We had something like that on a project here. He was the former planning director of the city we were working in. He was hired by the owner and was an essential part of the strategic thinking.
He knew who to target within the machine and the best legal ways to influence them. He also negotiated to write the planning summary for the review board.
He knew all the similar projects from the past 20 years.
He mostly met with the owner, but also participated in the early conceptual design as a critic more than a designer.
We never did press for the project, because in our area, any press is bad press until the project is complete.
Were they worth the money, yeah, probably. What was saved in time probably easily covered the cost.
j
In my consultant days, the firm I worked for was often hired by colleges and universities to help with project planning. The services included visioning, strategic planning, market research, business planning, student referendum support, etc. Many times the department that hired the firm would use us to meet with / interview influential individuals in the university, like vice presidents. This helped with consensus-building as well as project publicity an support. As an objective third-party, we were able to advise on benchmarking, industry standards, and new trends.
As for a cheerleader within a municipality like treekiller references... well, I can't say that I've heard of that specifically.
local school boards use these services a lot, helps when you are trying to get a bond issue passed. typically the architect had a hand in getting the client to hire them, as they are typically advocating for the school district.
Its a public relations firm with some experience with rezoning, multi-media experience and well connected within the community. ie written newspaper articles open house meetings beyond the standard community meetings.
Dec 27, 07 7:30 pm ·
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generating buzz for project approval
Anybody ever work with a public outreach consultant?
who hired them (the architect, the owner/client, the lawyers..)?
were they worth the money (and what was their fee)?
what was their role in the project team or were they just press junkies left flapping in the wind?
what was their background?
how did they identify stakeholders to meet with?
what members of the project team attended these meetings?
We had something like that on a project here. He was the former planning director of the city we were working in. He was hired by the owner and was an essential part of the strategic thinking.
He knew who to target within the machine and the best legal ways to influence them. He also negotiated to write the planning summary for the review board.
He knew all the similar projects from the past 20 years.
He mostly met with the owner, but also participated in the early conceptual design as a critic more than a designer.
We never did press for the project, because in our area, any press is bad press until the project is complete.
Were they worth the money, yeah, probably. What was saved in time probably easily covered the cost.
j
joshcookie, sounds like you had more of a city expeditor, maybe? or did he consult on the public perception of the project as well?
In my consultant days, the firm I worked for was often hired by colleges and universities to help with project planning. The services included visioning, strategic planning, market research, business planning, student referendum support, etc. Many times the department that hired the firm would use us to meet with / interview influential individuals in the university, like vice presidents. This helped with consensus-building as well as project publicity an support. As an objective third-party, we were able to advise on benchmarking, industry standards, and new trends.
As for a cheerleader within a municipality like treekiller references... well, I can't say that I've heard of that specifically.
local school boards use these services a lot, helps when you are trying to get a bond issue passed. typically the architect had a hand in getting the client to hire them, as they are typically advocating for the school district.
Its a public relations firm with some experience with rezoning, multi-media experience and well connected within the community. ie written newspaper articles open house meetings beyond the standard community meetings.
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