Prof. Frank Brettschneider, Universität Hohenheim
Stuttgart 21 has become a symbol of the protests against large-scale projects in Germany. The dispute over the new central railway station in Stuttgart prompted the news magazine Der Spiegel to publish a cover story on the “Protest Republic” in 2010. Transport and energy infrastructure projects, in particular, encounter resistance from some sections of the public. They include airport extensions, motorway expansions increases, railway lines, the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link, overhead power cables, new power plants, and permanent carbon dioxide storage. The list could easily be continued. Everywhere local civic action groups are voicing their resentment. Environmental and nature conservation groups are quick to give them assistance. As a rule, the conflicts are also taken up by political parties and, in some cases, exploited in the run-up to elections. The dispute often escalates, positions become entrenched and an objective dialogue hardly takes place any more.
Protests confront project management organisations with challenges. They have to explain their positions clearly and in good time. They have to enter into dialogue with the general public and the many different stakeholder groups. They have to make coordinated use of all the means of communication at their disposal – flyers, websites, media coverage, information meetings, social media and social networks – to get their key messages across and begin a dialogue. Hence the following questions are of interest:
- What projects meet with approval? What are the reasons for protest?
- What role does communication play in connection with the social acceptance of large-scale and engineering projects?
- How can communication management be integrated into project management?
