Say Hi to SmartComment 2.0

New Website Reflects Growth, Client Successes

So we redesigned our website.

By itself, this is not revolutionary. After all, we live in an age where your 12-year-old neighbor probably just launched an online variety show that got her 36k Instagram followers and a YouTube deal.

But what is revolutionary are our many innovative and just plain brave clients, who ditched the spreadsheets, email chains or antiquated computer programs and said yes to a new paradigm in how their public comments are managed -- and whose continuing loyalty warranted the need for our new digital home in the first place.

The SmartComment Road Show

Adventures of the All-Important Software Demo

This spring, my wife and I scheduled a long weekend in New York City to do a blissfully unscheduled walking, eating & gawking tour of one of our favorite destinations.

A few days before we left, a potential SmartComment client requested a software web demo for a few hours after our flight was scheduled to arrive at JFK. Deciding I could make it all work, I stuck by my initial plan, figuring I could get to the hotel safely ahead of the demo and help put our company's best foot forward for the potential new client.

What's Your Comment Response Readiness?

A Comment Response Discussion with Top Environmental Planners

Earlier this month, SmartComment joined hundreds of environmental consultants and agency planning directors and staff at the Association of Environmental Planners conference in San Diego. It's the kind of event where it's perfectly normal to have a ten-minute coffee-break conversation about the triggers for a mitigated negative declaration, and where we saw at least one person in a " NEPA Nerd" T-shirt.

In other words, this was our kind of place.

Winning the Environmental Review RFP

How to Bulletproof Your NEPA Consulting Proposal

The RFP -- or ever-important request for proposal -- remains the lifeblood of any environmental consulting business. It's the means by which an agency advertises a project to contractors who have the skills, education and experience to pull it off. And, as such, the process is specifically designed to include a few catches so that only the best, most detail-oriented candidates apply. Below, SmartComment gives its tips for navigating this crucial system and landing your RFP proposal on the top of the pile.

Harness the Public Engagement River

Don't Let Your Valuable Project Input Slip Downstream

What does a good public engagement campaign have in common with a well-constructed dam?

Both are tremendous undertakings, for sure. They're both designed to absorb and process a wide range of energy levels, temperatures and pressure. And, ultimately, both aim to generate positive electricity in the community for the long-term purpose of enhancing the public good.