top of page
Latest news and insights.
Updates, insights and practical guidance on community engagement, stakeholder consultation and strategic communications.
Stay up to date with the latest thinking, project updats and practical insights on community engagement, stakeholder engagement, consultation design, participatory processes, facilitation and strategic communications.
We share real examples, tested approaches and clear guidance across consultation design, facilitation and communications that support project delivery.
Built for project teams, government and practitioners, this is where you’ll find best practice, emerging trends and practical tools you can apply to your own projects.
If community participation is being standardised, is it also being strengthened?
In this blog, we unpack the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure's draft Statewide Community Participation Plan and what it means in practice. While the reforms promise greater consistency across NSW, they largely focus on notification and exhibition periods rather than meaningful engagement. We explore the opportunities, limitations and what planners, developers and councils should consider when making a submission. NSW is on the verge of standardising communit
Kelly Lofberg
3 hours ago3 min read
If stakeholder engagement feels risky, start here.
In this blog, we explore why engagement can feel unpredictable in development projects and outline practical steps planners and developers can take to approach community consultation with clarity and confidence.
Kelly Lofberg
Feb 244 min read
What I’ve learnt about engagement on big projects in my first year as a Communications & Engagement Officer at Mara
From journalism graduate to engagement practitioner, Grace shares what she’s learnt in her first 8 months at Mara. Her biggest lesson? Early, genuine community engagement changes everything. In this blog she reflects on the Sanderling Avenue project and shares three simple tips, listen properly, be human and ask for help. A must read for emerging communication and engagement professionals.
Grace Clegg
Feb 173 min read
It’s international facilitation week!
Most projects don’t stall because people lack expertise. They stall because conversations aren’t designed. This post shares practical insights on how good facilitation helps teams move from discussion to decisions, navigate tension and create alignment that actually sticks.
Kelly Lofberg
Feb 34 min read
Global Community Engagement Day | 28 January 2026
Wednesday 28 January is Global Community Engagement Day and provides a moment to reflect on how decisions that affect communities are made. Strength in numbers – What it means for engagement in regional areas This year the theme, “Strength in numbers”, is timely. Not because more voices automatically make things easier, but because complex decisions are rarely improved by being made in isolation. What strength in numbers really means In engagement, strength in numbers isn
Kelly Lofberg
Jan 222 min read
2026: What’s in. What’s Out. What needs to change.
January is peak prediction season. Everyone is forecasting what will define 2026. We’re putting it out there and making a few bold predictions of our own. Not about buzzwords or tools, but about engagement practices that will hold up this year and the ones that will quietly undermine projects. It isn’t theory. It’s based on what we’re seeing across projects, clients and communities right now. What's actually changing in 2026. The biggest shift is away from scale and towa
Kelly Lofberg
Jan 154 min read
🎯 Stakeholder mapping: Who's involved, how it works and why it matters
Engagement stakeholder mapping sounds technical, but it’s really just about knowing who’s connected to your project and how to keep them in the loop. It’s best done before your project starts and updated as it evolves. Think of it as a living guide to help you plan, engage, communicate and avoid surprises along the way. For example: If you’re planning new infrastructure, talk early with nearby residents, councils and local businesses to understand local priorities, flag poten
Kelly Lofberg
Nov 21, 20252 min read
Ready for anything: communication lessons from protests
The upcoming People’s Blockade at the Port of Newcastle is expected to be one of the largest climate protests in Australia’s history. Organised by Rising Tide , the 2025 event builds on previous years when thousands gathered at the world’s largest coal port on land and water to halt coal ships, attracting global headlines and widespread media attention. For businesses and organisations operating in or around the port, the scale of the planned action is a timely reminder that
Kelly Lofberg
Nov 11, 20252 min read
We’ve changed — but not in the ways that matter most.
You might have noticed we look a little different. New logo. Fresher energy. Same mild addiction to pink. After a lot of reflection (and some robust opinions about fonts), we’re ready to share a new chapter in the Mara story. This isn’t a total reinvention. It’s evolution — the confident kind. We’ve grown, stretched and sharpened our edges, but our purpose hasn’t changed: engage with purpose, make the complex simple and create change that sticks (and yes, sometimes sparkles).
Kelly Lofberg
Oct 31, 20252 min read
Engagement in the energy transition: lessons from recent projects
True leadership in the energy transition is not about avoiding opposition, but anticipating it. Engagement is a practice of foresight: surfacing risks, inviting perspectives and building trust before it is tested. That is how projects become stronger, more credible, and more enduring.
Kelly Lofberg
Aug 27, 20253 min read
Collaboration isn’t consensus—It’s how we deliver the transition
The Hunter New Energy Symposium , held in Newcastle Town Hall on 21 and 22 May 2025, made one thing clear: this region isn’t waiting. The energy transition is no longer theoretical—it’s here, and the Hunter is on the frontline. But while technology and policy might grab the headlines, what stood out at the symposium was something less tangible, but far more important: how we work together . So, let’s talk collaboration. But not the feel-good, handshake and photo-op kind. Real
Kelly Lofberg
May 22, 20254 min read
What is effective engagement?
Improving community engagement: The key to successful infrastructure projects. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of effective community consultation in infrastructure projects why it should be considered as a strategic tool as part of any robust risk management approach give you our ten tips to improve engagement. Effective community consultation is an essential aspect of any infrastructure project, particularly when there are complex and competing needs. Whil
Kelly Lofberg
May 12, 20234 min read
bottom of page