Achieving Project Outcomes

The politics of resources redefined™

Assessments & Assurance

Support for community engagement and programmes
Strategies and practical support to secure key agreements with government or regulators
Local content and economic development programmes
Practical support on: security issues, resettlement, anti-corruption, environmental and other ‘license to operate’ risks
Support for dialogue and partnerships with NGOs, donors and other key stakeholders
Other tools to build stakeholder trust, e.g. independent assurance

Context: A junior mining company facing significant stakeholder scrutiny sought support to ensure its social and environmental performance met international best practice standards as the project applied for key government permits and moved from exploration to construction.
Support: We helped our client to build trust with local, national and international stakeholders. This included establishing an independent advisory panel comprising prominent experts to scrutinise the company’s environmental and social performance. We also drafted our client’s first annual sustainability report as well as supporting various in-country sustainable development initiatives.
Outcome: Our support contributed to our client successfully securing key permits and government approvals, meeting lender requirements and building stakeholder trust.

Context: An energy company operating in a highly sensitive, post-conflict region was seeking support to put in place safeguards to ensure political and reputational challenges associated with its investment were responsibly managed.
Support: We developed and supported the implementation of a stakeholder engagement plan in line with international best practice standards. This included advising our client in its engagement with the host government around a set of human rights and socio-economic development commitments that were a prerequisite for the investment to proceed, but about which the government was initially sensitive.
Outcome: According to the client, our support delivered significant commercial benefits: by de-risking the project, it helped attract significant international investor interest during a farm-out process. It also helped the client build trust and credibility with key stakeholders by demonstrating a tangible commitment to best practice standards.

Context: Our client was facing significant artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activity at an exploration concession. Given the environmental and social impacts generated by the rapid increase in the ASM presence, our client was seeking support to effectively and responsibly manage the issue.
Support: We put together a team of international and local experts with experience managing conflicts between ASM and large-scale mining companies to develop an ASM strategy for our client.
Outcome: Based on our support, our client decided to proactively engage with the ASM population and seek to formalise their operations with the aim of improving environmental and social standards and avoiding the risk of conflict between the company and the informal miners.

Context: A client was developing a major gas discovery in southern Africa and was looking to develop a civil society engagement plan to help the company build more constructive stakeholder relationships.
Support: We drew on our knowledge and experience of successful models for cooperation between companies and civil society groups at comparable projects to help the client develop an effective plan bringing together government, the industry and civil society to address concerns and create clear accountabilities between the different parties.
Outcome: Our support provided the client with new insights into its relationships with key NGOs and stakeholders and what avenues were available to improve those relationships. This has helped the client engage proactively and successfully with a broad set of stakeholders as the project progresses.