Virtual stakeholder engagement: practical lessons from HS2

Virtual stakeholder engagement means using online meetings, webinars and other digital tools to keep people informed, hear their concerns and involve them in a project. People can meet the project team and ask questions without travelling to an event.

The purpose varies. You might explain upcoming work to residents, discuss options with customers or help local businesses understand contract opportunities. Be clear about what people will get from taking part and what you need to learn from them.

HS2’s experience during the Covid pandemic shows what this can look like in practice. Its contractors used online events to maintain contact with communities, reach people who would not normally attend meetings and discuss topics that mattered to different audiences.

How HS2 used virtual stakeholder engagement

HS2 is a high-speed railway project in England. This example concerns early construction work on the northern part of its Phase One route between London and Birmingham. The work was being delivered by the Laing O’Rourke Murphy joint venture, known as LM.

When Covid restrictions stopped public meetings in 2020, construction continued. Communities still needed to know what was happening nearby and how the work might affect them. The engagement team had to find another way to stay in touch.

According to a 2022 HS2 Learning Legacy case study by Jane Smith and Allan Fatah, LM used two main approaches.

Keep existing conversations going

The team moved discussions with existing contacts onto virtual meeting platforms. This helped people continue speaking to the project team while meetings in person were restricted.

For some business groups, online meetings also removed enough travel time to make them a useful ongoing option.

Give more people a reason to take part

LM also worked with HS2 to run public webinars about archaeology and ecology. These gave people access to specialists and information beyond the immediate disruption caused by construction. A virtual jobs and skills workshop covered employment opportunities.

HS2 promoted the events through its website, social media and targeted mailshots. Existing contacts received invitations, while wider publicity helped other interested people find the sessions.

This is a useful distinction for your own planning. A resident may want to ask about construction traffic. A local history group may want to hear about archaeological discoveries. Someone looking for work may want to understand job opportunities. Each needs a clear reason to attend.

What worked and who was left out

LM reported holding more than 25 public webinars in one year. In most cases, its virtual events and meetings attracted more attendees than its usual events in person. They also reached people from a wider geographical area, including those who would not have travelled to a meeting.

The authors described archaeology as a useful way to engage people who did not usually support the project. Local history gave the team and community groups a subject of shared interest. The authors felt these discussions helped people understand the work and reduced some negative conversations.

The practical lesson is to choose subjects people care about and give them access to people who can answer their questions. An interesting talk can start a conversation, but concerns about noise, access or environmental effects still need their own answers.

Moving online also created a barrier. People without suitable devices or digital skills could lose access to engagement they previously attended in person. Where possible, LM posted information and images to stakeholders who had told the team they could not access the technology.

The authors recommended keeping both virtual engagement and meetings in person. Their findings describe this team’s experience; they do not show that every project will attract more people online. For your project, check who you are reaching and who is missing, especially among those most affected.

Choose the right type of online engagement

Start with what the audience needs and what the activity should achieve. Then choose the format.

These formats can work together. A webinar might explain a proposal to everyone, followed by small discussions with groups whose needs require more attention.

Be clear about the scope. If you are explaining an agreed decision, say so. If people can help shape the plan, explain which parts are open to change and who will decide. Both activities can be useful, but participants should know what to expect.

How to plan and run an online event

The following steps adapt the HS2 team’s event lessons into a practical approach for other projects.

1 Choose a specific topic and audience

Give the event a title that answers the participant’s question: “Why should I attend?”

“Ask the team about the proposed road diversion” is more useful than “Project stakeholder webinar”. It identifies the subject and tells people they can ask questions.

Write down who needs the information, what they should understand afterwards and what you need to hear from them. Invite affected groups directly as well as advertising publicly.

2 Make joining and contributing straightforward

Include the date, time zone, duration, joining instructions and a contact for help. Explain whether the event will be recorded and whether people can send questions beforehand.

Ask about access needs early enough to arrange support. Share accessible materials in advance, provide captions or other communication support as needed, and describe important maps and diagrams aloud. These steps reflect W3C’s guidance on accessible events.

Offer a telephone, paper or meeting option for people who cannot participate online. Sending a leaflet may help someone receive information, but they also need a way to ask questions or give their views.

3 Prepare the people as carefully as the technology

The HS2 team put considerable effort into speaker preparation, scripts, rehearsals and anticipating questions.

Give each responsibility an owner:

• Host: introduces the session, keeps it on time and invites questions.
• Subject expert: explains the work and answers questions about their topic.
• Technical support: manages access, sound, screen sharing and technical problems.
• Question coordinator: groups related questions, directs them to the right expert and records points needing a later answer.

People can combine roles in a small event. For a large public webinar, give speakers enough support to concentrate on the discussion.

Test the event from a participant’s perspective. Rehearse handovers, check presentation permissions and prepare a backup if a speaker loses their connection or a video fails.

4 Protect time for questions

HS2’s authors suggested splitting a webinar evenly between presentations and questions. Use that as a starting point and adjust it to the audience and subject.

For example, this one-hour agenda gives questions half the available time:

This is an illustrative agenda adapted from the case study, not the timetable of a particular HS2 event.

For a small workshop, allow people to discuss the task throughout. A presentation followed by questions will not suit every activity.

5 Handle difficult questions openly

The HS2 case study stresses the value of addressing controversial subjects, including ecology, and preparing experts to answer challenging questions.

In a large webinar, muting the audience during presentations and using a managed question queue can prevent interruptions. Explain how the queue works. Group repeated questions, cover the main concerns and give relevant criticism a fair hearing.

Prepare likely questions so speakers can give accurate answers. If you use prepared questions to start the discussion, identify them as common questions rather than suggesting they came from attendees.

When an answer needs investigation, say what you will check and when you will reply. Give personal or sensitive matters a separate contact route.

6 Follow up on what people raised

Keep one record of questions and concerns from the event, email, phone and other channels. Give each outstanding item an owner and a response date.

Send participants the materials and answers you promised. If you gathered views on a proposal, explain what changed and why. Where a suggestion could not be accepted, explain the reason.

For an information event, a clear set of answers and a reliable contact may be the main result. For a workshop, the result may be revised arrangements or a list of options for a decision. Follow up in a way that matches the purpose you set at the start.

Check whether the engagement helped

Attendance tells you how many people came. To judge whether the activity helped, ask:

• Who took part? Check whether the groups you needed to reach were represented.
• Could people contribute? Record problems with joining, materials, timing or the format.
• Did they get what they needed? Ask whether the information and answers were useful and the next steps were clear.
• What happened afterwards? Check whether outstanding questions were answered and agreed actions completed.

Keep registrations, attendance and recording views separate. Also distinguish the wider interested audience from people directly affected by the work. A well-attended talk does not tell you whether a nearby business’s access problem has been resolved.

Download the virtual stakeholder engagement plan

Use this editable Word template to turn the article’s lessons into a plan for your own activity. It covers who you need to reach, what the event should achieve, how people can take part and who will answer their questions.

Preview the template

How to use it

1. Replace the prompts in square brackets with your project details.
2. Complete sections 1 to 4 before the activity and set your targets in section 6.
3. Copy the activity and session planning pages for further events. Keep one shared question and action log in section 5.
4. Complete the results review after the activity and follow up outstanding items by the dates promised.

The worked example is fictional and is not an HS2 event. Adapt it to your own circumstances. Review the plan after each activity and change methods that leave questions unanswered or groups unheard.

Sources

• Smith, J. and Fatah, A. (2022). Virtual community engagement reached a wider audience with better results. HS2 Learning Legacy, published 12 April 2022. Source for the account of LM’s work and its reported lessons.
• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. Making Events Accessible. Supporting guidance on accessible platforms, materials and participation.