Areas of work

We offer a wide range of services for organisations who want to engage and work effectively with their stakeholders on environmental issues.

Evaluation 

To enhance and add credibility to engagement processes, it is essential to demonstrate that stakeholder views and needs are being genuinely considered and that the engagement produces outcomes (decisions).

The Environment Council believes that evaluation of participation and decision-making processes is thus a fundamental part of good engagement. Evaluation offers evidence of impact, increased transparency and trust, accountability for stakeholders and funding organisations, and learning and development for participatory practices. 

The Environment Council follows a four-stage evaluation approach. An interactive online guidance tool and an associated training course have now been developed by TEC to build capacity in this area.

Research & Development

We pioneered Stakeholder Engagement as an approach to resolving environmental issues and are working to ensure that it continues to develop and innovate. Developing stakeholder engagement guidelines, for example in the waste and aggregates sectors, and researching different approaches, such as managing uncertainty , are two key areas of current work.

Bespoke training, in-house courses, coaching and mentoring

Sharing skills and knowledge is a key component of our approach. TEC provides a range of learning opportunities covering a range of skills and theory necessary for the design and delivery of robust engagement processes.  These are delivered either as public open courses or as bespoke in-house training courses.  We also offer more tailored coaching and mentoring services to address specific needs.

Advice on engagement

TEC is at the forefront of the developing field of public participation and stakeholder engagement. We are able to help organisations understand the context and motivations for engagement and work with them to support their effective engagement in order to reach the most collaborative and sustainable outcomes. We have a structured Corporate Partners programme which enables us to support our partners on a long term basis. However we also offer advice to organisations on a more ad-hoc basis.

Stakeholder analysis

Knowing who your stakeholders are, what they are interested in and what they might want from you is the starting point for good engagement practice. TEC works with organisations to help them identify and better understand their stakeholders and to develop strategies for engaging stakeholders effectively.
 
Stakeholder liaison and communication

Effective multi-level communication is another key component of good engagement. TEC helps organisations communicate in ways that stakeholders are going to understand and manages the flow of communication around the issues under consideration.

Design of engagement processes and events

How and when stakeholders are involved will greatly influence their reaction to a particular issue or organisation. TEC designs individual stakeholder events and longer term engagement processes that enable the ‘better conversation’ to take place. Our process design approach is outcome focussed and is based around a thorough understanding of stakeholder needs and the context for the engagement.

Facilitation and mediation services

Enabling the conversation to happen is down to good process design prior to the event and good facilitation during the event. With a team of trained facilitators TEC is able to facilitate a wide range of workshops, meetings and events. We specialise in areas of contention or conflict where sensitivity and experience are needed to identify common ground and enable stakeholders to understand and respect differing views.

Organisation & Logistics

Successful stakeholder events are not only predicated on good process design and facilitation but also require excellent logistical and organisational support. Good food and accommodation can influence the nature of the conversation and should not be overlooked as critical success factors. This being the case TEC works with organisations to ensure the right ‘package’ is in place.  Naturally we also endeavour to do this by the most sustainable means, using eco-friendly venues wherever possible for our activities and moving towards carbon neutrality in all aspects of our everyday work.

In delivering any of the components of our services we are looking to create value for those involved. Value that comes from effective problem solving and decision making, from creating understanding between different groups of stakeholders, and from developing capacity in others to operate in different ways.

If you would like to discuss further how we might help your organisation please contact Winsome Grigor – Head of External Relations - by email  or phone on 020 7632 0108.