World Bank Group 2008 Annual Meetings: CAO Sessions

 

The CAO is holding two sessions at the 2008 World Bank Group Annual Meetings:

Thursday October 9, 9.30-11.00, MC C1-200

Local Development Impact Reporting: Improving IFC and MIGA's Reporting at the Project Level

Speakers: Meg Taylor, Vice-President and CAO; Amar Inamdar, Principal Specialist; Julia Gallu, CAO Consultant

This CAO session examines how awareness of, and access to, local development benefits at the project level are key ingredients to improved corporate-community relations. It draws on lessons learned from the CAO’s experience in handling complaints about private sector projects supported by IFC and MIGA, and explores possibilities for preventing conflict by identifying stakeholder concerns early in project development, and reporting thoroughly on risks and benefits. The discussion will be based on CAO's Advisory Note on Local Development Impact Reporting, published in June 2008. This note provides advice for IFC/MIGA and project sponsors on opportunities for generating local support for company activities, resolving conflicts before they escalate, and strengthening project performance and local development impacts.

Saturday October 11, 11.00-12.30, MC C1-100

Tools for Managing Corporate-Community Conflict: Grievance Mechanisms, Participatory Monitoring, and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Speakers: Meg Taylor, Vice-President and CAO; Amar Inamdar, Principal Specialist; Henrik Linders, Senior Specialist; Kate Kopischke, Specialist; David Atkins, Hydrologist and CAO Consultant

In this session, the CAO will discuss Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) tools and methodologies it uses in its work to help to resolve corporate-community conflicts around IFC/MIGA projects. Specifically, the discussion will provide practical guidance on establishing project-level grievance mechanisms and participatory monitoring programs as powerful tools for dispute resolution. The speakers will draw on two CAO Advisory Notes published in 2008:

The first, "A Guide to Designing and Implementing Grievance Mechanisms," captures key insights and design characteristics of grievance mechanisms at the project-level, as well as a broad range of dispute resolution approaches implemented by private sector companies around the world. This topic also speaks to the stipulation for project sponsors to set up Grievance Mechanisms in IFC's Performance Standard 1.

The second Note, "Participatory Water Monitoring: A Guide for Preventing and Managing Conflict", provides practical guidance on establishing monitoring programs that build trust and credibility, as well as models for collaborative engagement in environmental oversight. Water is a critical concern for many rural communities and issues related to water are a common source of complaints to the CAO.

Last updated: 10/06/2008