Beedie’s Co-Laboratorio Peru initiative facilitates planning dialogues

Series of working sessions discuss collaborative governance in Peruvian natural resources.

Governance, leadership, sustainable development, and social and economic impact in the Peruvian natural resources sector were just some of the hot topics on the agenda at a series of planning sessions held in Peru this spring.

Titled “Collaborating for Transformation”, the working sessions brought government officials, community leaders, academics, and NGOs together to dialogue and plan. Held at the Universidad del Pacifico in Lima in spring 2016, the sessions were the next stage of the programming that is picking up steam under the Beedie School of Business based Co-Laboratorio (Co-Lab) Peru.

Led by Beedie faculty June Francis and Kristina Henriksson, the Co-Lab program aims to strengthen systems change, innovation and collaboration among policy-makers, local government, universities, industry, NGOs, and community leaders.

The Co-Lab mobilizes and engages cross-sector stakeholders in generating knowledge, experiential learning, and shaping inclusive solutions to complex resource governance and sustainable livelihoods challenges.

The series of sessions were facilitated by an interdisciplinary team of faculty and professionals from the Beedie School of Business, SFU’s School of Public Policy, SFU’s Faculty of Environment, Deloitte, and ULULA, together with Peruvian colleagues.

One of the session’s contributors was Beedie School of Business alumnus Chief Ian Campbell, a graduate of the first cohort of Beedie’s pioneering Executive MBA in Aboriginal business and leadership.

A cultural ambassador for the Squamish People, Campbell spoke about the similarities of indigenous communities’ relationships with the extractive resource sector across the globe.

Emphasizing the need for collaboration, he recognized the requirement for discussion to ensure that the environment is protected, but also acknowledged the need to develop and create responsible extractive industries that are mindful of the needs of indigenous peoples.

“We are all in the same canoe – we need to collaborate with and trust each other,” he said. “Peru is not isolated, it is part of the world. It needs to find a balance between innovation, improvement, and environmental protection. Business and economic development must be an expression of our values as a collective.”

Maureen Maloney, from SFU’s School of Public Policy addressed the benefits that can come from conflict. “If we use conflict as a way of trying to help grow people, communities and countries, we will actually allow people to work at better solutions than they had ever thought of previously,” she said.

The Canadian Ambassador in Peru, Gwyneth Kutz, delivered the closing speech at the session, in which she discussed the challenges and opportunities for development in the Peruvian mining sector. She too stressed the importance of dialogue in creating policies and practices for social inclusion. She informed participants that the Canadian Embassy in Peru is involved in and supports several municipal and regional projects for improved management of natural resources.

The second working session, held in Arequipa, Peru, continued the discussion generated at the Lima session through a smaller workshop format.

The final session, also held in Arequipa, saw Francis and Henriksson meet with female social leaders from mining communities in the area to discuss how to strengthen participation of women in the decisions on extractives related issues.

“There is a critical need to identify and facilitate the development within the Peruvian mining sector of more inclusive and transformative approaches with multiple stakeholders,” says Henriksson.

“These sessions were a vital component in further implementing the Co-Laboratorio Peru program. The program will not only strengthen cross-sector collaborative practice, but also enhance the role of local universities as development and innovation partners for more resilient solutions.”

CIRDI is an interdisciplinary, coalition‐based research Institute (University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, École Polytechnique de Montréal) operating at a global level in the area of resources and development – assisting developing countries in their own efforts to leverage the potential of their minerals sectors for economic development, sustainable livelihoods and inclusive growth.

Through CIRDI, SFU and Beedie School faculty and students engage with a global community of institutions and organizations – Universities, NGOs, government agencies and corporations – that are dedicated to improving responsible resource governance and management practices in emerging markets, within the context of ever-increasing global sustainability challenges.

For more information on Co-Laboratorio Peru, visit http://cirdi.ca/peru-collaboratory/ For information on the sessions, including reports summarizing specific practical recommendations, visit https://colabperu.wordpress.com/