|
|
Greetings!
 | |
"An ounce of prevention..."
|
There it is, right on the front page of the New Harbor website - "Define yourself, or be defined by others." Nowhere is this more true than for developers proposing something new in a community. So it's surprising how often folks planning a project fail to let their neighbors and local officials know ahead of time what the project entails and how it will benefit the community. This failure to communicate can be the result of a decision to "save money" or "not get the neighbors up in arms." It often doesn't work out that way, however, and addressing the almost inevitable controversy not only costs (much more) money, but it delays the project and wastes enormous amounts of time. The word for this dynamic is "NIMBY", the acronym for "Not in my back yard." Once a NIMBY situation gains momentum, it can be very difficult and very expensive to turn things around. We've had a long string of community relations successes here at New Harbor over the years replacing NIMBY with a "Welcome" mat. Usually, however, success boils down to Ben Franklin's simple axiom: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Best,
|
 |
NIMBY Situation, Averted
|
 Our most recent community relations success was in Cranston, where our client, the local Boy Scout council, owns a 106-acre camp that doubles as an oasis of open space in that city. To help pay for the maintenance of the land, the Scouts agreed to let a cell tower company build a tower on the property. Some neighbors objected, local officials followed suit, and the project was delayed. The Scouts asked us to lend a hand.
We were able to work with the parties to craft a compromise solution, largely because the situation had three key elements:
- The developer was flexible and reasonable, was in a position to consider different ideas and was willing to change the original plan.
- Local elected leaders were willing to expend political capital and show leadership in search of a credible solution. They didn't grandstand or use the controversy as an opportunity to garner publicity at the expense of an agreement.
- Finally, the neighbors were reasonable and pragmatic. They were willing to work towards a compromise because they understood the benefits of having open space nearby. Further, they understood that the Scouts needed to find a way to help meet the expense of maintaining it.
Click here to read the story.
|
| Knowing Beats Guessing Every Time |
 Polls in recent years have shown some low ratings for Rhode Island's elected officials and their policies. Voters are obviously angry, and it's usually assumed that the anger is about the sour economy. However, as the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns now knows, that interpretation is not just simplistic, but incomplete as well.
Recently, we conducted some focus groups on behalf of The League . There, a random sample of Rhode Islanders discussed the thoughts and feelings they share with each other privately over the dinner table - the complicated and subtle ones that just don't come through in public settings. Well-designed and thoughtfully facilitated focus groups can make all the difference in a communications effort that succeeds because it understands its audiences. These groups turn "audience segments" into names and faces. They turn "interpreting the data" into listening and learning. If you're making assumptions about your audience that you haven't verified, or find yourself thinking of your audience as one-dimensional, it may be time to cultivate a more authentic conversation starting with focus groups.
|
|
Great Ink!
|
 LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) does tremendous work here in Rhode Island, and 20 other locations across the country. Last month the group's long-time Executive Director Barbara Fields was chosen as Administrator for Region 1 of the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Before she left for her new post, she had a chance to talk about LISC's mission, and its many successes, in the "Five Questions" feature in the Providence Business News.
|
|
|
|
|
