Outreach and Engagement

Good decisions rely on good information. Our team is committed to helping clients facilitate community collaborations and tell their stories to broader audiences.

Public facilitation

At Downstream Strategies, we know that community engagement can dramatically enhance planning efforts and implementation projects. Our staff are skilled in facilitating techniques and have led public meetings, design charrettes, and open houses for a number of projects. We also work with private groups to guide nonprofit boards and committees through visioning and facilitated planning sessions.

  • Facilitation of public meetings, open houses, charrettes, and visioning sessions
  • Presentations
  • Feedback and outreach

Stakeholder surveys

Downstream Strategies has extensive stakeholder surveying experience to collect in-depth data across broad geographies and populations. Our team develops appropriate and functional surveys and tools to collect new data, ground-truth assumptions, and collect feedback. Our team works with clients to determine the goals of the survey and craft a data collection method that most effectively gathers the needed information.

  • Stakeholder identification and sampling
  • Survey design and development
  • In-person and online survey administration
  • Response monitoring and data analysis

Multimedia

Web-based multimedia applications offer innumerable tools to distill complicated science into effective communication. Our team designs and deploys web-mapping applications, story maps, and other custom multimedia features to engage and inform clients and the general public.

Education, reference, and training resources

Our team works with clients to develop handbooks, policy briefs, and other documents that explain regulations and future impacts, outline guidelines, and document best practices. These documents can open doors to future funding and partnerships and build broad-based support for your work.

  • Summary documents
  • Handbooks and informational guides
  • Training videos

Outreach and Engagement Contact

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Projects

Citizens’ Guide to Fracking Permits in West Virginia

In recent years, natural gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, within the Marcellus Shale has been expanding in West Virginia. Natural gas extraction and associated infrastructure impacts the environment and people living nearby. Before construction can occur, companies must apply for permits designed to protect the environment. This guide describes five permits required by the State of West Virginia and explains opportunities for citizens to get involved during the permitting process.