Over the past number of years, one of the core projects at AstonECO has focused on one of the most persistent challenges in large project development:
Across sectors – from renewable energy to mining to infrastructure – projects that are technically sound, financially viable, and legally compliant still face delay, redesign, appeal, or abandonment. From a project proponent’s perspective, the project appears to have done what it is supposed to do: it meets engineering standards, satisfies investment criteria, and complies with regulatory requirements. Yet externally it encounters resistance that is persistent, emotionally charged, and difficult to resolve through conventional means. This gave rise to a simple yet probing question:
Why do well-designed projects still struggle to gain the level of support needed to ensure their delivery?
The answer that emerged through research with developers, authorities, host communities, and researchers was simple:
Most projects are designed on three strong pillars:
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technical feasibility
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financial viability
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legal and regulatory compliance
Yet as projects move into contested shared space, a fourth pillar of local legitimacy and support becomes critical.
Upon closer examination, risk to this fourth pillar forms early during project design – well before the consultations required for permitting.
From understanding the challenge to applying a structured solution
To help address this, we initially established the Earning Local Support Academy (ELSA) through a research and development grant with the sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
The Academy brought together:
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research insights
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case studies
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training and masterclasses
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and structured reflection between peers and across sectors
It helped developers, authorities, and community representatives better understand:
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where social risk forms
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why traditional approaches (such as Decide–Announce–Defend) often fail
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and what more effective engagement and collaboration could look like
This was an important step.
It created shared understanding, awareness, and early capability.
However, as the work progressed, it became clear that understanding the problem and gaining the new knowledge was not enough.
Teams needed more than training.
They needed a practical and systematic solution that works across a wide portfolio of projects.
They needed:
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clearer ways to assess where social risk is forming
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support to change how projects are shaped in shared space
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and the capability to apply this consistently across projects
In short, they needed a system.
Introducing the Earning Local Support Architecture
This is what led to the evolution of ELSA from a learning initiative into a practical system for assessing early social risk exposure and delivering more supported projects.
Today, ELSA stands for Earning Local Support Architecture – the practical system of elements and relationships needed to build the fourth pillar of project success in shared space.
The ELSA Architecture brings together:
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a structured project development framework (Renewables AT PACE)
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practical project risk diagnostics and implementation support
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capability-building for teams
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and the partnership-building needed to make it work in shared space
Rather than focusing only on learning, ELSA now supports teams to:
Assess → Apply → Learn
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Assess where social risk is forming
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Apply a stronger project approach in practice
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Learn and build capability over time
A shift in how projects are developed
ELSA’s evolution reflects a broader transition in how projects are designed and delivered in shared space. It helps teams move from early social risk to stronger local support — by changing how projects are designed, not just how they are explained.
