Identifying and Evaluating Impacts - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 440

Workshops with selected participants and selected topics prove to be effective in gener-
ating useful outcomes in a limited time. At a minimum, workshops should be attended by
representatives from the mining company (project manager, environmental staff members,
mine operator, and government relations ofi cer) and the full EIA study team (task special-
ists and document compilers). A series of workshops may be designed to discuss potential
impacts and their signii cance, to design potential mitigation and monitoring measures,
and to jointly review the i nal environmental management plan. Often it is of benei t to
arrange different workshops for different groups of stakeholders.
A number of factors inl uence the successful (or unsuccessful) outcome of group decision-
making. Sometimes, a few group members tend to dominate others in discussions using
their authority or personality. On other occasions, group decision-making is inl uenced by
personal biases, or by 'bandwagon' and 'halo' effects. Team members are not always accus-
tomed to free expression of their opinions. This is particularly so in developing societies
where people defer to the older, more powerful spokespersons, thus discouraging critical
discussion, admission of errors, and revision of earlier judgements. Such a problem may be
overcome by conducting multiple workshops, so that younger or less powerful stakehold-
ers can provide their input without any cultural impediment.
A few rules guide successful decision-making workshops.

Workshops with selected
participants and selected
topics prove to be effective in
generating useful outcomes in a
limited time.

Preparation
Carefully select participants.
Appoint an experienced moderator.
Prepare for discussions.
Select a suitable venue.

Workshop
Allow for breaks.
Stick to the agenda.
Take notes.
Summarize outcomes.

Follow up
Act upon i ndings.
Keep participants informed on outcomes.

A number of more formal methods for group decision-making have been devel-
oped, which are occasionally applied in the environmental assessment of major projects,
or in consensus-building for particularly controversial aspects of a specii c project (such
as deciding on tailings disposal schemes). The Delphi Technique (or Delphi) is a formal
group decision-making tool to reach consensus on a particular issue, developed by the
RAND Corporation in the late 1960s as a forecasting methodology. Delphi is particularly
appropriate when decision-making is required in a political or emotional environment, or
when the decisions affect strong factions with opposing preferences. It has proved to be
effective in resolving seemingly-intractable site selection problems in the USA involving
the 'nimby' (not in my back yard) syndrome, and is well suited for application to contro-
versial mining projects. The main caveat is that the Delphi process requires the involve-
ment of a skilled and experienced moderator. The tool works formally or informally, in
large or small contexts, and captures the benei ts of group decision-making while avoiding
the limitations of group decision-making; e.g. over-dominant group members, political

The Delphi process works
formally or informally, in large
or small contexts, and captures
the benefi ts of group decision-
making while avoiding the
limitations of group decision-
making; e.g. over-dominant group
members, political
lobbying, or 'bandwagonism'.