To enable a good dialogue it is important to find out early on which actors are concerned and important to include in the process.

An actor analysis is a good planning tool in every project. Different actors prefer different methods and tools for collaboration. Some actors may be less interested in participating, but are important for achieving a good result, e.g. young people. The best way to get a good overview of the actors is to meet people in the area and ask which interests and networks are active. Who are the key persons? What resources do various actors have to participate? Which authorities and societies could be concerned?

The aim of this method is to emphasise what is exciting in an area and present it in an interesting way.

An invitation is made to a discovery trip in an area to make people interested and start a dialogue or consultation. The arrangement may be short or long – walk, bicycle trip or journey by bus. A safari could be a good way to start a process which then continues in other forms of meetings. The participants get something in return and not much is demanded from them for taking part. Contemplate which the main target group is, and what demands and wishes they have. Adapt the activity so everyone who wants to can participate irrespective of age and mobility.

The first condition for participation is good communication.

The meeting and how it is carried out is consequently very important. It is about simultaneously accomplishing creativity, democracy and effectivity, which may not be very easy. Furthermore, it is important that not just a few speak, but everyone’s views should be brought forth. It is about having a distinct agenda for the meeting, so everyone agrees on the aim and the implementation. Everybody is not equally good at communicating, but there is a lot you can learn in order to improve your skills. There is, of course, also the opportunity of bringing in communicators and process leaders to help out in the work. Sometimes it may be a good thing to have neutral leader of the meeting to make more people engaged. Also furnishing, the room, time, group dynamics, consumption, etc. are important for creating good communication. It could also be important to know the master suppression techniques in order to avoid them. Those are the five (Berit Ås, 1976): 

• Making invisible (silencing or marginalising the oppositional by ignoring them); 
• Ridicule; 
• Withholding information; 
• Double bind (being faced with a choice and getting disrespected or punished irrespective of whichever choice is made); 
• Heap blame/put to shame. 

As opposites of those there are five confirmation techniques: Visualising; Adherence; Inform; Double reward; Confirm reasonable standards (developed by PhD students at Stockholm University).

By telling an interesting story, interest and engagement is aroused.

Local stories is similar to the safari model, but could just as well be held indoors or on the internet. The participants listen to the story and may respond to it afterwards. The stories do not have to be remarkable, they could be about ourselves and how we experience an area. Research indicates that we listen and understand better if we hear a story. Stories arouse feelings and activate our experiences. Stories are often easier to assimilate than technical terminology, project descriptions or statistics.

The idea of the ABCD method is to focus on the resources in a certain place and situation, not on the problems.

To create engagement, it is often more constructive to work at positive feelings, rather than negative. From tradition we often tend to focus on problems when discussing planning situations. By looking at which conditions people have in an area, which dreams they have, what visions there are, a constructive development can be created. It is those living and working in the area who define what resources there are. Central to the method is that those present are the right people, whatever happens happens, when it starts the time is right and when it is over it is over. It may sound simple, but the achieved results are good enough.

Making an analysis of the landscape and its conditions is always a good starting point for a project.

In this process, the general public and various experts should be allowed to contribute their knowledge. This could be done as simple sketches on a map, with coordinates set for certain points for GIS manipulation, or as advanced landscape analyses with substantial expert involvement. In the UK there is a long experience from Landscape Characterisation Analyses (LCA) and Historic Landscape Analysis (HLA). Through participation in landscape analysis', a better basis is provided and a better knowledge basis is achieved, especially as regards social background. An analysis is never really complete, and the discussion can continue, but some kind of finish should be made, so the participants can see how experts have treated their views and have the chance to correct mistakes.

Building competence and knowledge is valuable to the process of participative landscape planning.

This may apply to physical as well as social conditions, but also to the work to reach a common vision. The level of ambition may vary from the occasional course to a lengthy study circle that the participants administrate themselves. There are always some people who have more time than others, and who want to learn more and make new acquaintances. The building of knowledge could become an important part of landscape analysis, and it could preferably focus on some area that has not been elucidated before. A substantial result is important, and the course or the study circle should have something to account for when it is finished.

The landscape is complex and doing justice to it requires a variety of competences.

Consequently, creating wide networks among professionals is important. A wide network also provides the opportunity for experience-sharing that everyone can benefit from. Think wide and avoid getting stuck in traditional categorisations of what a landscape is. Even in an area with high natural values, social issues are important for maintaining the high values. In a cultural landscape this is more obvious, but also in genuine wilderness areas tourism and outdoor activities are important to the landscape values. You must also be open-minded towards different professionals and show curiosity of what they can tell you.

Using ambassadors and mentors as resources in local projects, it will be easier to reach special focus groups.

They could be groups that are difficult for the professionals to reach, like children, youth and immigrant groups. Personal contacts are important in local development projects. Mentors as well as ambassadors use their networks to reach certain groups. The ambassador should be communicative and reach the groups that are desirable to involve. The mentor role is more about supporting groups that have difficulties in voicing their opinions, e.g. youth. The mentor becomes a contact person and a support to them.

Use photography and film to document and analyse the physical conditions, but also the process.

Photography could also be used to engage the participants in capturing their image of an area. This could be a prelude to a discussion on the qualities and shortcomings of the area. It could be a way of showing different perspectives and having a dialogue on different values. You could also use pictures of different landscapes that have been produced prior to a meeting, to start a discussion on which landscapes we prefer. This adds a greater understanding of different opinions, but also shows some common references when it comes to beauty and attraction in the landscape.