Targeting politicians and officials is often not enough – policy makers are often highly sensitive to public opinion and the media.
Stakeholder consultation is a common process in many other political systems but is an underdeveloped practice in Northern Ireland. However, integrating stakeholder engagement into your wider public affairs strategy can have a number of key benefits, including: helping to earn public trust and co-operation; avoiding lengthy public disputes and damage to corporate reputation; changing public opinion on an issue considered sensitive or controversial or successful achievement of a specific objective e.g. planning permission.
MCE has managed a range of stakeholder engagement processes for a number of client projects throughout Northern Ireland and the UK, including large scale retail /mixed use developments, town centre regeneration, sports stadium redevelopment, renewable energy schemes and comprehensive spending review proposals within the health sector.