Systems-Based Conceptual Framework for Assessing the Determinants of a Social License to Operate in the Mining Industry

• Published in: Environmental management (New York) Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 672 - 689
• Main Authors: Prno, Jason, Slocombe, D. Scott
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer-Verlag 01.03.2014; Springer US; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adaptive systems; Alaska; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; business enterprises; Case studies; Civil society; Community; Community Participation - legislation & jurisprudence; Complex adaptive systems; Decision making; Determinants; Dynamical systems; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Emergence; Environment; Environmental Management; Forestry Management; Humans; interviews; Licenses; Literature reviews; Mineral resources; Mining; Mining industry; Models, Theoretical; Nature Conservation; Research projects; Resilience; Resource management; risk; Social Control, Formal - methods; Social responsibility; Society; stakeholders; Sustainable development; System theory; Systems Theory; uncertainty; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Alaska; USA, Alaska; Mining; Social license to operate; Governance; Communities; Complexity
• DOI: 10.1007/s00267-013-0221-7
• ISSN: 0364-152X

The concept of a “social license to operate” (SLO) was coined in the 1990s and gained popularity as one way in which “social” considerations can be addressed in mineral development decision making. The need for a SLO implies that developers require the widespread approval of local community members for their projects to avoid exposure to potentially costly conflict and business risks. Only a limited amount of scholarship exists on the topic, and there is a need for research that specifically addresses the complex and changeable nature of SLO outcomes. In response to these challenges, this paper advances a novel, systems-based conceptual framework for assessing SLO determinants and outcomes in the mining industry. Two strands of systems theory are specifically highlighted—complex adaptive systems and resilience—and the roles of context, key system variables, emergence, change, uncertainty, feedbacks, cross-scale effects, multiple stable states, thresholds, and resilience are discussed. The framework was developed from the results of a multi-year research project which involved international mining case study investigations, a comprehensive literature review, and interviews conducted with mining stakeholders and observers. The framework can help guide SLO analysis and management efforts, by encouraging users to account for important contextual and complexity-oriented elements present in SLO settings. We apply the framework to a case study in Alaska, USA before discussing its merits and challenges. We also illustrate knowledge gaps associated with applications of complex adaptive systems and resilience theories to the study of SLO dynamics, and discuss opportunities for future research.