Abstract
This paper demonstrates the potential of the mining industry to contribute to social development (community building, resilience and wellbeing) and to economic transitioning post-mining. A number of factors may facilitate the realisation of this potential, in particular community engagement activities that build community resilience and capacity to adapt to changing environments. This paper reviews a community foresight initiative, named Clermont Preferred Future (CPF), which is associated with a coal mine development in the town of Clermont in Queensland, Australia. The purpose of CPF, which was adopted in 2008 and is intended to continue to 2020, is to facilitate a transition to a prosperous and sustainable future by leveraging opportunities from coal mining while reducing dependence on the industry. CPF has been cited as a successful model of engagement and community development, and was highly commended in the Community Economic Development category at the 2011 Australian National Awards for Economic Development Excellence. This review draws on the experiences of stakeholders involved in CPF, and on foresight, community engagement, and community development literature. It identifies what has worked well, what has fallen short of the project’s rhetorical aspirations, and how processes and outcomes might be improved. It also trials artwork as an engagement tool. The findings are valuable for Clermont specifically, but also for the mining industry and mining communities more broadly, as well as for other industries in the context of community engagement and strategic planning.
Highlights
The relationship between mining operations and local communities is a complex and challenging one, replete with legacies of destruction, dislocation and dispossession as well as development
We propose that Clermont Preferred Future (CPF) could be described as an integration of these two domains into what might be called ‘engaged foresight’
To gauge the extent to which it represented participants’ experiences and perceptions, they were asked questions such as: “Does this accurately represent who has been involved in CPF?” “Does this accurately represent the processes that have occurred?” “Is anyone/any group that was involved, or should have been involved, missing here?” “Are there any processes missing, or any that should have occurred?” More generally, to evaluate the efficacy of art engagement, participants were asked: “Do you find the artwork useful in thinking about the CPF process?” and “Do you think art could be helpful in engaging the Clermont community with CPF?”
Summary
The relationship between mining operations and local communities is a complex and challenging one, replete with legacies of destruction, dislocation and dispossession as well as development. Future (CPF) is a community foresight and planning initiative adopted in 2008. The initiative aimed to involve stakeholders in an effort to develop a prosperous future that leverages opportunities from mining while seeking to reduce dependence on the industry. The initial development of CPF culminated in a vision for 2020 and a Preferred Future Strategy. This review coincided with the culmination of the initial phase, providing an opportunity to mark successes and identify potential improvements. Our review starts with a description of Clermont It examines literature on futures and foresight, followed by literature on community engagement and development. Perspectives on the nature and success of the CPF process is presented, with discussion regarding the utility of such processes, limitations of CPF and opportunities for future similar processes
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