ID: 1578
Presenting Author: Kristin Kent Drewes
Session: 594 - Communicating Truths: EA Practitioner Professional Ethics and Roles
Status: pending
This session explores the role of humility, transparency, and acknowledging uncertainty in practice, with emphasis on listening, conflict resolution, and learning in the face of criticism.,
To start with a story: I’m sitting at a table at an open house in a northern community with a map of an area of a proposed mine site. I’m here to share information, but mostly to listen. My client (the proponent) eventually brings over a very angry man who has been yelling at anyone who will listen for the past half hour. He proceeds to tell me how wrong the map is, what is missing, and questioning my credibility. There is only one answer to his critique: he’s right.
When I embarked on a career as an impact assessment practitioner I had no sense of the armour I might need, or that skills in conflict resolution and managing outrage would be the keys to success. In this session, I’d like to explore the role of humility in impact assessment, along with the role of transparency and uncertainty in a practice where I will never get my predictions exactly right.
Kristin Kent Drewes has over 20 years of experience working on impact assessments in Canada with expertise in the human environment, including social, cultural and economic assessment. Kristin is also