Case Study 3#: Winning Hearts, Minds & $4.9M: How Storytelling Reframed a Politically Stuck Project

Sometimes in public-private partnerships, it's not the budget or the design that stalls a project — it’s the politics. Or worse, the unconscious bias no one wants to admit is at play.

We were working on an inner-city infrastructure upgrade that had clear benefits for a lower socio-economic community. The catch? A crucial partner — a major government stakeholder — had promised funding over a year ago… and still hadn’t delivered a cent. Despite the delays, they kept weighing in on design features and service expectations, directing our planners and architects like full partners. But financially? Crickets.

Frustration was bubbling — from the project team, the local MP, even the architect. I was brought in by the CEO to figure out what the real holdup was.

So I did what I do best: I listened.

I made quiet calls across both ends — grassroots community workers, frontline staff, policy folks, and influencers. And what I found was both deeply human and politically sensitive: the project was stalled, not because of logistics, but because some community powerbrokers behind the scenes weren’t convinced this community “deserved” the funding. The reason? Not performance. Not feasibility. Just a layer of bias that no one dared name out loud.

Here’s where strategy met heart.

I proposed a radical pivot: stop arguing with spreadsheets. Let the community speak for itself.

I pulled together with our digital and video team, a short, moving video featuring kids, parents, elders — people from every layer of the community. No scripts. No polish. Just real stories about why this facility mattered. How it would support learning, safety, pride, inclusion. How it could change lives. We filmed humans in action. We let them lead the message.

Then, I showed it to the partner’s executive team. One of them teared up. Another was upset their logo wasn’t included. That’s when I knew: we had them.

Within the week, the first financial commitment came through. Not long after, the full $4.9M was secured.

But I didn’t stop there.

We screened the video at local community events. Shared it through networks. Even the local residents’ group — the very one applying pressure against funding the project — flipped their position. With a little support, they reprinted our key messages word-for-word in their newsletter, and became proud champions of the design and its future legacy.

The lesson?

You can’t bully people into action. But you can invite them into empathy.

When data doesn’t move a room, story will. When politics gets in the way, go to the people. Build trust, lift their voice, and let the real influencers — the community — lead.