Coordinating Communications Across Agencies, Contractors, and Consultants

This speaks directly to multi-party infrastructure projects where misalignment creates public confusion.

By Becca MacLean

Big Sky Public Relations Account Manager

Coordinating multiple threads of communication across agencies, contractors, consultants, and members of the public can be highly complex. As a boutique, niche public relations firm, a vast majority of our work requires collaboration with multiple public agencies. Due to the nature of infrastructure, construction, and public-facing projects, there is an inevitability of evolving partnerships among multiple teams throughout a project's life cycle.

As a consulting firm ourselves, how do we interpret successful multi-team coordination? And how does this coordination affect public understanding? What does it take to ensure that projects requiring the coordination of multiple agencies, contractors, and consultants run smoothly? Across all projects, the goal is largely the same: deliver an exemplary product or educate the public to produce an outcome that will ultimately benefit them. So, how do we ensure we get there?

The risk of misalignment when collaborating across teams is that dysfunction trickles down to influence public perception and education. It may ultimately cause public confusion.

In our experience, exceptional multi-agency communications coordination requires the following tactics:

Proactive Communication: Clear, consistent, and timely communication is essential among all agencies. When communication is expected, occurs from the outset, and is proactive throughout a project, success is highly more likely.

Organized and Explicit Administrative Management: This can often be overlooked or simply assumed early in the project process. Explicitly discuss file naming, folder organization, software collaboration, and permissions from the beginning of a project. Will materials be sent for review via email? Via a file-sharing system? How will they be organized? Keep this clear and simple. It may feel rudimentary, but it makes a major difference when working with a large team.

Main Points of Contact: Determine early on in project development who the main points of contact will be from each agency. Who can make decisions? Who can answer questions? Who should address conflicts?  Do these main points of contact distribute information to their individual organization? These are all questions that need to be discussed.

No Ego: Seamless collaboration between agencies, contractors, and consultants requires a degree of releasing control. There will be leadership and points of contact; however, all involved parties must believe and understand that a great project doesn’t happen by the hands of only one individual. It takes a well-functioning team and the effective use of each skill set to deliver a successful project.

Shared Timelines and Goals: Last but not least, effective coordination among multiple organizations requires agreed-upon timelines and goals throughout the project. These details keep everyone on track and offer a lens of the final product to ensure each partner recognizes their responsibility in getting the project done.

Great communications coordination across agencies, contractors, and consultants takes planning, patience, and a willingness to be a part of something much larger than yourself. With these tools in hand during large joint projects, our team has found great joy and high-quality results that are clearly communicated and benefit the public for years to come.