What is a socially successful project? We went to Telford in Shropshire to find out.

We believe that projects in the built environment should be technically feasible, financially viable and also socially successful, leading to results that people and communities like, or even love.

Did anyone else share this thinking?   We went to test it at the annual Flood and Coast conference which is a three-day annual conference where the flood risk management industry converges to network, learn from each other and solve problems. 

First up was a rather early workshop (8:10am!) which was luckily fueled by pastries, followed later in the day by a presentation and Q&A session.  Our brilliant participants shared insights into what a good project should be – (technically solve a problem, does what it says on the tin, includes everyone, meets people’s needs) – why we should aim for people to be delighted by our projects, and what’s stopping us from giving as much attention to the social dimension of projects as the technical and the financial.

We pulled our five recurring themes from the Flood and Coast conversations:

  • Time – we just don’t get given the time in the project processes to develop relationships with stakeholders and collaborate with them.  And even more time is required if we are have to reconcile bad relationships and change opinions.
  • Funding restrictions – Usually, engagement activities, identification of social values development of social value strategies receive whatever is left in the project budget once the technical teams have spent their share.
  • Encouraging stakeholders to engage – People are busy, time is precious.  When we finally do get the time and resources to engage, we hear from the usual suspects, the full range of voices we need to hear.  This also has implications for identifying community champions.     
  • How do you measure the social? – the social dimension is very qualitative in nature, it’s about relationships, it’s about networks, it’s about connections, it’s about social capital.  All of this is hard to capture, evidence and measure.  So how do we evidence that what we do is actually making a difference?
  • The traditional project process is flawed – We have to work against the system.  Traditional project processes are numbers orientated, and the social dimension isn’t.  We need project processes that integrate the social dimension on equal terms with the financial and technical elements. 

So, what should we do? 

We need to disrupt the norm. 

We need to change our practices and processes.

We need to champion the social dimension within our projects and ensure it is on a par with the technical and financial aspects.  We need to make the case for the benefits that the social dimension can bring to the technical and financial aspects such as reduced project opposition, the inclusion of valuable local knowledge and reputational benefits. In Socially Successful Projects we will go into more detail how we can change these processes and practices.  Keep watching the website for the launch date.

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