“With Michael and Dawn’s help, we were able to navigate a complex engagement programme that set us apart from our competitors and was considered to be nationally best in class. Their deep expertise combined with their calm kindness made us feel that we were incredibly safe hands and I would recommend them to anyone.”
— Melanie Taylor, Head of Stakeholder Engagement, Northern Gas Network
Regulated water and energy companies produce and submit periodic business plans. Strategies for investment are complex and must balance the competing needs of sustainability, safety, innovation and support for vulnerable customers, among others.
Stakeholder engagement is fundamental to the development of a robust business plan that benefits all stakeholders and recognises what is important to them.
Michael supported NGN with the development of their GD2 business plan, which covers the period 2021-2026. Michael:
1. Conducted stakeholder mapping to identify underrepresented groups
2. Created a tailored delivery plan to ensure all stakeholder groups were consulted and that engagement was cumulative, proportionate and well targeted
3. Designed and directed a range of engagement programmes across six thematic areas that utilised deliberative sessions and workshops to enable consumers to give a more informed response to what are often unfamiliar and complex issues
4. Conducted a critical ‘line of sight’ review of all engagement reports, including research conducted internally by NGN and by a range of external partners.
26,000 stakeholder inputs were gathered and fully triangulated.
Michael produced monthly tactical reports that provided ongoing visibility of how stakeholder feedback was influencing NGN’s plans. Michael also created strategic reports outlining the key feedback provided by stakeholders and the implications for NGN’s future strategy. He presented these at Board Level and to NGN’s independent Customer Engagement Group (CEG).
He produced a strong line of sight between stakeholder feedback and the company’s business plans, as evidenced in the ‘giving consumers a stronger voice’ section of NGN’s GD2 Business Plan and associated engagement appendices.
In the RIIO-2 challenge group independent report for Ofgem on RIIO-2 business plans, NGN were assigned the highest rating for Stakeholder Engagement.
‘NGN’s Plan presents a thorough and well-articulated approach to stakeholder engagement. It quotes compelling extracts from a recent independent audit of its stakeholder engagement approach against the AA1000SE standard that describes its approach as representing ‘best practice’. The impact of stakeholder engagement on the Plan is well evidenced’. - The RIIO-2 Challenge Group Independent Report for Ofgem on RIIO-2 Business Plan
