Identifying and engaging community stakeholders from the start is key to a success startup

Support systems

Early and effective stakeholder outreach is a key part of a successful project. Getty Images

Often times we think of technology as innovation. But innovation and the success derived from it is not always about technological advances.

Technological advances have driven innovation in all sectors of our economy. Technology and social media have driven social change and changed how stakeholders— the public and outside influencers — impact infrastructure and construction projects, and how they advocate with policy leaders. This includes the energy, utilities, infrastructure, real estate projects, and manufacturing industries.

Often times the innovation from technology is about a new way of thinking and how one adapts to, works with, and embraces technology and how it impacts a business or an industry. It is about a willingness to do things differently because technology now drives us to think creatively and differently than in the past. It is taking a new approach to how one manages risk, solves problems and meets the challenges facing a business or an industry.

Technology has changed how we communicate as a culture. It has changed how the public communicates with business and how business has to communicate with the public. Because of the growth and influence of social media in our culture, business must now mange a new kind of risk in the risk register of a project. It has to change how it interacts and communicates with stakeholders. It has to be more attentive and listen actively compared to how it operated in the past. Gone are the days when a project manager, private equity firm/investor or company developing a project can "keep their head down so they don't get shot at."

I listed the many industries that are impacted by social media. There is no better example of an industry that has had to change and use innovative and new ways of communicating due to technology. Regardless of the energy project, the development of oil & gas, building a pipeline, new utility lines, a refinery or chemical facility the industry now has to assess who their stakeholders are, listen to them attentively, and develop a strategic plan for outreach. If a company changes how they interact with stakeholders the associated risks will be minimized, mitigated and/or reduced.

There are a plethora of energy projects I can list that highlight how a business failed to innovate in response to how they failed to adapt to, work with and embrace the technology of social media and how it impacts them. One project sums it up, Keystone.

Effective stakeholder outreach has four parts: identification, analysis, prioritization and engagement.

Identification
The first step is to identify the stakeholders. This includes those who will be directly or indirectly impacted such as local, state and federal political leaders, NGOs, media, faith-based groups, landowners, civic leaders, nearby businesses and advocacy groups.

Analysis
The analysis is an evaluation of possible risks related to the stakeholders and the community where the project is planned such as stakeholders who might be opposed to the project, have concerns or be able to influence the process in any way. Have there been issues in the community or legislative bodies that might have a negative impact?

Prioritization
Prioritization is the process of taking the results from the analysis of stakeholders and determining what risks or issues exist. These risks are ranked. Strategies and tactics are developed to address and mitigate them. Finally, a determination is made regarding how and when to communicate with stakeholders.

Engagement
Engagement is the final part of stakeholder outreach. This is the process of communicating with stakeholders to explain the project and how they will be impacted. It will also serve as an opportunity to solicit feedback and insight as well as to continue analyzing risks from stakeholders.

Early and effective stakeholder outreach is a key part of a successful project. It is a new and innovative way of thinking about how to understand and mitigate project risk. It is a willingness to change because technology has shifted how our culture communicates, advocates and engages with business, policy leaders and one another.

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Andrew Biar is founder and president of Strategic Public Affairs, a government relations and PR/communications firm based in Houston.

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Rice University researchers unveil new model that could sharpen MRI scans

MRI innovation

Researchers at Rice University, in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have developed a new model that could lead to sharper imaging and safer diagnostics using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI.

In a study recently published in The Journal of Chemical Physics, the team of researchers showed how they used the Fokker-Planck equation to better understand how water molecules respond to contrast agents in a process known as “relaxation.” Previous models only approximated how water molecules relaxed around contrasting agents. However, through this new model, known as the NMR eigenmodes framework, the research team has uncovered the “full physical equations” to explain the process.

“The concept is similar to how a musical chord consists of many notes,” Thiago Pinheiro, the study’s first author, a Rice doctoral graduate in chemical and biomolecular engineering and postdoctoral researcher in the chemical sciences division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said in a news release. “Previous models only captured one or two notes, while ours picks up the full harmony.”

According to Rice, the findings could lead to the development and application of new contrast agents for clearer MRIs in medicine and materials science. Beyond MRIs, the NMR relaxation method could also be applied to other areas like battery design and subsurface fluid flow.

“In the present paper, we developed a comprehensive theory to interpret those previous molecular dynamics simulations and experimental findings,” Dilipkumar Asthagiri, a senior computational biomedical scientist in the National Center for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said in the release. ”The theory, however, is general and can be used to understand NMR relaxation in liquids broadly.”

The team has also made its code available as open source to encourage its adoption and further development by the broader scientific community.

“By better modeling the physics of nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation in liquids, we gain a tool that doesn’t just predict but also explains the phenomenon,” Walter Chapman, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice, added in the release. “That is crucial when lives and technologies depend on accurate scientific understanding.”

The study was backed by The Ken Kennedy Institute, Rice Creative Ventures Fund, Robert A. Welch Foundation and Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Houston-area lab grows with focus on mobile diagnostics and predictive medicine

mobile medicine

When it comes to healthcare, access can be a matter of life and death. And for patients in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living or even their own homes, the ability to get timely diagnostic testing is not just a convenience, it’s a necessity.

That’s the problem Principle Health Systems (PHS) set out to solve.

Founded in 2016 in Clear Lake, Texas, PHS began as a conventional laboratory but quickly pivoted to mobile diagnostics, offering everything from core blood work and genetic testing to advanced imaging like ultrasounds, echocardiograms, and X-rays.

“We were approached by a group in a local skilled nursing facility to provide services, and we determined pretty quickly there was a massive need in this area,” says James Dieter, founder, chairman and CEO of PHS. “Turnaround time is imperative. These facilities have an incredibly sick population, and of course, they lack mobility to get the care that they need.”

What makes PHS unique is not only what they do, but where they do it. While they operate one of the largest labs serving skilled nursing facilities in the state, their mobile teams go wherever patients are, whether that’s a nursing home, a private residence or even a correctional facility.

Diagnostics, Dieter says, are at the heart of medical decision-making.

“Seventy to 80 percent of all medical decisions are made from diagnostic results in lab and imaging,” he says. “The diagnostic drives the doctor’s or the provider’s next move. When we recognized a massive slowdown in lab results, we had to innovate to do it faster.”

Innovation at PHS isn’t just about speed; it’s about accessibility and precision.

Chris Light, COO, explains: “For stat testing, we use bedside point-of-care instruments. Our phlebotomists take those into the facilities, test at the bedside, and get results within minutes, rather than waiting days for results to come back from a core lab.”

Scaling a mobile operation across multiple states isn’t simple, but PHS has expanded into nine states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arizona. Their model relies on licensed mobile phlebotomists, X-ray technologists and sonographers, all trained to provide high-level care outside traditional hospital settings.

The financial impact for patients is significant. Instead of ambulance rides and ER visits costing thousands, PHS services often cost just a fraction, sometimes only tens or hundreds of dollars.

“Traditionally, without mobile diagnostics, the patient would be loaded into a transportation vehicle, typically an ambulance, and taken to a hospital,” Dieter says. “Our approach is a fraction of the cost but brings care directly to the patients.”

The company has also embraced predictive and personalized medicine, offering genetic tests that guide medication decisions and laboratory tests that predict cognitive decline from conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s.

“We actively look for complementary services to improve patient outcomes,” Dieter says. “Precision medicine and predictive testing have been a great value-add for our providers.”

Looking to the future, PHS sees mobile healthcare as part of a larger trend toward home-based care.

“There’s an aging population that still lives at home with caretakers,” Dieter explains. “We go into the home every day, whether it’s an apartment, a standalone home, or assisted living. The goal is to meet patients where they are and reduce the need for hospitalization.”

Light highlighted another layer of innovation: predictive guidance.

“We host a lot of data, and labs and imaging drive most treatment decisions,” Light says. “We’re exploring how to deploy diagnostics immediately based on results, eliminating hours of delay and keeping patients healthier longer.”

Ultimately, innovation at PHS isn’t just about technology; it’s about equity.

“There’s an 11-year life expectancy gap between major metro areas and rural Texas,” Dieter says. “Our innovation has been leveling the field, so everyone has access to high-quality diagnostics and care, regardless of where they live.”

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