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

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Glossary
Accountability mechanism – An office within an institution with a mandate and/or
standardized procedures, designated roles, and responsibilities to ensure that the entity adheres
to and complies with external and/or internal laws, policies, procedures, or guidelines related to
the institution’s performance.
Arbitration – A private, and adjudicative process for resolving complaints or disputes. Arbitration
may be voluntary or part of a contract or a prearranged, necessary step in a grievance process.
Involved parties submit the contested issue(s) to a mutually acceptable and impartial
intermediary—an arbitrator—to obtain either a nonbinding opinion or binding judgment.
Arbitrator(s) – An individual or panel that conducts an arbitration hearing and process to
resolve a dispute or conflict.
Assisted negotiation(s) – Talks or bargaining conducted with the assistance of an intermediary
or third party to help parties voluntarily resolve a complaint, grievance, or dispute. A facilitator or
mediator commonly provides assistance by helping parties establish or build positive working
relationships, conduct more effective negotiations, or provide nonbinding substantive advice.
Change agent – A person who leads a change project or business-wide initiative by defining,
researching, planning, building business support, and selecting volunteers to be part of the
change team.
Company-community grievance mechanism – Institutionalized approaches, procedures, and roles
for the resolution of concerns or complaints at the project level raised by individuals or community
groups concerning the performance or behavior of a company, its contractors, or its employees.
Complainant – An individual or group with an issue, concern, problem, complaint, or claim
that he, she, or they want addressed and/or resolved.
Complaint – An issue, concern, problem, or claim (perceived or actual) that an individual or
community group wants a company or contractor to address and resolve. Synonymous with
grievance.
Compliance – Commitment to follow and/or implement—in both spirit and letter— relevant
laws, rules, regulations, or negotiated agreements.
Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) – The independent recourse mechanism of the
International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
(MIGA), the private sector lending and insurance members of the World Bank Group.
Compliance audit – An impartial assessment by an independent third party focused on whether
an institution has complied with relevant policies, standards, guidelines, and procedures.
Conflict – A serious and potentially costly dispute over perceived or actual incompatible values
or more tangible interests. When acted upon, conflicts are often damaging to all concerned in
terms of relationship, time, personnel, and resource and opportunity costs required to resolve
them. Often used synonymously with dispute.