Successful transport decision-making - Osmose

Vol 2 - Table of Contents
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Decisions made by elected officials will affect many aspects of your project, including, but not
restricted to, those outlined below. These decisions may be taken by local, district or city
councils or by regional or national parliaments depending on the political infrastructure of your
country and on the scope, scale and type of your project. It is important to be aware of which
levels of government will take crucial decisions for your project and when any key votes or
debates will take place.
The influence of elections on the
decision-making process
Be aware of the dates of forthcoming elections. These can effect
your project in a number of ways:
Before the election:
It is possible that your project will become a political issue; and
Politicians will spend considerable time campaigning in the
weeks preceding an election. It will be more difficult to expect
them to participate in other events during this time.
After the election:
Assess the implications of changes to the political landscape as a
consequence of the election:
Planning
permission
Decisions to allow
construction or changes
in land use.
POLITICAL DECISIONS
Project
finance
Decisions to commit funds
to a project, or allow a
proposal to proceed to a
formal bidding process.
There are likely to be some newly elected councillors who are
less familiar with the history of your project. Be aware that they
will be trying to absorb a lot of new information at this time; and
Don’t forget the former councillors who expressed interest in
your project in the past. Their experience is valuable, and they
may be able to offer suggestions for improving the scheme from
a political perspective.
Legal
changes
Approval for new laws or
procedures to enable a
proposed scheme to be
implemented.
Political representation
Remember that the interest of
elected officials in your project will
not be confined to those empowered
to take the key decisions affecting it.
At all levels of government, the
purpose of the elected official is to
represent the best interests of the
electorate. Often, an elected official
may be approached by constituents
or by the media to discuss a project,
so it is advisable to provide all
relevant elected officials (from local
councillors to the local members of
national or European parliaments)
with information on proposals or the
development of a scheme.
The mayor of Saarbrücken together with German ministers at the
opening ceremony of the Saarbahn project.
Practical information
Who participates and how?
The coordination of the management of the role of
elected officials should be overseen by the project
manager. It can be helpful for the day-to-day contact
with officials to be undertaken by a single staff
member to enable a good working relationship to be
established. The level of participation in the process
will depend on the position of the elected official and
their interest in the project. Some elected officials may
become very involved, and may act as project
champions.
What skills are required?
In addition to the general communication skills
required for any staff members in contact with
stakeholders, those managing the role of elected
officials must have a good awareness of local political
structures and practices. It is important to have a good
awareness of the motivations which can influence
political decision-making.
How is it used with other techniques?
Elected officials may be willing to become strongly
involved in events or tools which engage stakeholders
in decision-making. Their contribution can be
valuable, particularly where the official is a trusted and
well-known member of the local community.
What are the drawbacks?
Politicians can become strong supporters of a project
but they can also be very high profile critics of a
project. Politicians often have strong links with the
media and their views can gain considerable attention
from the media.
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