Public Trust Community Engagement Strategy

The Challenge: Led by Nature Conservancy of Canada, a diverse group of stakeholders came together with the need to raise the profile and pride of local Species at Risk (SAR) within a rural and farming geography.

The Solution: Based on research and interviews, we developed a Community Engagement Strategy grounded in respect, stakeholder collaboration, community relations, public engagement, brand positioning, and communications. 

The strategy’s success was dependent on a number of areas, including the group’s acceptance of the positioning and branding for Species at Risk. This was to ensure clear and consistent language when describing SAR in all communications by all stakeholders, as with many involved, the need to ensure consistent and effective language is vital. Also, as often is the case, there were many target audiences. It was important to prioritize based on available resources and ultimate objectives. We profiled the highest-priority target audiences, which were turned into effective communications messages (via messaging matrices) that would resonate, earn, and maintain public trust.

Focusing on true engagement opportunities, the strategy provided recommended communications tactics broken into a three-phase approach of elevating the value of SAR, raising awareness and ultimately increasing the public’s trust in NCC and its SAR efforts. Tactics focused on content development, leveraged individual influencers and groups, boots on group opportunities, and media relations.

The Outcome: Nature Conservancy of Canada now has a strategic roadmap for communications and community engagement. The strategy will help ensure more effective execution in both the branding and communications of SAR with the ongoing efforts of building public trust and support for SAR.