REFLECTIONS FROM PRACTICE
The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA, members of the World Bank Group. CAO is mandated to address complaints from people about the environmental and social impacts of IFC and MIGA projects and to improve outcomes on the ground.
CAO's Dispute Resolution function provides a nonjudicial, non-adversarial, impartial forum through which communities and companies (the "parties") can seek mutually satisfactory solutions to complaint-related disputes.
CAO's Reflections from Practice series provides guidance for CAO Dispute Resolution staff, mediators, and consultants, and informs parties to CAO dispute resolution processes about the foundational principles guiding this work. Browse the Reflections publications below and learn more about CAO at www.cao-ombudsman.org.
GETTING STARTED WITH DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Once parties in dispute agree to a collaborative process to address their concerns, CAO works with them to lay the foundations for an effective dialogue process. "Getting Started with Dispute Resolution" provides an overview of the principles that guide this early phase of a CAO Dispute Resolution process, challenges that may arise, and strategies and tools that CAO employs during this early convening phase.
REPRESENTATION
Establishing who will participate and who will have decision-making power is a key step in a dispute resolution process. This topic is covered in "Representation" from CAO's new Reflections from Practice series. The publication provides guidance on how to achieve clarity and consensus on representation, challenges that may arise, and strategies that CAO employs to assist the parties in their selection of representatives for a dispute resolution process.
JOINT FACT-FINDING
Development-related conflicts involving disputes of fact occur across all sectors, from mining and agribusiness to infrastructure and manufacturing. Project operators may find themselves in conflict with neighboring communities about predicted environmental or health impacts of the project, the quality of the Environmental Impact Assessment, or what experts did the studies.
Joint Fact-Finding is a dispute resolution tool that provides the opportunity for the parties to explore ways to jointly collect, analyze, and interpret data and build consensus around it. Based on CAO's experience working to resolve disputes between IFC/MIGA clients and local communities, "Joint Fact-Finding" outlines the principles and strategies to consider when developing a joint fact-finding process.
