ID: 1796
Presenting Author: Jessica Prescott
Session: 762 - FD2 Innovating to restore public trust; Transforming practices and tools to inform audiences
Status: pending
Building trust in impact assessment requires more than performative consultation. It requires giving communities meaningful access to and ownership of results. As part of the impact assessment for a m
Building trust in impact assessment requires more than performative consultation. It requires giving communities meaningful access to and ownership of results. As part of the impact assessment for a mining project in Northern Quebec, our team implemented a gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) approach designed to ensure participation was collaborative rather than extractive.
We held discussion workshops with organizations representing minority groups, complemented by a targeted survey to capture diverse experiences and needs related to the project’s potential impacts and benefits. Preliminary findings were synthesized into a report shared with participants for review and feedback. Their input directly informed the creation of community summary sheets, concise and visual documents outlining key issues, proposed solutions, and the mining company’s commitments.
These sheets were carefully designed to reflect validated community input and ensure that the GBA+ results could be understood, shared, and acted upon locally. They now serve as tools for empowerment, enabling stakeholders to advocate for change and support the implementation of solutions.
By embedding feedback and transparency into the GBA+ process, this initiative demonstrates how simple and well-designed communication tools can transform participation into partnership, restoring public trust and supporting community-led action in resource development contexts. The model can be adapted to other projects seeking to operationalize transparency and equity in impact assessment.
Senior advisor at MU Conseils with 10 years’ experience in public participation and communication. Trained in administration, organizational communications, public relations, and CSR.
Coauthor 1: Kristina Maud Bergeron