Capacity Building

Advancing Regional Energy Planning

CAPACITY BUILDING

Regional planning organizations often face challenges when helping communities plan for the siting of new energy facilities. Local governments frequently lack the staffing, technical expertise, and financial resources needed to evaluate complex proposals. These capacity constraints can also make it difficult for local governments to address community concerns or negotiate effectively with developers.

Such limitations can lead to delays, heighten opposition, and increase project costs at a time when demand for energy infrastructure is accelerating. Although regional planning organizations such as MPOs, RPOs, and COGs typically lack the authority to make siting decisions unilaterally, this neutrality positions them well to serve as trusted conveners and facilitators of regional collaboration. They can help fill capacity gaps by bringing together stakeholders, sharing technical data, and providing tools, training, and authoritative information that support informed decision making.

By equipping local leaders with resources and structured engagement processes, regional organizations can transform potential conflicts into opportunities for collaboration, ensuring siting decisions reflect both community priorities and broader energy goals.

Why this Matters

Assessing and building internal capacities is a cornerstone of successful siting. Success means a community makes an informed decision—whether to consent to or withdraw from hosting a facility. Regional councils can serve as the “community glue,” connecting local governments, nonprofits, and other stakeholders to establish a collaborative, durable, long-lasting decision-making framework.

To play this role effectively, regional governments must understand their own capacities:

Leadership: Do local jurisdictions have trusted leaders who can guide planning and engagement processes?
Resources: What financial, physical, and technological assets do local governments currently have, and where are the gaps that may require regional support?
Knowledge: What information will local governments need, and what systems exist to gather accurate and reliable data?
Engaged Community Members: Which community groups or stakeholders within member jurisdictions are already motivated to participate, and who may need additional engagement?
Social Capital: What local or regional networks and relationships can be leveraged to build buy‑in and support collaboration?
Civic Culture: To what extent do member communities share common priorities and a commitment to collective problem‑solving?

In the table below, these capacities are explained, with funding examples and a readiness checklist to help you get started.

Core Capacities Needed for Community Decision‑Making

Summary of Capacities adapted from “Doing siting better: Community civic capacity building for siting energy infrastructure” Webler, Thomas and Tuler, Seth (November 15, 2024). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5022433

CAPACITY	EXPLANANTION	FUNDING EXAMPLE
Effective leadership	People with influence or authority in the community; politicians, pastors, teachers, or anyone who is respected in the community	Leadership or collaboration training
Resources	Physical space, finances, technology, and facilitators needed to support learning, participation, dialogue, and decision making	Staffing for the project, technology solutions, website
Knowledge	Relevant and accurate information including access to experts	Outside experts with specific subject-matter, technical or scientific expertise, a researcher, or a legal expert
Activated community members	People are motivated to show up, they have skills, and believe in their ability to learn, solve problems, communicate, resolve conflict, and build agreement	Meeting expenses, any other need a community may have regarding participation, memberships
Social capital	Many overlapping groups and organizations where members trust and respect each other	Collaboration training or a facilitator
Civic culture	Shared identity, shared practices, common vision for the future, sense of community, and orientation toward the common good	In-person meeting expenses to build community; effective SOPs to support NGOs work

Draft Readiness Check List

The checklist below is formulated based on the table above and on work NARC was part of under a collaborative-based siting grant for the DOE, linked here, which focused on capacity building.

Identify influential leaders and ensure they are engaged.

Steps to Achieve:

Identify community influencers (politicians, educators, faith leaders, other respected figures).
Characterize their knowledge, influence, and interests in the project.
Invite them to participate in planning or advisory roles.
Provide leadership or collaboration training focused on inclusive decision-making.
Establish clear roles and responsibilities for leaders in the process.
Establish a preliminary timeline that aligns with key stakeholder expectations and local government ability.

Secure physical, financial, and technological resources.

Steps to Achieve:

Budget for staffing, technology, and meeting expenses. Often the project developer will be asked to reimburse these expenses although there may be political risks in accepting developer money.
Identify and reserve physical spaces for meetings and workshops.
Set up technology platforms (website, virtual meeting tools, document sharing).
Hire or assign impartial, expert facilitators to guide discussions and decision-making.

Ensure access to accurate, relevant information and expertise.

Steps to Achieve:

Develop an information integrity strategy where a key group addresses competing claims, compiles, and distributes educational materials about the project and its impacts.
Identify and engage subject-matter experts (technical, scientific, legal).
Host informational sessions or webinars for stakeholders.
Create a centralized knowledge hub (website or shared drive) for easy access.
Develop a crisis communication plan.
*Hint: This guide counts as relevant information!*

Build motivation and capacity for participation.

Steps to Achieve:

Conduct outreach campaigns to explain why participation matters.
Develop outreach campaigns that make community participation simple and accessible by engaging with the public where they already are—such as at local events, forums, and gatherings—rather than relying solely on attendance at organization‑hosted activities
Offer training in communication, conflict resolution, and collaborative problem-solving.
Remove barriers to participation (cover travel, childcare, language translation).
Pay an honorarium to demonstrate respect for people’s time commitments.
Schedule meetings at convenient times and provide multiple engagement options (in-person, virtual).

Strengthen trust and collaboration among community groups.

Steps to Achieve:

Map existing networks and organizations.
Organize joint meetings or forums to foster relationships.
Provide collaboration training or hire a skilled facilitator.
Encourage cross-group projects to build trust, understanding, and mutual goals.

Promote shared identity and orientation toward the common good.

Steps to Achieve:

Host community-building events (public meetings, workshops).
Develop and communicate a shared community vision for the future.
Create standard operating procedures (SOPs) for transparent decision-making.
Support NGOs and local groups with resources and clear guidelines.