Implementing a Project-Level Grievance Mechanism

Presented by

Monkey Forest Consulting

DESIGNING & IMPLEMENTING (OR IMPROVING) A

PROJECT LEVEL GRIEVANCE MECHANISM

Length of Lesson: 3 hours

Instructors: 1 Primary and 1 Assistant

Method: Lecture, interactive group discussion and practical exercise

Description:

This block of instruction is designed to provide the knowledge and tools

necessary to implement a new or improve an existing Grievance Mechanism at

site level. The lesson exposes participants to a five-phase implementation

model followed by a detailed look and discusses at each step that is necessary

to accomplish that phase. The block covers best practice notes and lessons

learned, or cautionary items, for each step. It ends with a practical workshop

that has participants use the knowledge obtained to develop an implementation

toolkit tailored to category 1-, 2- and 3-level projects.

DESIGNING & IMPLEMENTING GRIEVANCE

MECHANISMS – 5 PHASES

ScopingAssess

Grievance Risk

Develop Procedure

Review & Launch

Track & Monitor

Whether establishing a Community

Grievance Procedure for the first time,

or improving an existing one, the five

phases outlined above provide a clear

process.

SCOPING: ESTABLISH A DESIGN TEAM

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

Establish design teamWhat to do:

• Form your design team – Looking inside.

• Include staff of mixed seniority and functions from

the company (such as operations, environmental

affairs, community relations, legal affairs, contractors).

• Staffing the design team from just one function, such as

community relations or human resources, is unwise.

Best Practice: Develop a clear terms of reference and a work plan that outlines team

goals, roles and responsibilities, level of decision-making authority, reporting lines, tasks,

time frame, and products.

Caution: Teams must be representative and

manageable in terms of their size (8 to 12

members).

SCOPING: ENGAGE EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

Engage External Stakeholders

Objective:

Establish early support and get preliminary

feedback from a balanced group of

community stakeholders.

What to do:

• Consult select stakeholders on key elements

of mechanism like access points, culture, etc.

• Determine the role and mandate of external

stakeholders.

• Look for key community champions who can

build support and people who represent the

community (traditional leaders, elected officials,

etc.)

Best Practice: Engagement and dialogue of

external stakeholders during the design process is

essential to build early trust in the CGM.

Attention: Start narrow then consult broadly,

especially other stakeholders who may be relevant

to the grievance handling process, such as Joint

Venture partners, regulators or contractors.

Attention: Determine the timing of involvement of

CGM users: too early poses process control and

management risks; too late risks undermining the

CGM’s perceived legitimacy.

SCOPING: DEFINE AND DETERMINE GOALS

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

Objective: Define scope and determine goals

The design team estimates the scope of

grievances to be handled and the purpose and

goals.

What to do:

• Preliminary review of the type of grievances that are likely

to arise or have arisen so far

• This estimate will be solidified in the risk assessment phase

but helps establish meaningful goals up-front

• The design and implementation must respond directly to the

purpose and goals defined.

• The purpose and goals must respond to fundamental

questions: Why is a grievance mechanism being

established? -- What do we hope to achieve in both the

short and long term?

SCOPING: DEFINE AND DETERMINE GOALS

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

What to do (cont):

• Also discuss the system’s purpose and the

underlying power relationships between the

company and community. Consider:

• Will the mechanism be oriented primarily

around concerns of the community or

around joint concerns of the company and

community?

• Is the mechanism oriented toward

identifying root causes of conflict and

addressing them through systemic change,

or is it exclusively focused on the resolution

of individual complaints?

Best Practice: Prioritize the type of

complaints that the mechanism will primarily

target.

Attention: How can the grievance

mechanism be structured in a way that does

not reinforce power inequities?

PHASE 2. ASSESS GRIEVANCE RISK

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

Determine exposure to grievance

Determine impact on scale and design

ASSESS RISK - DETERMINE EXPOSURE TO

GRIEVANCE

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

Determine exposure to grievance

Objective:

Assess the exposure of the project or asset to

‘grievance and complaint risk’ to help guide

decisions about design and resourcing

What to do:

• Conduct a Risk Assessment to assess your

exposure to grievances.

• See IPIECA Risk Assessment Tool

Best Practice: The procedure should be scaled

to risk and impact – meaning design and

resourcing should be proportional to the impacts

on affected stakeholders and the complaint risk

faced by the company.

Attention: The most effective way to

assess complaint or grievance risk

exposures is through ongoing stakeholder

consultation.

ASSESS COMPLAINT RISK - DETERMINE IMPACT

ON SCALE AND DESIGN

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

Determine impact on scale and design

Risk Assessment Checklist

PHASE 3. DEVELOP PROCEDURE

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

A new grievance mechanism

Improving existing procedures

Management framework

CASE STUDY: XSTRATA TAMPAKAN PROJECT

Xstrata became involved in the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in the

Philippines in 2006. It implemented one of its template Grievance

Management Plans into the Project shortly after becoming involved.

For several years, management felt the plan worked effectively thought

it rarely recorded any grievances from local communities.

Is a GMP that produces very few grievances a sign of good

management or a good grievance system? Discuss.

CASE STUDY: XSTRATA TAMPAKAN PROJECT

In the end, the Grievance Design Team designed an entirely new GMP that

reflected and built in customary traditional indigenous (B’laan) dispute

resolution mechanisms. The new GMP was re-launched and became widely

used by all local community stakeholders. It was a system that they easily

understood, was based on their values and still fit into the company’s goals &

objectives and met international best practice standards.

PHASE 3. A NEW GRIEVANCE MECHANISM

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

A new grievance mechanism

Objective:

Establish a new Community Grievance procedure and

implementation plan

What to do:

• Define the scope of grievances accepted, and

the response to complaints outside your area of

responsibility.

• Incorporate findings from grievance risk

assessment into the CGM and implementation

plan.

• Use a generic Community Grievance Template

procedure as a starting point (see hand-out) then

modify the roles, responsibilities and workflow

as needed.

• Prepare an implementation plan that documents

how the Community Grievance procedure will be

implemented. Use the template as a starting point.

Best Practice: Characterize existing community systems

for handling grievances and locate local dispute resolution

capacity. Evaluate dynamics working for or against the

introduction of a grievance mechanism inside and outside the

company.

Attention: The Implementation Team is responsible for

ensuring compliance with applicable laws & regulations and

conformance with voluntary commitments. Before you

implement, take advice from your Legal Counsel.

STEPS FOR GRIEVANCE PROCESS

Step 1 – Receive, Acknowledge and Track

Step 2 – Screen, Assess and Assign

Step 3 – Investigation

Step 4 – Develop Resolution Options and Respond

Step 5 – Follow-up and Close Out

Step 6 – Learn and Report

Resolve successfully Appeal

PHASE 4. REVIEW AND LAUNCH

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

Review and refine the design

Design roll-out plan

Publicizing – getting the word out to communities

Train and support participants

Test and launch

PHASE 4. REVIEW AND LAUNCH

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

Design roll out plan

Objective:

Design the dissemination and the roll out plan

What to do:

The goal of this phase is to introduce the grievance

mechanism and promote its use. Successful

implementation requires:

Marketing materials that describe the

mechanism and its benefits in simple and

visual terms

A communication and outreach strategy

that educates community members and

company or contract managers and

employees about the system and their role

Training for personnel administering the

system and for those designated to accept

complaints.

Best Practice:

The following points are worth considering when

developing briefing sessions for company employees and

contractors:

• Focus sessions on why the grievance mechanism is

in place;

• Discuss roles and expectations of employees and

contractors;

• Highlight the constructive role of community dissent

in project operations;

• Emphasize that there will be absolutely no reprisals.

PHASE 5. TRACK & MONITOR

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

Collect social performance data

Monitor effectiveness of mechanism

Learn and improve

PHASE 5. TRACK & MONITOR

ScopingAssess

Complaint Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

Collect social performance data

Objective: Collect social performance data and

monitor effectiveness of the CGM

What to do:

Collect data - number, type and severity of grievances

received, other KPI repeat grievances

Track data - measure the effectiveness of the

Mechanism such, timelines, consistency in responses

etc.

Track user satisfaction - on outcome as well as

process

Root cause analysis – What caused a grievance and

how to prevent its reoccurrence.

Best Practice: Set targets that encourage

questions and grievances to be captured.

Operations with more grievances often

have better relationships than those with

fewer.

Attention Box: Seek feedback from stakeholders

about how the Community Grievance Mechanism is

functioning.

Tools: Complaint outcome forms Grievances Tracking Spreadsheet

PHASE 4. REVIEW AND LAUNCH

Initiating –Kick Off

Assess Complaint

Risk

Develop Procedure

Review and

Launch

Track and Monitor

Learn and improve

Best Practice: Questions targeted toward

evaluating organizational learning and improving

company policies, procedures, and operations

include:

What kind of demonstrable change and

improvement is the mechanism producing

in project operations, management

systems, and benefits for communities?

How does the mechanism facilitate

identification of root causes of conflict?

What actions has the company taken to

address these root causes? Is the

company adopting any structural

changes?

Best Practice: Provide transparency to external

stakeholders on the trends in grievances observed

and the results and effectiveness of the

mechanism

1 800 491 0274

info@monkeyforestconsulting.com

www.monkeyforestconsulting.com