Why do we engage with special interest groups?

To learn about the current and future challenges and trends they face or areas of potential impact to help inform our strategies, plans and projects. Engaging with special interest groups also enables us to develop good practice based on the diverse interests they represent.

…Which also unlocks wider societal benefits: For example, delivering on the Just Transition means improving social mobility and economic outcomes for local and regional communities. Special interest groups themselves benefit from developing and implementing innovative solutions in areas of common interest created through partnerships and knowledge-sharing.

Our commitments

We develop formalised partnerships that deliver mutual benefits:

Where there are overlapping areas of interest, we foster partnership agreements with key specialist interest groups to achieve mutual benefits. These partnerships may include creating joint resources, innovations, research or strategies, hosting joint events, and co- marketing.

We share knowledge with specialist groups that furthers social value and positive impact:

We create opportunities to regularly share knowledge with specialist interest groups to identify salient trends, present and future concerns and potential solutions. We seek to implement these findings into our engagement strategy and wider projects.

We proactively collect and listen to feedback and insights from specialist groups to shape and inform our decision making, strategies and plans:

We engage in both early and mandatory consultation, notification and clarification activities in a timely manner to ensure we act on relevant guidance and identify challenges early in the project lifecycle. We are proactive and transparent in sharing where and how we have acted upon feedback.

We intend to make our commitments real, through our: 

Project pages on our website:
We share information about current projects and future plans through our SSEN Transmission website.

Knowledge sharing forums:
We create and participate in regional and local knowledge-sharing forums.

Partnerships:
We establish collaborative partnerships with specialist interest groups where there are shared goals or interests.

Relationship owners and regular interactions: Each stakeholder group has a dedicated contact who addresses queries and provides updates promptly. They plan and hold regular in-person or virtual meetings.

What success looks like

We would like Special Interest groups to:

Our ask of Special Interest groups is to:
  • Understand fully our role in Scotland’s energy infrastructure, and the part we play in energy security and the local and national clean energy
  • Feel understood and heard when sharing their interests and concerns about our current and future

  • Advocate for our projects. Take opportunities to collaborate and engage, particularly through partnerships, to identify mutually beneficial solutions to relevant challenges.