Vant shares what a challenging community information session in regional Australia has taught us about how to lead community engagement on sensitive projects.
Challenge
A project team was delivering an important but controversial facility for a small regional town.
By the time doors opened for a community information session, emotions were running high and locals were already lining up outside. Many were angry - and voicing it loudly. Some, including elderly community members, were visibly distressed.
What we did
We'd landed on a drop-in model: small group discussions with subject matter experts at each table, designed to give people more comfort and space to ask questions directly. Within minutes, that plan was tested, when a vocal section of the crowd demanded the team stand up the front and answer to the room.
As the tension grew, a brave local woman cut through the noise and told her story - sharing how a facility like this could have saved her son's life.
It was raw and personal, and it changed the room instantly. Even the loudest opponents fell silent.
What followed was a longer, more honest and empathetic conversation. People shared their fears, stories and opinions, and a common thread emerged: everyone just wanted what was best for their families and their town.
The session ran for close to four hours, well beyond schedule, with experts and people with lived experience answering questions alongside the project team - all while local media filmed and a radio crew waited outside.
By the end, the mood had shifted. Locals were asking about employment opportunities, softening one by one.
One of the strongest opponents stayed until the very end, and as he shook the project team's hand on his way out, he said: "Well, I'm still not happy about it, but I feel a lot better than when I came."
A community information session in regional Australia that started with anger and emotion, ended in genuine conversations and a handshake.
What that day taught us
This session, and others like it, has shaped how Vant approaches engagement. These key principles guide that approach:
Share information early. Tell people what you know, and what you don't, as soon as you can. Trust is everything on sensitive projects, and bringing the community along the journey is how it's built.
Be upfront about where influence is genuinely possible, and where it isn't. If there's real scope for input - on design, public art, or even just how people are communicated with - open it up. Be equally honest about what's already decided and can’t be changed. Being clear on these builds trust fast when done well - and erodes it just as fast when it isn't.
Listen with curiosity and empathy. A project team may move on next month, but the people in the room live with the outcome for life. They just want to be respected and heard.
Outcome
Community engagement is deeply human, and it can be deeply humbling. One thing I've learned is that the toughest sessions teach you the most.
Done well, they open the door to more honest dialogue, and greater trust and support for what's often a long project ahead.