What more can be done to deliver effective community benefit? 

By Tara Overend – Senior Account Manager

Government guidance on community benefit has been moving forward, with the publishing of ‘Community funds for transmission infrastructure’ last year and progression towards guidance for low carbon energy infrastructure, which we are expecting soon. Community benefit is at the forefront of infrastructure and energy projects, but does the guidance go far enough and are we delivering benefits that are helping affected communities, beyond just giving them grants?

Community benefits can be defined as monetary and non-monetary assistance provided to enhance the economy, society and/or environment in a local area. The definition is broad and allows for flexibility which is needed to tailor approaches to diverse communities.

A great benefit of having clear Government guidance is creating a level playing field. Infrastructure projects can create a huge impact on local communities that host them, whether it’s short-term disruption to everyday life or lasting changes to your local landscape. Since the publication of guidance for transmission projects last year, a benchmark has been set with further updates coming for low carbon energy infrastructure but there are whole sectors, like transport and water, still lacking guidance leaving it up to developers to decide what is and isn’t needed.

A common criticism of community benefits is that they are tokenistic and almost delivered just to tick a box or to buy favour. But community funds are outside the planning process and there are plenty of examples of them truly helping seldom heard communities and lesser-known community programmes desperate for support.

Short termism is also amongst the list of criticisms of some programmes. The transmission NSIP guidance is very specific about when funds should be spent. Should benefits be focused more on construction or longer term, leaving a positive legacy on the local community? Community ownership for projects like solar are becoming more and more popular as a long-term opportunity for local residents.

So, what’s the answer? Early engagement with the community on potential impacts and what community benefit might look like is integral to taking stakeholders on a journey and building trusting relationships. Listening to communities early on in the project lifecycle helps shape the final vision and gives scope to develop this collaboratively.

Bringing local people to the table is a helping hand for communities. It shows that developers are taking the time to listen and engage with stakeholders, with a focus on those seldom heard and under-represented in wider public life, while tailoring the support given to match the local need.

Secondly, is the importance of building meaningful partnerships to support the success of the programme. A key element to this is sustaining the partnerships with local organisations or SMEs to ensure benefits can stand the test of time, maybe even beyond the project end. Proper planning will need to consider what training and resources need to be provided to provided to ensure those local organisations have the toolkit to deliver benefits effectively.

And finally shifting the focus to outcomes, what is your benefit trying to achieve? This should be embedded throughout the process from planning to delivery and, last but by no means least, legacy.

At Cavendish, we have supported clients throughout this process to ensure the community benefit delivered is effective and so communities have better experiences in hosting infrastructure projects.