Community liaison officers play a critical role in developing and maintaining relationships with communities in and around sites of company operations, but their 'voice has been missing for too long' in the development of corporate policy and practice.
Community liaison officers: exploring the frontline of corporate practice in the oil and gas sector by Clare Bebbington (Audire Consultants), Dr Emma Wilson (ECW Energy) and Dr James Van Alstine and Laura Smith (Leeds University) is the first paper in a research programme which aims to address this gap.
It concludes that there is a need for a more coherent approach in the management of community-facing teams. Enhancing cross-organisational communication among those responsible for the management of community relationships would offer companies important perspectives on key non-technical risks and improve the organisational effectiveness of these teams. Better training and development opportunities would deepen the CLOs' impact and better equip them to manage complex issues in challenging environments. And incorporating lessons from the field and listening to the CLOs' own experience would enhance corporate and international policies, guidance and best practice.
Bebbington, C., Wilson, E., Smith, L., and Van Alstine, J. (2017) Community liaison officers: exploring the frontline of corporate practice in the oil and gas sector. London: Audire and ECW Energy Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-912420-27-8
