008: Stakeholder and Coordination Risks

Jessica Bottlebrush

Hi everyone, welcome back to Mastering Defence Infrastructure! I’m Jessica Bottlebrush, and as always, I’m joined by the ever-practical Darian Macey. How’s it going today, Darian?

Darian Macey

Fantastic, Jess. Nice to be back after that deep-dive we did on Geographic and Environmental risks last week—I’m still mulling over all the ways Mother Nature manages to mess with Defence. But today, we’re focusing on the human factors, yeah? Stakeholder and coordination risks. Classic, thorny territory for Defence projects.

Jessica Bottlebrush

Exactly. If you’ve listened to previous episodes, you’ll know we talk a lot about technical risks, procurement headaches… But, let’s be honest, it’s usually the people stuff—stakeholders, coordination, communication—that really makes or breaks a project. Today we’re unpacking those risks and, hopefully, giving everyone more confidence to tackle the messy human side of Defence infrastructure.

Darian Macey

Yeah—and not just theoretically. We’re pulling out real, practical strategies. You’ll hear us talk about aligning interests, dealing with legacy facilities, the proper use of collaboration platforms, and then we’ve got a scenario at the end to tie it all together—just like what you’d see in a proper project-based risk workshop.

Jessica Bottlebrush

So if you’re managing a team, running design reviews, or just trying to keep peace between unit commanders and local councils, this episode’s for you. Right, shall we get stuck into stakeholder engagement first?

Darian Macey

Absolutely. And before we go deep—let’s set the scene. Defence projects, by design, are stakeholder jungles. You’ve got your end user units—you imagine the Army wants a certain kitchen; Air Force wants a totally different tech spec; Base Commander wants minimal disruption; then you’ve got environmental regulators, Indigenous reps, local councils, and a stack of internal governance stakeholders. Each one’s got a different version of “success.”

Jessica Bottlebrush

Yeah, and I always find it helps to map this early. In some of my early projects up north, we’d have unexpected voices pop up halfway through—like a heritage officer who’d been left out, and suddenly we’re scrambling to redesign around cultural artifacts. Or, the local council didn’t get briefed, so they’re blocking road access on a key delivery week. Disaster.

Darian Macey

I’ve definitely been there. Look, the crucial thing is alignment. If everyone’s aiming for the same goal—or at least not aiming against each other—you massively reduce late surprises. It starts with being crystal clear about project scope and expectations. Get everyone in the same room early. And crucially—document everything. I can’t tell you how many times a design intent is agreed verbally and then gets fuzzy by month three.

Jessica Bottlebrush

Or when someone leaves and the new rep’s like, “Wait, we never signed off on that!” That’s where stakeholder analysis comes in for me—plot them all, figure out their influence and what would make them push back. Prioritise your time. High-influence folks need more touchpoints; but don’t completely neglect the low-influence ones either—they tend to pop up at the worst moments.

Darian Macey

And let’s not forget about early and honest risk disclosure. If there’s a chance of finding, say, contaminated soil or a tight schedule because of a major unit rotation, just say it up front. It’s always better to have that tough conversation in week one rather than just before the bulldozers roll in.

Jessica Bottlebrush

Absolutely. Defence contexts bring extra wrinkles too—like security requirements on live bases, or working out Indigenous protocols if a project site could be culturally significant. It isn’t just a “nice to have”—if you get that stuff wrong, projects can grind to a halt or, worse, cause lasting reputational damage.

Darian Macey

So, in practice? To me, the rhythm is: map, align, communicate, then keep it all going. It’s ongoing—not a single workshop, but routine touchpoints as the project unfolds. And always document every key agreement. It sounds dry but it’s the safety net when institutional memory gets short.

Jessica Bottlebrush

Couldn’t agree more. And—just to tie back to something from our strategic positioning episode—it really is about building relationships over the long haul, not just ticking boxes this week. Stakeholder engagement, done early and done right, saves pain and builds trust that’ll pay off for years, not just for that one project.

Darian Macey

Right, onto the coordination minefield. This is where even a brilliant design or stakeholder plan can come unstuck—because as Defence projects get more complex, you end up with so many hands on deck. Architects, engineers, base infrastructure staff, consultants, contractors—the works. If those pieces don’t fit, you get errors, costly rework, and the dreaded “we didn’t spot that clash until after install.”

Jessica Bottlebrush

And in Defence, the old infrastructure factor is huge. Like, you’re often tying in with buildings that are 40, 50, sometimes 70 years old. Drawings are missing, or wrong, or just cryptic. I still shudder thinking about that mess refurb where we found an unmapped sump halfway through a concrete pour. If you don’t factor in enough contingency and upfront investigation, it hurts.

Darian Macey

That’s where we rely on systematic approaches—regular multidisciplinary design meetings, detailed role mapping, and ideally, digital tools like BIM. Clash detection in 3D models has saved my teams so many times. The trick, though, is not just buying the software—it’s making sure everyone actually uses it, and there’s a culture that encourages picking up the phone and saying “Hey, I see a clash here, can we talk it through?”

Jessica Bottlebrush

Yeah, which is why I think on Defence bases, co-locating teams or at least having frequent video standups makes a world of difference. Also, Defence operations don’t stop for us, right? There’s always training on, or a base event—so construction needs to be flexible around those, with careful phasing. I’ve never once seen a project stick 100% to plan without needing to sequence around a last-minute exercise or high-priority operation.

Darian Macey

It’s essential to factor in those “live base” impacts from day dot. Engage the base ops team, understand their annual rhythm, and build in scheduling flex. And with concurrent projects—which happens more with the big Defence programs now—communication becomes a cross-project game too. Sometimes you get these unintentional domino effects when two projects share infrastructure or access roads without a single coordination manager overseeing it all.

Jessica Bottlebrush

Yeah, and don’t overlook the “unknown unknowns”—especially with legacy buildings. That means contingency for everything: asbestos, the wrong plans, heritage elements you didn’t clock up front. I always try to take the base maintenance team on a walk early—they usually have the off-the-books knowledge you need.

Darian Macey

Tools matter—EDMS for document control, proper versioning, and real-time access to up-to-date info. But above all, proactive communication and a bit of humility. If a problem pops up, fix it together. No finger-pointing, just a “how do we make this work” attitude. That's honestly what gets projects delivered more than anything else.

Jessica Bottlebrush

Alright, so if you’re listening and thinking, “Great, but how do I actually keep everyone on the same page day to day?”—this is where your comms and collaboration strategy kicks in. Frankly, it’s what keeps the wheels on. For me, it starts with the basics: clear stakeholder engagement plans, regular meetings, and open feedback loops. If someone’s worried about a change, they should have a structured way to flag it early.

Darian Macey

And, Jess, you mentioned earlier about the rhythm. I reckon regularity is everything. Monthly stakeholder forums, weekly design coordination meetings, daily standups on site if you’re in construction. Plus, written updates. Even if nobody reads every newsletter, just seeing regular updates builds trust.

Jessica Bottlebrush

Yeah, that transparency piece is vital. I always say, “Bad news early is way better than bad news late.” If you’re cutting a feature due to budget, let users know as soon as possible—and explain why. It might sting, but you keep the trust. And with external stakeholders, it’s the same. Community info sessions, local council updates—keep it in plain English, ditch the jargon, show visuals wherever you can. Never underestimate a good diagram for defusing a tense meeting!

Darian Macey

Absolutely. And internally, you want robust tools that suit your team and context: Teams, Slack for instant chats; Aconex or SharePoint for documents; maybe even stakeholder portals if you’re running a larger program. But it’s got to be organised. Otherwise, there’s a real risk of information overload—or worse, key info getting lost in an endless email trail.

Jessica Bottlebrush

Definitely. It also comes back to culture—fostering openness and rewarding people for raising issues, not hiding them. I’ve seen teams do lessons-learned sessions every couple of months, just a simple chat about what’s working and what’s painful in current comms. It keeps things fresh and responsive. And don’t forget: tailor how you update different stakeholders. Military commanders might want concise, visual briefs; Indigenous reps might value longer, more relational engagement. If you take time to match your approach, you’ll get much better buy-in.

Darian Macey

One last thing from me—make sure responsibility is clear. Who is driving stakeholder comms? Who’s keeping the risk register alive and actioned? If everyone thinks someone else is doing it, nothing happens. Assign roles, make them visible, and follow up. That way, no balls get dropped, especially as people or priorities change through the life of the project.

Jessica Bottlebrush

So, the pattern is: have robust channels—use them—and focus on relationships as much as information. The tools are only ever as good as the communication culture you build around them. It’s what underpins everything from day-to-day ops to those “crisis averted” moments.

Darian Macey

Before we wrap up, let’s recap key takeaways. Stakeholder and coordination risks aren’t just background noise—they’re front and centre in Defence infrastructure projects. Early stakeholder mapping and two-way engagement, tailored communication, clear roles, investing in coordination processes like BIM, and anticipating the quirks of legacy Defence infrastructure—it all matters. And, of course, building flexibility in your planning and communication to handle change and operational realities on base.

Jessica Bottlebrush

And let’s not forget—always keep your risk register live, make your documentation count, and champion open, honest feedback. Most issues we’ve seen blow up on-site started as misunderstandings or unvoiced concerns way earlier. If you’ve been listening through the season so far, that should sound very familiar!

Darian Macey

Exactly. And remember, every Defence project will throw some curveballs. Your job is to create a structure where those get caught early—not swept under the rug. Next week, we’ll move deeper into contract management, but in the meantime, keep those coordination and stakeholder engagement muscles flexed—it’ll make the rest far smoother.

Jessica Bottlebrush

Thanks for tuning in today. Darian, always a pleasure to hash this stuff out with you.

Darian Macey

Pleasure’s all mine, Jess. Always good banter and even better lessons. Thanks everyone—looking forward to next time!

Jessica Bottlebrush

See ya next episode!