ERM has designed and launched a demonstrative Virtual Meeting Room to help maintain and improve communication and engagement.
Community involvement increasingly can make or break a project, and the current pandemic is magnifying the challenges of engaging stakeholders that an organization would need to maintain contact with, such as property owners, public officials, or community organizations impacted by the potential of a new project.
ERM’s Virtual Meeting Room builds on components critical to the success of live, in-person engagement, harnessed from ERM’s extensive experience through many thousands of community engagements all around the world and paired with digital user experience best practices.
The Virtual Meeting Room offers clients the opportunity to visualize how information critical to their project or issue may come to life in a virtual space. With a variety of dynamic, interactive components, the ERM Virtual Meeting Room uses audio-visual storytelling to get across the message and foster engagement.
The Virtual Meeting Room can serve as a supplement or alternative to in-person outreach efforts; whether internal or external. Key benefits and customizable features of the tool include:
- Flexibility to review information, interact with content and pose questions and comments 24/7 or during a scheduled time frame
- A “walk” through a virtual meeting room (360 degrees) by clicking through numerous display panels or “stations”
- Video intros from subject matter experts
- Dynamic options such as interactive maps, animations, simulations and videos.
“In the current climate, virtual engagement is not only an alternative for in-person, human connection, but an important supplement,” says Liz Valsamidis, public affairs and engagement specialist at ERM. “When you are working to earn social license and navigate community impacts, gather input from key influencers, or share information with employees – online resources and opportunities to provide input are very important and can greatly improve overall inclusion and engagement.”