The missing generation: Why we need to stop talking at young people and start designing engagement for them. 

By Chelsea Reilly – Senior Account Director 

If you develop infrastructure or energy projects, there’s a good chance you’ve spent considerable time thinking about engaging local communities. But there is one group that continues to be largely absent from the consultation process: young people. This matters more than you may realise.

The infrastructure being planned today – whether it’s renewable generation, transmission, data centres, battery storage or roads and rail – will shape the communities that today’s 18 to 24-year-olds live in for decades to come. Yet research carried out by Oxford Brookes Business School for Cavendish found that this age group represented less than 2% of respondents across multiple consultation datasets. In one analysis, they accounted for just 1.5% of all participants yet represent approximately 8.3% of the total population.

The myth of the apathetic generation

The findings challenge a common assumption that younger audiences are apathetic, disengaged or in parts opposed to infrastructure.

Across the datasets reviewed, younger respondents were largely more supportive of development than older age groups. They were more likely to support renewable energy projects, more open to emerging technologies such as hydrogen and battery storage, and significantly more likely to back developments that create jobs. The issue is therefore not one of persuasion. It is one of participation.

Younger adults are being designed out of consultation

For decades, consultation strategies have relied upon channels that work well for older demographics: local newspapers, formal exhibitions, community meetings and stakeholder briefings. Yet younger people consume information differently.

Research undertaken for the project found that fewer than a quarter of young people regularly access local news, while Instagram and TikTok remain among their most widely used media platforms. Eighty per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds use Instagram weekly, while 63% use TikTok. By comparison, only 22% access local news on a weekly basis.

While digital engagement is becoming the norm for infrastructure and energy projects, a persistent question is are we targeting the digital spaces that younger adults occupy? If we aren’t going to the digital spaces (TikTok, Instagram) or places (gyms, universities) that young adults use, it should not be surprising when their voices are absent from the process.

The consultation sector frequently describes this as an engagement problem. In reality, it is often a consultation design problem.

Authenticity beats corporate messaging

One of the most interesting findings from the research is that young people are far more sceptical about corporate messaging.

The study found that younger audiences are more likely to trust information received through peers, family members and community networks than information originating directly from large organisations, public institutions or household brands. Young respondents were 60% more likely than other demographics to listen to the views of friends and family regarding local development issues.

This has important implications for how projects communicate, with brands that build audiences through relatable, authentic content enjoying success among younger audiences. By contrast, campaigns perceived as performative or inauthentic generated significant backlash among this group.

Micro-influencers could help turn that insight into action. Trusted local creators or issue-based voices can make project information feel more relevant, credible and human — particularly when they are connected to the place, topic or community being discussed.

For infrastructure projects, the lesson is clear: the polished corporate brochure may provide reassurance within the industry, but it does little to inspire trust among younger audiences. Communication needs to feel human, straightforward and relevant to people’s daily lives.

Young people engage when the benefits feel real

Another important insight is that young adults evaluate projects through a highly practical lens.

They are more likely to support developments that deliver tangible personal benefits, such as affordable housing, lower bills, employment opportunities and skills development. The research found that 18 to 24-year-olds were significantly more likely than older demographics to support affordable housing and developments that create jobs locally.

And here lies an opportunity for developers. Too often, project communications focus on technical specifications, planning processes and engineering challenges. While these details matter, they rarely answer the question younger audiences are actually asking: “Why should I care?”. The projects that successfully engage younger audiences are likely to be those that connect infrastructure delivery to outcomes people can clearly understand and experience.

• Not megawatts 

• Not vehicle movements 

• Not technical assessments 

• Jobs, skills, bills and opportunities 

This insight was reflected in recent Focus Groups with young adults, with one participant saying they would be interested in ‘jobs and green spaces rather than traffic’.

Meet people where they actually are

The research points to a broader rethink of consultation itself. Traditional consultation venues often create participation barriers for younger audiences. Community halls and exhibition events remain important, but they are rarely places where younger people naturally spend their time.

Instead, researchers recommend bringing engagement into environments that younger people already use and trust, including universities, student unions, gyms and social venues. And the same principle applies online. Successful engagement requires clear routes to participation, intuitive digital journeys and accessible – or more specifically, empowering – language to be effective. Participation should feel straightforward, not procedural.

A consultation challenge – and an opportunity

The infrastructure sector faces an obvious dilemma. As planning reforms seek to streamline delivery and accelerate decisions, there is a risk that engagement becomes more concentrated among those who already participate most frequently. Yet the communities that will live with the consequences of today’s infrastructure decisions for the longest are often the least represented in consultations.

The answer is not simply creating another social media account or posting more content online, it requires a shift in mindset.

With special thanks to the students of Oxford Brookes Business School who joined us for the Summer Consultancy Programme Lukas Pomsztein Ferraro, Jack McCulloch and Daniel Varga as part of Cavendish’s Youth Panel.