15 Sep 2022

Informing the Community Engagement Framework for Natural and Nature-based Projects: An Annotated Review of Leading Stakeholder and Community Engagement Practices

Abstract: In its infrastructure development work, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) engages and collaborates with numerous local, state, and national stakeholders. Projects incorporating innovative approaches, such as beneficial use (BU) of dredged materials and other natural and nature-based features (NNBF), are often not well-understood by stakeholders, including those at the community level. This often results in conflicts and project delays. By sponsoring the development of a Community Engagement Framework, the Dredging Operations and Environmental Research (DOER) program hopes to systematically improve how project teams design, conduct, and measure effective community engagement on infrastructure projects. The purpose of this focused Review was to assesses leading stakeholder and community engagement practices that reflect the state of practice of stakeholder engagement within USACE, and by other leading organizations in the US and internationally, to inform development of the Community Engagement Framework. While the resulting Framework will be particularly well-suited for community engagement on projects incorporating BU and other NNBF, it will be applicable to a broad range of USACE Civil Works’ initiatives where effective stakeholder engagement is critical to project success. The assessment showed the practice of stakeholder engagement has evolved significantly over the past 30 years, with much more focus today on ensuring that engagement processes are purposeful, meaningful, collaborative, and inclusive - reflecting stakeholders’ desire to participate in co-creating sustainable solutions that produce environmental, economic, and social benefits. This, and other key findings, are informing development of the Community Engagement Framework which is scalable and adaptable to a broad range of projects across the USACE missions.

8 Aug 2022

A Community Engagement Framework Using Mental Modeling: The Seven Mile Island Innovation Lab Community Engagement Pilot—Phase I

Abstract: The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) engages and collaborates with multiple stakeholders—from agency partners, to public, private, and not-for-profit organizations, to community residents—to develop its dredged-sediment long-term management strategy (LTMS) that expands beneficial-use (BU) practices. In spring 2019, USACE collaborated with Decision Partners, the USACE–Philadelphia District Operations Division, The Wetlands Institute, and the Engineering With Nature program leadership to adapt, test, and refine the proven behavioral-science-based processes, methods, and tools based on Decision Partners’ Mental Modeling Insight, or MMI, approach for engaging stakeholders, including community members, as part of the Seven Mile Island Innovation Laboratory (SMIIL) initiative in coastal New Jersey. The team identified key community stakeholders and conducted research to better understand their values, interests, priorities, and preferences regarding wetlands and USACE activities in the Seven Mile Island area and those activities’ effects on wetlands, including protecting the environment, wildlife habitat, aesthetic beauty, maintaining navigability, and supporting coastal resilience. Understanding stakeholder needs, values, interests, priorities, and preferences is key to designing effective engagement strategies for diverse communities for SMIIL and provides a foundation for the community engagement framework currently being developed for application across USACE.