OXD has been working with FortisBC to investigate, design, and develop new public engagement tools for their existing Talking Energy website. The website is a forum to exchange ideas, opinions, and information about FortisBC energy projects and topics that matter to British Columbians.
The site currently broadcasts project information to people to help them understand what was happening in their community. But FortisBC wants to take things further by improving two-way communication, engaging with users and allowing them to sound off with feedback. Planned improvements include:
- Questions and answers
- Upcoming Events
- Live chats
- Live streams
- Surveys
- Polls
- Project timelines
The end-to-end strategy includes building wireframes, design mockups, implementation, and testing. The OXD team will also train FortisBC staff on the new tools, equipping them to manage content updates on their own. With these new options, the website will be more interactive and engaging. Questions from the community that were previously gathered, will be shared in a way that better informs users about the projects.
While changes to the existing website are underway, there is a plan to rebuild the site. Knowing this, we can consider how the Talking Energy website could become more sustainable to support the new engagement strategy. While some of the new engagement tools are being rolled out onto the existing website, others will go live with the redesign launch. This iterative approach means FortisBC can launch new features onto their website much earlier, while still working on the rebuild.
With these new tools, both FortisBC and the communities affected by ongoing energy projects will be better able to understand each other’s opinions, concerns, and feedback. Project timelines, event details, and feedback avenues will be available and easy to find for users.
Want to learn more about our Digital Services and Products to better support customer engagement? View our project work.