A Guide to Designing and Implementing Grievance Mechanisms for ...

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and involving the community in project monitoring. Stakeholder engagement can prevent
conflicts by building rapport, positive relationships, and trust between the company and a
community. Grievance resolution mechanisms are one component of an effective stakeholder
engagement program.
One of the most effective forms of prevention a company can encourage is the active participation
of employees at all levels in their host community’s civic, social, or religious life (see box 1.7).
Such participation can provide a means to build positive personal relationships, establish
connections with community groups and leaders, promote open and informal communication
and information exchange, and demonstrate concern by the company and its employees for
the community’s well-being. It can also offer informal access to information about community
concerns and provide early warnings about any conflicts in the making. Such alerts are
valuable; they give the company plenty of time to prepare an adequate response and address
escalating tensions.
Sometimes, prevention through well-formulated stakeholder engagement can be seen as an
unnecessary frill in project development. Companies are often reluctant to make necessary
expenditures of effort, funds, time, and personnel when it is not clear that they are needed.
Neglecting prevention, however, is often detrimental to both companies and communities.
Prevention is good management, and benefits typically outweigh costs.
Box 1.7. The Importance of Community Engagement to Avoid Conflicts
“Community engagement is a core strategy to know what our problems are before a grievance
arises. Our local staff is involved in local chambers of commerce, church organizations, festival
committees, and many other civic activities. [We] also have a foundation—with local people on the
board—and they decide where community development funds go. The most proactive mechanisms
have been active locally in civic life.”
—A company vice president in charge of community relations
How Grievance Mechanisms Fit into the Larger Context of Project
Accountability
In addition to being part of an effective stakeholder engagement program, grievance mechanisms
also fit into the larger world of corporate accountability that goes beyond the project level.
Grievance mechanisms often are used as a first resort. If the grievance cannot be resolved,
the complainant may refer to an external party such as the court system or an independent
recourse mechanism such as the CAO to hear the case. Various accountability mechanisms
exist at the industry, national, regional, and international level. 5
Nonproject–level accountability mechanisms do have limitations, however:
• The judiciary—often the institution of choice for resolving conflicts in some countries—
is not trusted by either companies or communities in many parts of the world.
• Traditional systems of justice may be preferred by some community members; however,
project developers may not fully understand or trust these forums. It is unlikely that
companies would be willing to abide by their process or decisions.