Developing a Major Project: The Importance of Proactively Addressing Stakeholder Concerns

November 15 2025, 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
(Offered only in French)

Workshop Organizer: Maxime Couture (Catapulte communication)

A dynamic process requiring constant negotiation among stakeholders, social acceptability is a fluid concept, but one that is essential to the success of a large-scale project. A variable that shifts and changes scale over time, it is a qualitative measure that marks the distinction (which can sometimes be difficult to perceive) between tolerance of a project and support for it. Rooted in sustainable development, social acceptability is the foundation of an initiative’s success, not only from a social and environmental standpoint, but also an economic one. Given the costs of inaction or passivity regarding acceptability, Catapulte Communication aims to demonstrate how a proactive approach yields short-, medium-, and long-term benefits for a major project developer. This session therefore aims to help participants develop a human-centred stakeholder management approach rooted in their reality, based on active listening, and planned in advance. Together with our experts, participants will explore communication planning techniques for social acceptability, the reflexes to cultivate within an organization, and the practical tools needed to properly gauge public sentiment and address the concerns of affected groups. Because acceptance depends first on establishing effective communication channels, Catapulte will demonstrate how to foster adherence through proactive listening, accessible and easy-to-understand information, and the pursuit of joint solutions.