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Extractive and infrastructure projects do not exist in a vacuum—they will both affect and be affected by the surrounding communities and environment. Effective community engagement strategies must create win-win situations for the proponent and communities over the life of a project. To address the gaps remaining in the knowledge base and application of community engagement standards, we recommend the following next steps:

• For project proponents: identify and promote best practices. Proponents of extractive and infrastructure projects should prioritize the collection and public dissemination of community engagement best practices, including examples of how community engagement creates value for companies. The seven principles proposed in this report can serve as a framework around which best practices can be collected.

• For financial institutions: increase disclosure, promote improved community engagement. Financial institutions can play a critical role in guiding their clients to link community engagement with project risk management, and should send strong signals to their clients that community engagement is a priority. By improving their own public reporting on community engagement, financial institutions can promote more open sharing and improvement of engagement strategies. For example, the International Finance Corporation (IFC)—the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group—should begin to routinely disclose how it determines that each of its projects has “broad community support.” Similarly, the Equator Principles financial institutions should disclose the projects where they are applying the IFC Performance Standards.

• For citizen organizations: advocate for inclusive, accountable, and transparent processes. The ultimate goals of community engagement are tangible outcomes, such as providing benefits and mitigating risks to improve the lives of communities and strengthen a project’s viability. However, these outcomes often depend on the integrity of the process for achieving them. Community engagement that is inclusive, accountable, and transparent is more likely to result in optimal outcomes for both communities and project proponents. Informed by this report, citizen organizations supporting affected communities can more clearly articulate the type of processes in which they would like to engage.

When communities have the opportunity to collaborate with project proponents during the design and implementation of a project, proponents can more effectively identify and mitigate potential impacts, prevent harm, and shape the project to fit local conditions. Communities, in turn, can have a voice in determining how they will benefit from a project and whether a project fits their development priorities. This creates local ownership and support for the project, which is also good for the bottom line.

This report is the first of two reports to be produced by WRI’s Institutions and Governance Program, the second of which will identify examples of best practices for each of the principles identified.