Inc. (IDI) has been involved with two projects that had a high level of community engagement. The Rivergreen Eco-Village involved a large community of stakeholders that needed to be highly involved in the design of their new LEED platinum sustainable community. For this project we implemented a full community engagement process led by Elisa Campbell. 

The process was based upon her the book, “SUN Living: Developing Neighbourhoods with a One Planet Footprint”. The SUN Living book outlines a five-step framework that starts with high-level sustainability concepts and systematically unpacks them into detailed issue areas, goals, indicators, targets and strategies.

IDI has adopted the framework from this process and used it for the Churchill Northern Studies Center project. This project also had a large stakeholder group that included 20 universities as well as the business community. Through the process of community meetings and integrated design sessions we were able to develop project requirements to meet the needs of most stakeholders within the constraints of the budget. 

Murray has taken Design Charrette facilitation training from the Design Charrette Institute and has been the design facilitator for approximately 20 projects.  

The following process was used for the Churchill Northern Studies Center project. 

Step 1: COMMIT - Mission – Principles – Themes

The first step of the process requires the development team to establish and articulate commitment to the project. This task requires the successful delivery of a Project Commitment Workshop. The purpose of the project commitment workshop is to ensure that participants fully understand the nature and meaning of the goals they are pursuing and that they embrace the level of commitment required to successfully travel down the path their goals will lead them. The deliverables for this stage include: a mission statement, project principles, and themes for the project. 

Step 2: INITIATE - Vision

This stage of the process includes preparing and implementing a stakeholder visioning workshop. This is the first opportunity for the project stakeholders to actually meet and share their vision for the project. It is also an opportunity to educate participants on issues such as LEED or sustainability, lean project delivery, and Schools of the 21st Century principles. By the end of this step a project vision will be established and work plans and strategies will be in place to direct the project team, to engage the stakeholder group and to raise the profile of the proposed development. 

Step 3: EXPLORE - Issue Areas – Goals – Indicators – Targets

This step involves exploring options for how best to achieve the project vision. By this step the project design framework has been populated with goals, indicators, targets, and preliminary strategies and actions. Stakeholders assist in establishing goals that describe the desired condition to be achieved in the context of the project principles and vision. Preliminary Strategies and actions are identified that have the potential to achieve the goals and associated targets.

Step 4: SYNTHESIZE - Strategies – Actions

This stage brings together all of the information collected through targeted research and workshops. This research information is compiled into a charrette brief that serves as an orientation and instruction manual for the charrette. During the charrette, alternative designs are developed and synthesized into a preferred concept plan through a series of feedback loops that engage the stakeholder group. By the end of this stage a master concept plan and course of action emerge and the foundations are laid for the project implementation manual.

Step 5: IMPLEMENT - Guidelines

The implementation manual is a compilation of the master concept plan, the course of action, and the design guidelines. This document guides the project team.