Experience shows that project success can depend on developers establishing a relationship of trust, and to varying degrees, partnership with host communities and other stakeholders. Meaningful stakeholder engagement is increasingly a requirement of international financiers and national regulators. We help facilitate this by designing and implementing stakeholder engagement, public consultation and disclosure plans on behalf of developers.
We also perform due-diligence and monitoring of the adequacy of stakeholder engagement and community liaison management on behalf of project investors and lenders in order to unlock doors to international finance and reduce transaction risk.
We undertake consultation activities according to project and stakeholder needs and comfort levels, through:
- Formal channels with statutory government stakeholders
- Private meetings with non-governmental organisations concerned with environmental and social impacts
- Public information disclosure campaigns in the media to reach the wider population
- Community meetings and participatory workshops with local communities, including special interest and vulnerable groups
We are proud of our track record and reputation for effectively engaging with a range of relevant stakeholders on complex and sometimes controversial projects in a culturally appropriate and sensitive manner.
Examples of our projects include:
- Regional Transmission Backbone Project, Mozambique –On behalf of the Electricidade de Moçambique, we worked with SCDS to undertake two rounds of public consultation meetings for the six affected provinces as part of the environmental and social impact assessment for 800kV and 400kV lines.
- Kaxu and Khi Solar Thermal Electric Power Plants, South Africa – As part of IFC’s technical adviser team, we reviewed stakeholder engagement plans produced by the client for two power plants (respectively 50MW and 100MW) and provided critical feedback to IFC/EBRD consultation and information disclosure standards.
- Izmir Domestic Air Terminal, Turkey – We undertook due diligence and external monitoring on stakeholder engagement for the development of a new terminal at Izmir Airport, located in Turkey’s third largest city.