Stakeholder Engagement: How to Gather Meaningful Input
Stakeholder engagement is a term that gets thrown around a lot in Asset Management, but what does it actually mean? More importantly, how can municipalities ensure they’re gathering input that leads to better planning, operations, and maintenance of infrastructure? For small municipalities with limited time and resources, engagement can sometimes feel like just another box to check—but when done right, it creates stronger, more informed decisions and builds trust with the community.
Why Stakeholder Engagement Matters in Asset Management
At its core, stakeholder engagement is about meaningful participation from the people directly involved in planning, operating, maintaining, and using municipal assets. It’s about having the right conversations with the right people at the right time to ensure that infrastructure decisions align with community needs and long-term sustainability.
Engagement plays a critical role in municipal Asset Management by shaping decision-making at multiple levels. When it comes to setting Levels of Service (LOS), stakeholder input helps municipalities understand what service levels are expected by the community and whether those expectations align with financial and operational realities. Without engagement, municipalities may set unrealistic goals or fail to address actual service gaps.
Long-term infrastructure planning also benefits from meaningful engagement, as it ensures that investment decisions reflect real needs rather than assumptions. Engaging the right stakeholders—such as public works staff, residents, and council members—helps municipalities prioritize projects that have the greatest impact and avoid unnecessary expenditures on infrastructure that may not align with future demands.
On a more immediate level, day-to-day decision-making improves when municipalities create feedback loops with those directly involved in operations and maintenance. When frontline staff and service users can easily communicate issues and observations, municipalities gain a clearer understanding of asset performance, allowing them to proactively address problems before they escalate. Effective engagement at this level leads to more responsive and efficient municipal services.
Despite its importance, many municipalities struggle with engagement. Common challenges include low participation, lack of interest, and, for staff, conflicting priorities. When engagement isn’t approached strategically, it can feel like a wasted effort. However, municipalities that commit to shortening communication lines and building structured feedback loops often see significant benefits.
How Municipalities Can Improve Stakeholder Engagement
For many municipalities, successful engagement isn’t about elaborate public meetings or costly studies—it’s about getting the right people in the room and having meaningful discussions. Here’s how municipalities can make engagement more effective, especially with limited resources.
Start with the Right People
Not all stakeholders are equally involved in every decision. Engagement should focus on those who are directly impacted by the assets in question, including:
- Municipal staff responsible for operating and maintaining the asset.
- Council members who set policy and budget priorities.
- Residents and businesses that rely on the service provided by the asset.
- Contractors or service providers that support infrastructure management.
Bringing all voices to the table ensures a balanced perspective—especially when discussing infrastructure priorities and funding decisions.
Shorten the Line of Communication
One of the biggest pitfalls in stakeholder engagement is the loss of information in translation between staff, administration, council, and the public. When messages are passed through multiple layers, key details can be misinterpreted or diluted, leading to misunderstandings and ineffective decision-making. Municipalities often struggle with ensuring that those making the decisions receive clear, unfiltered input from those responsible for operations, maintenance, and service delivery. Without a direct line of communication, councils may prioritize projects based on incomplete or misrepresented information, creating gaps between infrastructure needs and funding decisions.
To improve communication, municipalities can focus on holding smaller, focused discussions instead of large, unfocused public meetings, where dominant voices can overshadow valuable input. Encouraging direct interactions between decision-makers and frontline staff ensures that the realities of service provision are accurately conveyed. Additionally, using structured but informal settings can help stakeholders feel more comfortable providing honest feedback. By making these adjustments, municipalities can create an engagement process that is more transparent, efficient, and aligned with real community needs.
For example, one rural municipality struggling with wastewater infrastructure challenges improved engagement simply by bringing frontline operators into meetings with council. This direct communication cut through misinterpretations and led to quicker, more informed decisions.
Use Surveys and Informal Discussions
Municipalities often assume public meetings are the best way to engage stakeholders, but these can be difficult to manage. Open forums sometimes lead to groupthink, off-topic discussions, or dominant voices drowning out others.
Instead, smaller and more targeted engagement methods, like surveys and informal discussions, often provide more useful insights.
- Surveys: Capture individual perspectives in a structured way, making it easier to analyze trends.
- One-on-One Conversations: Help gather insights from staff or residents who may not feel comfortable speaking in larger groups.
- Quick Check-ins with Key Groups: Can be more efficient than formal meetings and help maintain ongoing feedback loops.
One municipality used short digital surveys to collect input from residents on road conditions, while staff conducted one-on-one interviews with public works employees to understand the realities of day-to-day maintenance. This approach resulted in more specific, actionable feedback than a town hall meeting would have.
Manage Expectations and Build Internal Structures for Knowledge Transfer
One of the most overlooked aspects of engagement is setting realistic expectations. Many municipalities fear that asking for input means they must act on every suggestion, which isn’t always feasible.
The key to successful stakeholder engagement is transparency about what engagement will (and won’t) accomplish. One of the biggest challenges municipalities face is managing expectations—stakeholders need to understand how their input will be used. If a budget decision is already set, for example, it’s important to clarify that feedback will inform future planning rather than change current allocations. This helps prevent frustration and ensures that engagement remains a productive conversation rather than a source of conflict.
Another crucial aspect is recognizing that knowledge transfer takes time. Municipalities that invest in internal structures to manage and retain knowledge will see longer-term benefits from engagement efforts. Rather than focusing on immediate fixes, municipalities should frame expectations around building a better future—engagement should lead to sustainable improvements over time, rather than trying to resolve every issue all at once. By setting these expectations early, municipalities can foster trust and encourage ongoing participation in the Asset Management process.
For example, a municipality working on water distribution issues made it clear that engagement would help shape priorities over the next five years rather than promise immediate fixes. This approach helped reduce frustration while still encouraging meaningful participation.
Ensure All Voices Are Heard
Every council will put different weight on input gathered from different parties. The key is to ensure that all perspectives are at least considered in the decision-making process. This means balancing input from:
Residents – who are the ones who experience municipal infrastructure firsthand in their daily lives. Whether it’s driving on local roads, using public water services, or accessing community spaces, they can provide valuable insights into the real-world impacts of infrastructure quality and service levels. Their feedback helps municipalities understand where service gaps exist and what improvements would make the most difference to the community.
Staff are responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of municipal assets, making them essential voices in Asset Management decisions. They have direct experience with the challenges of maintaining infrastructure, responding to failures, and ensuring that services remain operational. Their input is crucial for identifying practical solutions, optimizing maintenance schedules, and ensuring that resources are allocated effectively.
Elected officials play a key role in aligning infrastructure decisions with broader policy goals and financial constraints. They must balance competing priorities, ensuring that service levels meet community needs while staying within budget and regulatory requirements. Their ability to integrate stakeholder input into decision-making helps create policies that are both fiscally responsible and beneficial to the long-term sustainability of municipal infrastructure.
By ensuring input is collected systematically and presented clearly, councils can make more informed decisions that reflect the needs of the entire community.
Real-Life Stakeholder Engagement in Action
One municipality struggled to get participation in their Asset Management planning efforts. They had tried hosting town hall meetings, but attendance was low, and discussions often veered off course. Instead, they shifted their approach:
- Conducted short, structured one-on-one meetings with key staff to gather internal insights.
- Used simple digital surveys to collect resident feedback on infrastructure priorities.
- Created an internal feedback loop where staff and council could discuss findings and adjust priorities accordingly.
The result? More useful data, better-informed decisions, and an Asset Management strategy that actually reflected community needs.
Final Thoughts and Your Call to Action
Stakeholder engagement doesn’t have to be complex or overwhelming. The key is to focus on meaningful conversations with the right people, use simple but effective engagement techniques, and ensure that input leads to better decision-making.
Whether your municipality is struggling with low participation, lack of interest, or conflicting priorities, there are always ways to improve engagement. The most important thing is to start the conversation and build a process that works for your community.
What are the biggest challenges your municipality has faced with stakeholder engagement—both internally and externally? Is it a lack of participation, difficulty managing expectations, or something else? Let’s discuss!
Share your thoughts in the comments, or reach out directly:
- Phone: 204-384-7754
- Email: chad@buhlinam.ca
- LinkedIn: Chad Buhlin
By working together, we can ensure that engagement leads to stronger, more resilient municipal decisions.