Stakeholder-oriented project communication brought manageability to wind power projects
OX2, one of the Europe’s leading developers of renewable energy sources chose Brunnen as its partner in Finland almost five years ago. Our common goal was to create optimal conditions for the success of wind power projects. Strategic communication and stakeholder expectation management were harnessed at the heart of the infrastructure projects.
Good interaction with key stakeholders is vital in the context of major infrastructure projects, and wind farm development projects are among the most demanding ones. The project development phase from screening and identifying the project to permitting processes takes years, and additional surveys and appeals can easily multiply the length of a project. Identifying the most important stakeholders and their needs and involving them in project planning from the start significantly improves the chances of success.
Keeping all key stakeholder groups informed and involved creates an understanding that can give a project the broadest possible support.
At the end of 2018, OX2‘s strategic growth was increasingly focused on Finland, where the wind power market grew at a rapid pace. Country Manager for OX2 Finland, Teemu Loikkanen, realized that the company clearly needed strategic and systematic communication to better factor in the expectations of both the general public and the media.
This also initiated the collaboration between OX2 and Brunnen. OX2 was embarking on a communicationally challenging project, and the partnership began with a survey of the most important stakeholder groups whose concerns and needs were identified and translated into clear communication plans. As the company’s projects progressed, dialogue with the key stakeholders grew increasingly active and open. Communication had become more influential.
A better understanding of stakeholders boosts project comms
By the end of 2019, OX2 Finland had multiplied the size of its project portfolio as well as its staff. It had become clear that a new, more comprehensive way to identify stakeholder groups was needed to enable successful project execution. OX2 had to learn to better understand its stakeholders and their significance.
Brunnen designed and built a unique approach for OX2 to identify its most critical stakeholder groups and to understand the impact of these groups on the various phases of its projects.
“What was especially good about the Brunnen people was their way of involving all project managers in developing communication. Their commitment to us was demonstrated by their self-initiated analysis of the wind power trouble talk, which provided us with new and necessary information about our stakeholders,” says Teemu Loikkanen and adds:
“With good collaboration, we created a common understanding for the whole organization of the most critical communication points and stakeholder groups for the success of the wind power project. We did not have such a coherent overall picture before. Now that we continue to grow, the common concept has a significant impact on our organizational culture and the way we operate in different phases of the project. With a consistent and transparent approach, we can keep the projects on track from start to finish.”
In OX2 Finland, the communication model was completed and implemented in spring 2020. The communication concept was also found to be unique and effective at the headquarters in Stockholm and the project communication concept was rolled out to Sweden at the end of 2020.