To gauge sentiment and overall awareness of our client and its perceived value and contribution to local communities in which it operates, a bespoke, multi-channel stakeholder survey program was delivered in 2022.

The overall goal of the perception surveys was to discover if, and to what extent, the company is perceived to deliver economic and social value to stakeholders and regions in Northern Australia where it operates.

The findings of the perception program were analysed and summarised and a report of the methodology, insights, stakeholder group sentiment, recommendations, risks and opportunities for future engagement was prepared. The final report was designed and included infographics which summarised the key findings.

During the early planning process, it was highlighted that the numerous stakeholders and stakeholder groups identified had different engagement preferences and needs. This was considered and reflected in the selected methodology and positioning of questions.

During the engagement periods, Cannings Purple independently undertook a broad-reaching program of engagement to gain maximum engagement. This included travel to local communities to undertake face-to-face interviews, video interviews with government representatives and service providers, phone conversations with businesses, a digital community survey and a second digital survey targeting local businesses.

Cannings Purple was engaged to deliver two bespoke, multi-channel stakeholder survey programs to gauge sentiment and overall awareness of the company and its perceived value and contribution to the regions in Northern Australia where it operates. The data obtained from these two engagement programs will be used to benchmark future engagement and community perception and sentiment.

The company operates several mines and has existing operational and philanthropic relationships with stakeholders across several very remote regional communities, including a remote Aboriginal community.

To gauge sentiment and overall awareness of the company and its perceived value and contribution to Western Australian, a bespoke, multi-channel stakeholder survey program was delivered across a three-month period. The overarching goal of this engagement was to provide a baseline to measure changes in performance for future surveys.

In total 45 face-to-face interviews with priority stakeholders across Perth and the relevant region. Upon completion of the interviews and digital survey, a review and analysis of the results was undertaken and a report prepared for the company.

This branded Outcomes Report included graphs and highlighted key themes, insights, recommendations, demographic splits and identified risks and future opportunities.

As part of this process, the company was committed to the wide consultation with key stakeholders grouped by their geographical location. The research approach was co-designed with the the company and considered the engagement preferences and complexities regarding baselining perceptions coupled with varying relationships experienced to date.  

During the early planning process, it was highlighted that the numerous stakeholders and stakeholder groups identified have different engagement preferences and needs. This was considered and reflected in the selected methodology and positioning of questions.

Two Cannings Purple consultants travelled to the region to conduct face-to-face interviews over a three day period. Follow up online and phone interviews were offered to the priority stakeholders as well as the publication of a digital survey to capture the broader community sentiment.

Engaging in community perception audits is beneficial to better understand key stakeholders and the findings of such surveys provide meaningful data and actionable opportunities to strengthen existing and build new relationships.

However, engaging with stakeholders presents a risk to the relationship and the reputation of the business. The below risks were discussed with the project team and were considered in the planning of the survey delivery methods and communications:

• Resistance, apathy and unwilling participation

• Unsure about the purpose of engagement - for example a fear of change in operation / losing funding

• Broken and unmanaged reputation

• Remote geographical location of stakeholders

• Languages other than English

The Department sought external support to activate engagement with the community, industry, government, Traditional Owners and other key stakeholders to inform the planning and drafting of a draft Management Plan.

This phase of engagement was critical to identifying the issues and opportunities and managing the expectations of actively involved stakeholders.

The survey received over 2,200 unique responses from diverse, interested and impacted individuals across Western Australia. The survey was deemed successful with a completion rate of 55% and an average completion time of 49 minutes. The survey included benchmarking questions which were used to group and compare responses, including key demographics and forest uses.

Following the completion of the survey, Cannings Purple was engaged for an additional scope to compile a larger analysis and recommendations report that included the findings of key stakeholder Focus Groups. The findings were analysed and summarised and a report of key themes, insights, topics, demographic splits as well as risks and opportunities for next steps was prepared. The final report was formatted to include infographics which summarised the survey responses an detailed how the information could inform the draft management plan.

In October 2022, the Draft Management Plan was released for public feedback for a period of two-months.

Cannings Purple developed and implemented an online survey that was embedded on the Department's website and shared across its owned digital channels and within State newspapers using a QR code. A second confidential and voluntary internal digital survey was developed by Cannings Purple to capture staff feedback about working in the area of operations as well as their experiences in relation to unauthorised use of the area.

The survey was open for a three-week period and included 19 questions which were displayed in various formats. A statistical method was used to analyse and tag the raw data, using this approach ten top themes were identified and discussed in detail within the final report.

Cannings Purple was presented with a number of challenges:

• Developing questions that benchmarked respondents, were relevant to all stakeholders and provided valuable insights to the Department;

• Analysing large quantities of data and identifying trends and risks within the long and short form responses;

• Liaising with other third parties undertaking supporting stakeholder engagement activities such as Focus Groups to identify trends across a larger stakeholder group;

• Ensuring the engagement method was inclusive and considered the various accessibility needs of interested and impacted community stakeholders.