VicForests
Stakeholder engagement system
July 2006 – November 2006
The brief:
VicForests aspires to build a competitive and responsible business that generates the best community value and that operates in a framework consistent with Victorian Government’s policy and Forest Stewardship Council principles. It is also committed to developing, implementing and promoting a Sustainable Forest Management system that is compatible with the requirements of the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS). VicForests engaged Futureye to achieve its business objectives and forest management certification.
Our solution:
Futureye developed a Stakeholder Engagement System (SES) to provide a framework and systematic approach for VicForests’ employees to work with all stakeholders to improve the way in which VicForests participates in the delivery of sustainable forest management.
Consistent with the principle of continuous improvement, Futureye established a system of regular, active monitoring and evaluation to ensure the engagement system remains responsive to emerging stakeholder expectations. Futureye also developed a communications strategy that engaged staff and worked with them to facilitate the transition to the new approach.
The result:
To ensure ongoing knowledge-sharing, Futureye recommended incident reports and other existing databases be linked and integrated into an overarching communications register. A provision was made in this communication system to facilitate knowledge retention and capture lessons learned, with key stakeholder issues and related risks channelled into VicForests’ Risk Management Process.
With VicForests, Futureye designed an audit program to assess performance of the SES as a whole and ensure compatibility with sustainable forest management criteria. A “How To” communications toolkit was devised, and a training program for regional staff to ensure the SES was embedded throughout the organisation.
“Futureye has demonstrated capacity to understand the issues and challenges for our organisation and the fundamental transition required to effect integrated communications and stakeholder engagement. Futureye applied their understanding of our industry, the changing issues environment and their well developed networks within other industry sectors to recommend ways forward for VicForests that goes beyond the traditional means of stakeholder engagement. As a new organisation, VicForests was required to reimagine the future of the native hardwood industry in Victoria and its place in this. This included development of a more comprehensive set of engagement tools to enable the organisation to work effectively with a broader range of stakeholders. Futureye was instrumental in helping VicForests to confront this and in providing sound encouragement in terms of how the organisation might engage and lead industry in working together. Futureye's work on the stakeholder engagement package for VicForests was key to its recent attainment of certification to the Australian Forestry Standard.”
Cameron MacDonald Director - Strategy |