Responsible Minerals Sector Initiative

Overview

The Responsible Minerals Sector Initiative (RMSI), a collaboration housed at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, is hosting series of invitational dialogues and a growing portfolio of projects designed to advance responsibility and sustainability in the mineral sector. RMSI brings together people from around the world with diverse perspectives and experiences representing communities, companies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and governments in an effort to share insights and concepts, develop strategies and tools, and build networks and relationships for effective leadership and responsible management in the mineral sector. The RMSI Dialogue Series aims to shape and inform the development of a focused program of activities related to Pathways for Improving Practice and Agendas for Responsive Research.

The objectives of the RMSI Dialogue Series are to:

1. Confront the toughest issues that must be addressed for the mineral sector to move forward in demonstrating sustainability and responsibility over the coming decade.


2. Advance priority projects or activities responsive to these issues and to review the outcomes of this evolving body of work in subsequent dialogues.


3. Expand and deepen across all sectors and disciplines the network of experienced and knowledgeable leaders in communities, companies and governments, practitioners, decision makers and researchers.

• Build continuing conversations, not convene conferences or conduct negotiations to reach outcomes.


• Lay the foundations for the relationships and networks that will sustain conversations into the future.


• Engage diverse voices from across sectors with different values and interests.


• Provide the opportunity to understand where we agree, and disagree, but are willing to explore the underlying reasons with a view to strengthening common ground and finding ways to live with each other in spite of our differences.


• Hear more voices with fewer words, rather than few voices with many words, and use emerging technologies and the unique attributes of the facilities at SFU to maximize participation and interaction.


• Use stories and case examples to anchor the dialogue in real experience – from inside and outside the room – making the dialogues highly relevant to practitioners, decision makers and researchers alike.