PlaceSpeak in the Natural Resource & Telecommunications Sector

8/11/2019 PlaceSpeak in the Natural Resource & Telecommunications Sector

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PlaceSpeak in the Natural Resource and Telecommunications SectorAime Brisebois

June 3, 2013

IntroductionTo obtain the necessary permits and get approval, most resource developments

such as a mines, oil and gas installations, and hydro-electric power projects require

community / public consultations. Governments at all levels require consultation on a

range of environmental issues including oil and gas development and many consultations

are spatially defined and localized in nature, that is, proposed developments may have an

impact on a specific geographic radius surrounding the projectOver the years, the

methodology for public consultation has evolved to include public information meetings

and hearings, telephone polls and surveys, and most recently online

engagement.Telephone surveys are less relevant with declining land line use. The digital

divide argument is no longer germane as the majority of residents are online via email or

social media. The increase is online users has again been shown by the 2012 Ipsos

Canadian Interactive Reid Report. Internet communication technology has made it

possible to reach a broader spectrum of the public. Until recently, that interaction has

been anonymous and anecdotal at best.

Increasingly, government is also emphasizing evidence-based decision-

making. Governments at the municipal, provincial, and federal are legislating public

engagement. Governments at various levels recognize that existing community

consultation methods lack in reaching a broad demographic. Public meetings attract the

ideological minority. The Internet offers fresh potential to reinvigorate the dialogue as


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public engagement practices are changing over time, well beyond traditional bounds of

public hearings

PlaceSpeak, a new applied online tool to support stakeholder and public

engagement, is revolutionizing and innovating sustainable approaches to online

community consultation.PlaceSpeak authenticates citizen users to their addresses and

provides the ability to both consult directly with proponents and be counted in terms of

providing verifiable data for decision-making. The advent of PlaceSpeak represents a sea

change in public engagement best practices, and has been developed in Vancouver with

the support of the NRC-IRAP and MITACS Accelerate.PlaceSpeak provides a controlled,secure, privacy-protected, transparent platform for both industry and citizen users to

gather public opinions on various proposed developments in a community or nation-wide.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this research was to explore the use of online public consultation

and the use of social media in online public consultation to advance best practices within

the resource development industry. The MITACS project aims to research the ways in

which online consultation generally, and the PlaceSpeak platform in particular, can

enrich public consultation processes by engaging populations normally not connected to

or involved with natural resource development consultation through current and

traditional outreach methods.

Given the rise of social media in everyday life of citizens, exploring the ways in

which social media has, does, and can influence public consultation remains to be

illuminated. Because social medias potential of using online consultation initiatives has

not yet seen its mass popularity as a participatory tool for planners, further research is


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needed to gain insight into past challenges of adopting online consultation methods,

current initiatives being explored as well as future directions online consultation may

explore with respect to the resource development industry

This project seeks to explore the potential for online consultation in the resource

development industry with subgroups including 1) Environmental & Engineering

Consultants; 2) Public Engagement, PR & Communications companies; 3) First Nation

Communities; 4) Provincial & Federal Departments; and 5) Industry Associations.

Geographically, the research was conducted in Vancouver Lower Mainland, and then

expand through British Columbia.

Methodology

Literature Review and Database Building

I researched the current landscape of the resource development industry in the

Lower Mainland in order to create a research database for the five subgroups listed in the

Objectives above.

The initial literature research provided key framework in creating the consultation

guide to conduct meetings with key informants in the resource development industry

according to each subgroup. The consultations with individuals in the industry were

transcribed and analyzed for key themes including, but not limited to: challenges of

public consultation generally, past experiences (if any) with online consultation and

social media, current initiatives and plans, current visions (if any) for online consultation.

Using PlaceSpeak as a model, the research aimed to illuminate opportunities for growth

in online consultation, and what needs to be done in order to support online consultation

initiatives.


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Opportunities of online

public engagement

Opportunities of online public engagement

Selecting appropriate mitigation Identifying sensitive areas in Traditional Ecological Knowledge or high

resource users Help connect business community to develop strategies for northern

infrastructure development (big clients and government) i.e./ Remotenorth has little infrastructure, and investors need to share costs oftransportation & access - marine docks/ airports/ roads/electricity)

Resource/Land Use Planning/ Community Planning Provincial Water Strategies (Alberta/ Sask/ Ont) Protected Areas Planning/Work across Canada Community development projects Resource value or resource use assessments (i.e. help to determine values

of parks versus open land for development) Beaufort Sea Regional Strategic Planning (First Nation boards/ Federal/

Territorial Regulators/ Advisors, and public stakeholders) Strategic Planning in Northern eastern BC hear oil & gas reserves

Transboundary Working Groups Cumulative Effects Cumulative Effects Management in Alberta oil sands (Cumulative effects

working groups/bodies). Caribou management and other transboundary volatile compounds

(air/water/ birds.)

Key Themes Security, Safety, will it help me get the results I want?

Table 3 Summary of interview with a small air quality consulting company

Previous Experiencewith Online PublicEngagement

No, he has no significant involvement of public process However for expansions, one way Al Lanfranco Consultants

help is they will go in and provide the information to theconsultants who need to reach out to stakeholders with updatedinformation

Challenges withonline publicengagement

n/a

Opportunities ofonline publicengagement

Suggested to look into Energy Systems i.e. UBC- BiomassEnergy System, Nextera (Dextera) Project, renewable energy.EnviroChem


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Table 4 Summary of interview with an environmental non profit in Ontario

Previous Experiencewith Online Public

Engagement

No

Challenges withonline publicengagement andPlaceSpeakspecifically

unclear about, What is PlaceSpeak? before I went throughthe process with her step by step even after checking out thewebsite

Suggested redesigning of home-page to present a clearmessage to users who have never visited the site

o Specific suggestion was putting About and How itWorks at the top of the homepage instead of the

bottom


Can see the tool being useful for a potential developer that iscoming into her small town

Helpful to reach out to many rural residents

Key Themes Education, outreach


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Table 5 Summary of interview with consultants in the telecommunications field


No


Main concern is privacy and security Specifically concerned with how PlaceSpeak undergoes geo-

verification Do not want to mislead clients into thinking they can change

the outcome Control is key, asked to modify many aspects of PlaceSpeak

o Wording of buttonso Did not use keywordso Changed imaging of maps on the home page

Specific issues with online public consultation and natural

resources:o only embrace change if they are required by lawo privacy and security


Sees a need for online public engagement in natural resourcesdue to the sensitivity of the issues

New realm for Rogers, very cautious and excited about theidea

Key Themes Privacy, security, geoverification

Table 6 Summary of interview with a public relations consultant


No


Seemed skeptical about the uptake of PlaceSpeak for bigcontroversial projects because online engagement is notrequired by law

Opportunities of

online publicengagement

Optimistic about the use of PlaceSpeak to engage with First

Nations as they are the number 1 users of online sources fornews and information

Asked questions about whether or not consultations can occurbehind closed doors

o less interested in the use of PlaceSpeak for her own business needs once PlaceSpeak informed her that allconsultations are viewable to everyone, but onlyverified users can participate in the surveys,


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reinvigorate the dialogue as public engagement practices are changing over time, well

beyond traditional bounds of public hearings.

PlaceSpeak is revolutionizing and innovating sustainable approaches to online

community consultation by authenticating the online dialogue between citizens and

decision-makers. In the simplest terms, PlaceSpeak allows proponents to gather public

input according to its geographic source and thus distinguish location-specific issues

from broad-based issues. PlaceSpeak allows citizens to 'claim their place' in the

conversation according to their actual address by providing a controlled, secure, privacy-

protected, transparent platform. Both industry and citizen users can gather public

opinions on various proposed developments in a community or nation-wide.

PlaceSpeak adds value to public consultation through generating enriched and

verifiable data to support one of the most critical phases in natural resource development

initiatives. Successful resource developers frequently use evidence-based decision

making obtained from the verifiable data to support policy development and decision-

making. PlaceSpeak makes it possible for organizations to identify stakeholders in a more

refined manner and have genuine conversations based on the nature of their interest.

Overall, natural resource managers and developers can use PlaceSpeak as a tool to

manage single or multiple public consultations and projects in one place. PlaceSpeak

applications range from gathering public opinion on the implementation of hydro-electric

dams to the renewal of specific transportation plans and route options. Looking forward,

PlaceSpeak intends to broaden its application into the contaminated sites field and other

natural resource sectors by providing a value-added service to current public engagement


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strategies. PlaceSpeak can help consultants and developers gather defensible,

geographically coded feedback to satisfy the regulated need for meaningful and interest-

based public engagement by their clients.

If you have any questions or comments about the use of an online tool for public

engagement in the natural resource sector, please contact:

Aime Brisebois [email protected]

Aime Brisebois, a master's student in natural resource management at Simon Fraser

University is a MITACS intern with PlaceSpeak, a new online tool used to support public

consultation initiatives. She is exploring public engagement strategies in the natural

resource management field specifically to determine if there is an interest or a need for

an open and transparent online tool, such as PlaceSpeak. Aime's background in

environmental toxicology and planning further supports her interest in contaminated

sites and the use of an online public consultation tool to support the redevelopment

process.

You can find out more about PlaceSpeak online:

www.placespeak.comTwitter:@PlaceSpeakFacebook:www.facebook.com/PlaceSpeak

Article 2: ECO Canada

https://www.eco.ca/community/blog/how-can-environmental-professionals-make-the-most-of-new-online-engagement-tools/87981/


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Recommendations

PlaceSpeak has an opportunity to provide valuable information to the stakeholder

engagement specialists in the natural resource and environmental management field.

Industry professionals appeared both optimistic and cautious when discussing PlaceSpeak

as an option. Potential proponents were optimistic about the need to engage the public

early on in natural resource management projects because of the strong emotions evoked

from development of green space. Potential proponents were cautious about the aspects

of the discussion surrounded the nature of the security and privacy of PlaceSpeak.

Placespeak can play an important role in public engagement but may need to take thefollowing suggestions into consideration to be successful in the new field.

(A) PrivacyA primary theme of all the discussions with potential clients surrounded privacy

and security of the publics personal information and of the topic page itself. PlaceSpeak

is currently working on improving the legal and privacy aspects of the platform.

Employees at PlaceSpeak who are making presentations could be informed on the precise

nature of PlaceSpeaks privacy in order to clearly communicate the privacy

considerations to potential clients. Employees at PlaceSpeak may benefit from an hour

long workshop on the privacy aspects of the platform.PlaceSpeak may wish to consider

moving away from the green dot imaging on the maps, in order to improve the privacy

of individuals in remote locations who may feel exposed by the green dot, despite it being

within the polygon. PlaceSpeak may want to consider creating a private discussion board

only viewable to connected or invited users.


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In the natural resource industry, PlaceSpeak has already considered, specially for

the Standard Land and Rogers Topic Page, additional verification levels into the

platform to satisfy the security needs of potential clients. Standard Land and Rogers were

the first to suggest the additional level of verification and as a result, PlaceSpeak added in

a new level of verification including a home phone and/or cell phone number. As more

and more large corporations begin to look at PlaceSpeak as an option, the importance of

user verification will become increasingly important. Industry will want to control their

outgoing message and control the incoming comments by ensuring users are verified to

place.

(B) Modifications/ControlPrimarily from our discussions with Standard Land and Rogers, industry appears

to want control over the messaging of the website. The control stems from wanting to be

honest and upfront with users i.e.Rogers was concerned with leading on users to thinking

they can change the location of their proposed cell phone towers. I created a document

highlighting the editable and non-editable aspects of PlaceSpeak to help Rogers

understand how much flexibility PlaceSpeak allowed in particular changes such as

wording on buttons (Appendix I). Moving forward, PlaceSpeak may want to consider a

plan of action to use when approached by these questions by clients. A plan of action

could include using the document in Appendix I as a guide for all industry, it could mean

changing the flexibility of modifications based on the subscription selection, or the plan

of action could include a combination of the two.

(C) Clarity of Message


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First time visitors to the PlaceSpeak website did not immediately grasp the full

meaning and usefulness of PlaceSpeak. Each organization, to whom I sent the

PlaceSpeak link prior to our meetings, required further explanation about why and how

PlaceSpeak is a useful tool to their organization. Additional basic messaging appropriate

for participants outside of the academic world on the home-page could improve the

retention of first time users to the site. Specifically, Lola Jean Gentles from Transition

Towns suggested a change as simple as moving the About and How it Works section

to the top of the home-page. Another suggestion from Tim Robillard at Standard Land

was to improve the communication on the web page about the results-by-geographyaspect of PlaceSpeak.

Interviewees were concerned about their users feeling spammed if they receive

emails about other consultations after participating in a specific consultation. Users may

also feel like the privacy of PlaceSpeak is reduced after receiving information about a

different topic, while having signed up for another. Including information when a user

signs-up for PlaceSpeak describing the email notification feature (as opposed to a check

box) may mitigate the issue.

Conclusion

In general, most interviewees agreed that PlaceSpeak adds value to public

consultation through generating verifiable data to support natural resource development

and local decision-making by communicating with citizens online according to their

actual address. Resource managers and developers can use PlaceSpeak as a tool to

manage single or multiple public consultations and projects in one place. PlaceSpeak

applications range from gathering public opinion on the implementation of hydro-electric


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dams to the renewal of specific transportation plans and route options. Continued

conversation with industry leaders about the use of an online public engagement tool like

PlaceSpeak in the industry will support PlaceSpeaks goal to successfully enter the

natural resource and environmental management field.

Looking forward, PlaceSpeak looks to broaden its use in the natural resource and

environmental management field by providing a value-added service to current public

engagement strategies. PlaceSpeak can help consultants and developers gather defensible,

geographically coded, information for their clients to satisfy the regulated need for public

engagement in various developments.To be successful in a new field, PlaceSpeak may beinterested in modifications highlighted in this report to be more appealing to new

potential clients without changing the main message of, claim your place, speak your

mind, influence the outcome.


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APPENDIX IEDITABLE FEATURES Last updated: May 7, 2013, AB

The following two tables summarize the editable and non-editable features of theTopic Page of PlaceSpeak (Table 1) and the Topic Edit Page of PlaceSpeak (Table 2).Keep in mind that PlaceSpeak strives to make the platform as participant/proponentfriendly as is feasible and we are always adding suggestions from participants and

proponents to our update list. Note: Currently, if there is no option for editing on the PlaceSpeak topic edit page then the component is currently not editable.

Appendix I . List and description of editable and not-editable features on the Topic Page.

Feature Editable? (YES/NO)

Buttons NO: Size, colour, and text style cannot be changed

Order of Features NO: The order of the features listed on topic pages is static(i.e. tab order along the top of the topic page)

Location of Features NO: The location of features on the topic page are static.

General Appearance NO: Components such as colour and format are static toensure consistency of the PlaceSpeak brand for our users.

Which features (i.e. tabs)appear

YES: You can select which features you would like yourusers to see.

Editing or hiding Facebooklikes and shares, Invitebutton, tweets

NO: Currently these features cannot be removed

Topic statistics NO: Topic statistics cannot be hidden.

Map NO: Although the map can be modified on the back end bythe proponent, the map must be shown on the front end.

How can you help NO: The section included in the overview tab is not optional.


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section

Appendix I.i . List and description of editable and not editable features on the Topic EditPage.

Section Sub-Section Editable? (YES/NO)

Topic Title YES: Name your consultation topic in 50characters or less.

Category YES: Select your organizations label from a pre-made drop down menu.

Team New Team Member

YES: Invite the names of your team Help: Teammembers will receive an email notification of their

role, but they must first be a PlaceSpeak memberto access your page in that capacity.Administrators can add, edit, add delete all data onyour page. A moderator can only post, edit, anddelete comments in discussion forums.

Administrators YES: Administrators are added from the NewTeam Member section and can edit content andassign roles in specific topics.

Moderators YES: Moderators are added from the New TeamMember section and can only post, edit, anddelete comments in notice boards and discussionforums.

ContactInformation

Organization Information

YES: To upload a logo, click Change beneaththe image placeholder. In the dialogue box thatappears, either drag a file from your desktopdirectly into the blue bar, or click the blue bar and


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then navigate to the correct folder on yourcomputer. When the upload is complete, select theimage and then click OK. A cropping box willnow appear. Drag the corners of the box to crop. Itwill automatically scale your logo to thedimensions that are required. Click OK again,and youre done.

Contact Information

YES: Enter the publicly-viewable contactinformation of someone that can answer questionsfrom participants.

Features YES: Choose which features participants will see.Features will appear as navigation tabs at the topyour topic page.

Who canparticipate?

YES: By selecting various check boxes, choosewho can connect to your topic and participate inthe consultation. Residents are defined as thosewho live or work within your consultation area.

Overview

Overview cont

Featured Image

Featured Imagecont

Set up your main landing page.

YES: Upload an image that best represents yourtopic.Help: To upload an image, click Change beneaththe image placeholder. In the dialogue box thatappears, either drag a file from your desktopdirectly into the blue bar, or click the blue bar andthen navigate to the correct folder on yourcomputer. When the upload is complete, select theimage and then click OK. A cropping box willnow appear. Drag the corners of the box to crop.

Abstract YES: Add a short topic description of 140characters. The abstract will appear inPlaceSpeaks topic menu, as well as in searchengines and Facebook links.

Description YES: Educate the public. Enter all the relevantinformation about your topic. Be concise, but bethorough. The people reading this want to beinformed.

Help: PlaceSpeak uses the common WYSIWYG


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text editor (it literally means What You See IsWhat You Get). If youre copying text fromanother document or word processor, ensure it is astraight text file (.txt), meaning there is nothinglike italicized words, indents or different fonts andsizes. The WYSIWYG editor only recognizes

basic formatting created with its own tools. Usethe editor to also embed video, add photos, createlinks and insert tables.

Map Upload Existing Map

YES: Draw the boundaries of your consultationarea. The key feature of PlaceSpeak is the abilityto connect with people only from a specificgeographic area.Advanced users can upload an existing KML orKMZ file.

Create Own YES: Use the buttons in upper-left corner to zoomin and out, or move pan around the map.

To set the boundaries of your consultation area,select the polygon tool [insert image of button].On the point where you want to begin outliningthe boundary, click once and release. Move yourmouse to the next position. The line trailing

behind your cursor is the edge of your boundary. Now click the mouse again to set your second

anchor point. Keep doing this until you arrive backat your starting point. When the cursor changes toa hand, click one last time to complete the circuit.The shape will automatically convert into yourdefined consultation area, or polygon. Give itname in the field below.

You can add multiple polygons to the map. Theycan vary in size from a single property to an entirecountry, but most proponents chose to use the

boundaries of existing neighbourhoods or

municipalities.Keywords Current Keywords

Current Keywordscont

YES: Choose up to five keywords.

Help: The Recommended Keywords are basedon the contents of your topic description. Type upto five keywords below or use our RecommendedKeywords to the right.


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Recommended Keywords

YES: Activate these recommendations bydragging one or all into the Current Keywords

box to the left.

Surveys YES: Integrate a survey into your topic page.

LimeSurvey YES: PlaceSpeak uses the open sourceLimeSurvey interface to administer our surveys.

If you would like to use LimeSurvey, click onLimeSurvey link and then the green NewLimeSurvey button. Enter the name of yoursurvey in the survey title box.

To add questions or edit your survey, click on theedit link. You will be taken to the LimeSurvey

page

For more information on how to develop a surveyand enter questions with LimeSurvey, please visitthe LimeSurvey user manual:http://docs.limesurvey.org/English+Instructions+f or+LimeSurvey

When you are ready to publish your survey, clickon Publish.

FluidSurveys YES: To use FluidSurveys, you will need to set upa separate account on FluidSurveys.com. This iswhere you will create your surveys as well.http://fluidsurveys.com/

When you have set up a FluidSurveys account andcreated your survey(s), click on the FluidSurveyslink and enter your API User key and passwordfrom FluidSurveys.com. A list of the surveysassociated with your FluidSurveys account willappear.

To publish a survey, click on publish beside thetitle of the survey you wish to launch. Only onesurvey may be active at the same time.

Discussions YES: Start an open discussion with participants toget a better sense of public opinion.

Help: This feature will appear under the


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Discussions tab at the top of your topic page.You can add as many discussions threads as youwish.

Events YES: Post notices of important, upcoming events,

such as public meetings, municipal votes, or theclosing of discussions and polls on your topic

page.

Help: Your events will appear under the Eventstab at the top of your topic pages. You can add asmany events as you like. They will automaticallyappear in chronological order.

Resources Images YES: Upload images, videos, documents or anyother media that participants can pursue at their

own pace to better understand your topic. Theywill appear under the Resources tab at the top ofyour topic page.

YES: After clicking Add Image choose animage from your gallery or upload a new one. Inthe dialogue box that appears, either drag a filefrom your desktop directly into the blue bar, orclick the blue bar and then navigate to the correctfolder on your computer. When the upload iscomplete, select the image and then click OK.

Video YES: To add a video, simply copy the videosURL from YouTube or Vimeo and paste it into thetext field. We recommend you enter a title and fulldescription of your video to entice participants.

Documents YES: To add a document, drag a file into the blueupload bar, or click directly on it to open yourcomputers files. The document will appear as alink on your resources page, so we recommendyou write a brief sentence or two to let participantsknow whats waiting for them.

Links YES: To link to external websites, such as yourorganization's home page, paste the URL fromthe website into the text box and click Add. Werecommend you enter a title, as participants aremore likely to click on a link if they understandwhy you're taking them there.


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Social Media Facebook YES: Embed social media feeds directly into yourtopic pages sidebar.

Enter enter the URL of the Facebook page youwould like to embed.

Twitter Enter one or more Twitter accounts or hashtags.

Polls YES: Add a poll directly to your topic pagessidebar.Help: Write a short yet complete poll questionfollowed by the response options (ie: yes or no) inthe boxes provided, then click Publish. Once a

poll is published it can not be edited. It will bedeleted and replaced with any new poll you post.

Participants NO: View the names and geographic location of people connected to your topic.

Widgets Buttons Use these widgets to let participants link to thetopic directly from your website.

NO: To include a link button on your site, click on"Get Widget Code" button and copy the code toyour website.

iFrame YES: PlaceSpeak also helps you to embed adynamic topic widget on your site. You can

customize this by adjusting the width of the topicwidget and select the information you wish toappear on your site.

Reports Downloadingreports

You can edit reports after they are downloaded.See the results! Download automated reportsabout your public discussions, surveys and polls.After you download the material you can thenmodify the information or incorporate it into otherreports, but you cannot modify the

Help: In the left-hand column, locate the forumfrom which you want a report. In the same row tothe right, select the file format in which you wouldlike to receive the report.

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