Project: HumeLink – Remote Access Community Hub (RACH)
A bespoke approach for reaching a wider rural audience.
Client: Transgrid
Project Dates: 2023 - ongoing
Services Delivered:
Remote community engagement
Awareness raising and information dissemination
Events and targeted consultation sessions
Recording and reporting feedback and sentiment data
A bespoke approach for reaching a wider rural audience
Project Background:
HumeLink is a new 500kV transmission line which will connect Wagga Wagga, Bannaby and Maragle. It is one of the state’s largest energy infrastructure projects, with about 360km of proposed new transmission lines, and new or upgraded infrastructure at the three substation locations. The project will increase the amount of electricity that can be delivered to customers across the National Electricity Market, assisting the transition to a greater mix of low-emission renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.
The Challenge:
Feedback from ongoing community engagement sessions evidenced that general awareness of the HumeLink project amongst the wider local community needed to be strengthened, with engagement to be tailored to the needs of the community and extended beyond directly impacted landowners. Traditional community meetings were proving ineffective for wider engagement purposes as they offered limited and inflexible opportunities for local people to get involved. It was vital that barriers to engagement were overcome to ensure that a broader cross section of the community could be reached and had the opportunity to have their say.
Our Approach:
Social Atlas developed a more flexible approach to localised community engagement, designing a solution to reach families, businesses, and community members on their terms. Investigating the challenge, identified the need for a mobile and accessible engagement platform that could support the project team going into local towns across five LGAs, meeting the community as part of daily life, with visits scheduled based on capturing peak foot traffic.
Via the Remote Access Community Hub (RACH), Social Atlas consultants are able to share a wealth of information on the road, including general project updates, detailed infrastructure design and localised impacts and opportunities. It’s a safe space where people can come to share their thoughts and feedback and to raise any questions or concerns.
The RACH vehicle was designed to maximise both project visibility and information dissemination. Equipped with satellite connectivity for remote internet access, visitors could engage with an interactive map via a touchscreen to support a deeper understanding of the project and its localised impacts.
RACH can easily be taken to targeted local events and relevant agricultural shows as well as onto an individual landowner’s property, by appointment, to bring direct information to those who request it. The hub supports inclusion for all in the project and our client’s continued commitment to developing meaningful opportunities for community engagement.
Project Outcomes:
RACH has been used as a key part of the project’s overall program of engagement, and the initial results are encouraging with more than 370 stakeholders reached across rural and remote areas. The community has reacted very positively and as a result, the project team sees huge potential for continuing to use the mobile hub approach to support HumeLink.
RACH is helping to bring HumeLink to the community, and ensuring that people are aware of local supply and business opportunities through the Transgrid Community Partnership Program. It’s a vital tool in strengthening understanding of community issues and ensuring that people can have their say to contribute to more positive outcomes.
As of October 2023, Social Atlas has hosted 31 community information sessions using RACH, with the team typically scheduled to be in the field every second week as well as attending ad hoc events and shows. RACH will continue to be out and about supporting the HumeLink project transition into the construction phase and Transgrid are already seeing opportunities to use RACH on other projects that also require rural support.