Task 11 – Report
Reporting in relation to stakeholder engagement is multi-layered. As well as monitoring progress against the stakeholder engagement objectives, a key aim of reporting is to communicate stakeholder feedback so that it is considered in relevant internal decision-making and planning processes e.g. around project design, impact-mitigation measures and benefits. For this to be effective, it is important that the Social Performance team understands the type of information that other functions need and present it in a way that makes sense to those functions. Reporting lines include:
- Social Performance team – within the site social team, it is helpful for stakeholder engagement staff to develop regular (weekly or twice-monthly) reports to submit to their Head of Department (HoD), ideally through team meetings at which each staff member presents both a written and verbal update and analysis. The written report could be an update to the framework or present highlights in the form of a dashboard automatically generated from the stakeholder database.
- Heads of Departments (HoDs) –At each meeting, the Social Performance manager should provide a brief overview of issues emerging from stakeholder discussions and consultations, including:
- both proactive and reactive engagement activities
- feedback from stakeholders that could require or inform management decision-making; e.g. change in project design or stakeholder issues or concerns that departments need to consider before undertaking an activity
- plan deviations and the corrective actions taken
- any support or input required from managers and other functions
- a 'dashboard style' summary (e.g. colour-coded) so the reader can get a snapshot of the current situation at a glance
- comparisons with data from previous reports, or use visual elements to demonstrate any trends or fluctuations (e.g. graph)
- stakeholder issues that could present obstacles or delays
- summary of grievances submitted.
- Country and Group – reports to the Country-level and Group should be developed as part of reporting (see Section 2) and should summarise progress towards meeting the long-term objectives and outcomes defined in the ; any priority and/or emerging issues identified through engagements that require tracking or active management; and a narrative update on the overall status of the relationship with external stakeholders and their perceptions towards the site (split as necessary according to stakeholder group or location), highlighting any changes and the reasons for those.
- External reporting – local accountability mechanisms can be used for ongoing reporting on benchmarks and progress to external stakeholders. Ensure the report contents are stakeholder-oriented (what do stakeholders care about, what aspects affect them and what do we need them to know?). Comprehensive reporting to external stakeholders is conducted on a five-yearly basis through the Stakeholder Accountability Report (see Section 2)