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Developer as an important partner for local community

PRCH News 19/11/2008

As we take a look at the literature concerning developers’ activity, we soon realize that it mostly focuses on its most obvious aspects, i.e. financial, legal, or related to actual realization. Much less common is the approach that lets us see the developer as an important dialog partner for local authorities, or directly for local community representatives. One cannot forget that every time a developer and its investment appear in a new location, more or less important changes in local community’s life are about to be effected. The scale and the impact of these changes result mainly from the investment’s scale, but also from many other factors. Whether these changes will be welcomed, treated with hostility or even protested against, depends on the ability to engage in a productive dialog with the ones who will determine the final success of the investment – i.e. members of the local community. As the latter notion is rather vast, it would be worth to explain a little about each of its aspects. Starting with local authorities, we touch on the issue of whether and how the developer feels responsible for the shape of its future investment’s environment. Quite a common approach focuses on the idea that every commercial activity is designed to bring profits to its owner thanks to its clients’ spending, which leads to the simple conclusion: we enable you to make profit, so you should do something for us. However harsh this may sound, there is something in this type of thinking that appeals to some elements of classical theories on corporate social responsibility. One cannot forget that lines between the investment project and its environment have a tendency to expand or even slightly disappear. Another important thing to keep in mind is that with a little good will and cooperation, it is not impossible to find a mutually beneficial solution, such as investing in modernization or even development of a brand new road network accompanying the investment project and often reaching far beyond its immediate neighborhood. Benefits of such “added value of the project” would be immediately praised by the locals and would constitute an important factor in building the developer’s image as an institution that is willing to take on its part of responsibility for the creation of a better, friendlier and modern urban environment.
In some cases, the developer is keen to undertake more ambitious and difficult tasks that require not only consultation with municipal administration, but also the initiation of a whole debate concerning some questions that are important from the local community’s point of view. A great example of such a debate was a seminar and a conference organized in Gdańsk by Gray International, both of which were dedicated to a discussion on the future development of the Granary Island. Due to the delicate and difficult nature of the topic, a wide panel of specialists had been invited – architects, urban planners, investment and private-public partnership experts. Those from the Tricity were the most privileged, as some of them had spent years studying this issue, but on the other hand, a fresh approach by international experts with experience in similar projects was also extremely constructive in terms of future discussions. Results that came later were extremely important. Basing on the concept commissioned by Gray International, municipal urban planners created local master plans, which opened the door for further steps that are currently being taken by individual stakeholders. This example shows how the vision and courage of one developer can break years-long impasse, valorize the potential of the place, and boost cooperation between numerous companies and institutions.
Effective dialog with the environment would never be possible without sound and carefully maintained relations with the media, based on mutual respect. This also includes local media, whose role proves to be particularly important. If handled properly, the interest among local community can be transformed into a source of very valuable capital, namely trust and good reputation. How is that possible? The most important thing is to respect the people’s right to precise information. Second is to remember the vital role played by the local media in this process. It is worthwhile to devote some time and energy to identify the most important, interesting and useful issues from the point of view of local media, and provide them with information accordingly. And last but not least, in our days of mass communication, traditional media are no longer the only source of information for local communities. The internet makes it possible for every stakeholder to communicate directly with the company they are interested in. The simple conclusion that each and every individual contact should be treated with care and respect may seem obvious, but as long as the policy of transparency is not the most practiced model of communication, it may still be worth mentioning. To conclude – in search for a route to success, a developer must bear in mind that success is closely connected to the quality of relations maintained with the local community, and tackling this ambitious task must begin with getting familiar with the word “partnership”.

Ela Brzozowska
Public Relations manager, Gray International

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