Revolutionising the open-house experience through virtual engagement in the Cayman Islands
At a glance
The Dart Consortium (Dart) and Cayman Islands Government (CIG) partnership required a professional consultancy partner to lead their proposed Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS - also known as "ReGen") project through a statutory Environmental Impact Assessment process, which evaluates the likely positive and negative impacts that a proposed project has on human, physical and natural environments.
The challenge
Dart is known as a best-in-class real estate developer that supports non-profit endeavours which aim to address critical unmet needs of the Cayman Islands community. Dart's growing team pursues excellence and innovation across multiple industries with one common purpose: to stimulate sustainable economic growth and enhance the quality of life in the Cayman Islands.
The proposed ReGen is a state-of-the-art energy recovery and recycling centre that will transform solid waste management in the Cayman Islands. ReGen is made up of multiple facilities and infrastructure that will address several modern waste management challenges, including:
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Reduced waste capacity at the current George Town Landfill
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Increased pressures on waste management, treatment and disposal services due to a growing population and expanded development in the Cayman Islands
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Reduced usage of non-engineered landfills, which do not align with environmentally sustainable best practices.
Dart needed technical studies carried out to assess and propose measures to avoid, offset or minimise any negative effects and safeguard environments from development actions that cause harm or danger. These studies were to be documented in a resulting Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Dart also needed someone to communicate project details and potential impacts through stakeholder engagement and public consultation sessions, including those unable to attend an in-person session.
Our response
GHD conducted technical studies on the potential impacts of the project across disciplines such as marine and terrestrial ecology, land quality, noise and vibration, groundwater, surface water, socioeconomics and others. The findings were documented in an EIS submitted to the Environmental Assessment Board whose members review the statement and write a recommendation to Cabinet to support their decision. The review is still in progress.
In addition to the three in-person open houses hosted in August 2023 at various locations across the Islands, we utilised our GHD Engage platform to create a virtual engagement room (VER), replicating the public open house experience. Presented as a physical room set within a building in the Cayman Islands, the VER featured the same 20 display boards as the in-person open houses, categorised by project topic or subject area. Users could easily navigate through the boards, access informational videos, links to the ReGen website, facility renderings, and documents related to ReGen, including the draft EIS, its non-technical summary, and an open house handout. Users could also complete an interactive form and leave comments or questions on the project directly within the room.
Complementing the interactive elements were stylistic features that enhanced the look and feel of the VER. These included windows providing views of the natural environment in the Cayman Islands, and a mix of 3D resident models reflecting the ethnic, age-based and disability diversity of the Islands.
The impact
The project highlights the importance of creating community-accessible tools to communicate project details and the potential impacts to the public. With the VER, community members had access to the same information and engagement as if they had attended an in-person session.
The virtual component also helped make the information accessible to people who didn't live on the Islands. Those from all over the world could learn about the new ‘energy from waste’ technologies being proposed as part of ReGen, and how ReGen fits into CIG's solid waste planning for the decades to come.
Data from Google Analytics gave the Dart-CIG partnership insights into what information users found important, and which project components were drawing the most interest.
- Nearly 200 total unique visitors accessed the site during the public comment period, adding to the total in-person attendees
- Users accessed the site nearly 300 times during that timeframe
- The majority of users viewed the project's preliminary renderings, Draft Environmental Statement and informational video
- Users stayed on the site for an average of almost five minutes.
The embedded interactive comments form also empowered users to submit their personalised feedback directly to the project team, communicating what was most important to residents and the broader community.
The ReGen virtual engagement room allowed us to reach hundreds of interested stakeholders and residents who otherwise may not have been able to attend the project team's public meetings on the Cayman Islands in August. Bringing the same meeting experience to users at home or on the go, at any time of day, was incredibly valuable as it helped inform and educate a wider array of people who have a stake in ReGen's success and by extension, the future of solid waste management in the Cayman Islands.