Tool 5 – Dealing with Challenges of Engagement

A diverse range of challenges can arise when engaging with Indigenous Peoples. Most commonly:

Communities with previous negative experiences from mining projects and governments, are more likely to be hostile and suspicious
Unrealistic expectations from communities can lead to misunderstandings and potential conflict
Indigenous Peoples can feel their concerns are not properly realised, or they do not fully understand the issues involved in a mining project
Effort placed into initial engagement is not maintained, leading to a change of positive mood from the hosting community and a possibly breakdown of community-company relationship

Step Guide

STEP
1

Appoint and retain staff who are appropriately experienced, qualified and understand these challenges

STEP
2

Coping with negative legacies and perceptions, companies need to:

Show respect for the local peoples’ culture and customs
Use a trusted intermediary ie an indigenous community organisation, NGOs or religious group to help with initial meetings
Ensure people from the community meet with the company CEO and senior management
Acknowledge past mistakes and find opportunities to remedy past damages eg restore damaged cultural sites, fill in old drill holes or re-vegetate areas
Be honest about risks and benefits
Explain the company’s standards, processes and practices; explain how communities can be involved
Discover historical commitments made by previous exploration companies. Where practical, honour these commitments
Listen to how communities respond to the information you provide and the questions they ask. This will help prevent potential misunderstandings

STEP
3

Managing community expectations

Communicate in a clear and consistent manner
Do not promise jobs etc which may not develop
Clearly explain the stages involved in the project
Create a high-level consultative process to continually manage community expectations
Communicate regularly, even when there is not much to discuss, to avoid rumours
Where legally possible, clarify rumours around the project, eg timings
Formalise commitments in writing, or at least keep a record of promises made – documenting their progress

STEP
4

Communication challenges

Ensure company staff are aware of any language challenges, including gender-related barriers
Ensure the engagement team includes members who speak the local language/dialect and women
Ensure the engagement team is educated in local customs, etiquette and protocols for discussions with particular groups eg women, leaders, elders and youth
Ensure information about the project is explained in a manner that Indigenous Peoples will understand. This may involve translating materials into the local language, using brochures, maps, diagrams and local radio stations
Avoid using technical and legal language and writing

STEP
5

Maintaining engagement

Create an engagement plan which is reviewed and updated regularly
Establish systems to record compliance and the following-up of promises, is fulfilled
Insert engagement mechanisms into agreements
Implement strategies to reduce impacts from change of key staff eg succession planning and diversification of community relationship networks
Create arrangements for resolving disputes and grievances

Managing Expectations

Reducing risks by effectively addressing grievances before they escalate