11 March 2003, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)
Participants examined the business case for constructive engagement with Indigenous communities, and provided practical steps on how companies can gain internal buy-in for such engagement. Participants also discussed the sometimes thorny issue of land rights, in a frank discussion that encompassed both company and community perspectives, and sought to identify both areas of common understanding and divergence.
Training participants received a practical guidebook on effective engagement that included a comprehensive risk management checklist to aid companies in assessing the social dimension of their projects.
The training explored internal and external preparations for engagement and collaborative decision-making with communities. Participants learned how to conduct stakeholder mapping and analysis, essential preparation for successful engagement and decision making with communities. Additional discussion centered on building the capacity of both Indigenous communities and resource companies to fully participate in an ongoing engagement process.
The training also dealt with the issue of free, prior, and informed consent. Consent is sometimes considered primarily as a legal concept that can be addressed by obtaining a signature on a contract. In fact, gaining consent for projects from Indigenous peoples entails not only legal agreement, but building and maintaining strong relationships. Viewed in this way, consent can evolve beyond conflict to become a solid basis for working together.
The methodology used throughout the training was highly interactive, and was a combination of reverse role plays, formal presentations, small group discussions, large group brainstorms, a "fishbowl," and presentation of practical tools. Participation was lively, and the discussions were thoughtful and wide-ranging.
The original idea for the partnership between BSR and FPW stemmed from a session at the 2001 BSR Annual Conference on building relationships between Indigenous peoples and corporations in which Rebecca Adamson of FPW gave a powerful presentation that inspired us to continue working to bring companies and communities together. BSR has been very pleased to partner with FPW to continue this work and share it with others.
It is our hope that the step-by-step methodology for engagement presented at the training will be a useful tool that will help companies and communities build mutually beneficial relationships as they work together in the future.
