Community engagement and development

This handbook addresses community engagement and development, a theme in the Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program for the Mining Industry. The program aims to identify key issues affecting sustainable development in the mining industry and provide information and case studies that illustrate a more sustainable basis for the industry. A number of other themed handbooks in the series
complement this handbook.

The handbook provides guidance to mining industry participants on how these higher level policy commitments can be translated into improved practices at the mine site. It focuses on the challenges that companies may encounter as they engage with local communities and seek to contribute to their long-term development, using case studies to illustrate how these challenges have been addressed in particular contexts. It concerns itself primarily with relationships between mining projects and their local communities, although other stakeholders are also referred to, as sometimes engagement with broader communities, such as at the state or national level, is also relevant.

Specific aims are to:

• outline the benefits to companies and operations of engaging with and contributing to the development of communities
• describe the basic steps involved in effectively planning and managing for community engagement and development
• set out key principles that should guide these activities
• highlight examples of evolving leading practice.