Partnering with an Agency Can Do Just That

By The Rasor Blogging Team

Public involvement is an important part of almost every public works project. Sure, there’s a legal requirement to it, but when you move past the “we have to do this” mentality, you can learn so much by asking the public for their input. Maybe you’re working on a road widening project, and the public tells you they could benefit from additional transit stops. Or perhaps in the midst of a pedestrian bridge project you find out that bollards (you know, the poles in the middle of the walking or biking path that make it impossible for vehicles to fit through?) make it difficult for people pushing double-wide strollers to navigate.

Depending on the project, you could receive a lot of feedback. As much as it might be tempting to keep your communications in-house, it can actually be incredibly beneficial to work with a partner agency for your public involvement plan development.

Experience Leads to Effectiveness

A communications agency like Rasor can have nearly three decades of experience focused solely on communications and best practices in infrastructure projects. Agencies have likely crafted messaging for other engineering firms, municipal and government organizations, infrastructure undertakings and public works projects. Let’s be honest, bridges, roads and sewer systems aren’t the most glamorous of projects to talk about. But, it’s crucial for the public to be aware of projects happening in their communities and for them to have the chance to provide their feedback.

From coordinating public meetings to running public surveys, managing a website and email inbox to handling media relations, there are many pieces that can make up even a simple communications scope on a public project. Experienced agencies have likely done all of this (and then some) many times and can effectively create a system to manage communications for your project.

Staying Up-To-Date

What worked last year probably won’t work this year, especially with tactics like social media. Like it or not, many people are still using Facebook, X and other platforms, so when sharing information about public meetings or other input opportunities, social media should be part of the mix. Unfortunately, these platforms are changing almost daily, and it can be difficult to stay up to date with the most recent best practices and strategies that will be successful. Here at Rasor, we have a team of digital experts who constantly stay knowledgeable about the changing algorithms and analytics. When you work with an agency, you can tap into that knowledge base.

Staffing Needs for a Large Scope

Sometimes working with a partner agency simply makes sense from a personnel perspective. Communications can be a large part of the scope for one project while barely pertaining to another. When a project with a big communications need comes around, there’s no need to scramble to find staffing to keep that work in-house. By partnering with an outside agency, you can meet that one-time need for a large scope easily.

Play to Your Strengths

While you could keep communications in-house for some of your projects, is it really worth it? You’d likely be sacrificing years of experience, knowledge of current trends and industry best practices, and time your skilled staff could be spending on other types of work. When you partner with a communications agency, your team can focus on what they know best: the type of engineering and environmental work that many of us communicators would never dream of doing.

The award-winning, Cincinnati-based team at Rasor has run many, many public meetings in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana over the years, written and managed tons of online surveys, and we’ve put together more press releases than we can count. Let us apply that expertise to your next project that has a public involvement component, whether it focuses on infrastructure, government affairs or even B2C. Our team would love to talk about how we can support you. Contact us at info@gorasor.com or 513-793-1234.