Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement

It takes time to build trusting relationships with stakeholders when moving into new markets. It may not be the quick and easy route, but time and effort invested in real engagement can pay off.

In recent years there has been growing interest in the potential for dialogue between the public and private sectors to promote the right conditions for private sector development and poverty reduction. There is an emerging body of case studies and synthesis research papers on techniques for promoting successful dialogue, including major studies by the World Bank, DFID, and OECD Development Centre. Practitioners have asked this knowledge to be collated and presented in an accessible and comprehensible way. That is the purpose of this handbook.

The World Economic Forum’s Responsible Mineral Development Initiative (RMDI) was launched to explore the views, priorities and concerns of key stakeholders on mineral development, and to seek answers on what works, what does not, where discontent and frustration most commonly arise, and where improvements should occur.

This handbook aims to provide the reader with the good practice “essentials” for managing stakeholder relationships in a dynamic context, where unexpected events can and do occur, and facts on the ground change. The focus of this handbook is on stakeholder groups “external” to the core operation of the business, such as affected communities, local government authorities, non-governmental and other civil society organizations, local institutions and other interested or affected parties.

The Corporate Engagement Project (CEP) works to ensure that the presence of companies has a positive, rather than negative, impact on the communities with whom they work. Since 2000, over 60 international companies, mostly from the extractive industries - operating in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Australia, and North America - have participated in the Project. Insights from Corporate Engagement Project were published in May 2009 in Getting it Right: Making Corporate-Community Relations Work by Luc Zandvliet and Mary B. Anderson. CEP is part of CDA Collaborative Learning Projects, a non-profit organization in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“Guidance on Responsible Business in Conflict-Affected and High-risk Areas: A Resource for Companies and Investors” aims to assist companies in implementing responsible business practices in conflict-affected and high-risk areas consistent with the Global Compact Ten Principles. It seeks to provide a common reference point for constructive dialogue between companies and investors on what constitutes responsible business practices in difficult operating environments, though it does not provide guidance on investment practices of financial institutions.

From Words to Action: The Stakeholder Engagement Manual is comprised of 2 main documents: Volume 1 The Guide to Practitioners' Perspectives on Stakeholder Engagment and Volume 2 The Practitioners' Handbook on Stakeholder Engagement.

Partnerships in the Oil and Gas Industry (2006) communicates how the oil and gas industry is using partnerships to respond to challenges of meeting global energy demand and to contribute to sustainable development.

The Case Study Toolbook is designed to help individuals to create their own case studies more successfully. It is aimed at partnership practitioners worldwide, irrespective of their sector or their partnering role(s), whether they are working on partnerships at an operational or a strategic level and whether they are ‘internal’ or ‘external’ to the partnership being studied.

The Partnering Toolbook builds on the experience of those who have been at the forefront of innovative partnerships and offers a concise overview of the essential elements that make for effective partnering.

This document sets out principles for effective liaison between the resources sector, the community and stakeholders. It is intended as a guide for anyone associated with the exploration and development of mineral, coal, oil and gas resources.