Glossary

114 terms, in plain language

The vocabulary of company-community mediation, defined as it is actually used in the field rather than as it appears in a standard. Drawn from Mediating Extractive Conflicts.

A

Accountability Mechanism: An independent system or institution designed to ensure that parties fulfill their commitments under a mediation agreement and provide remedies when obligations are violated. In mining contexts, these may include joint monitoring committees, ombudsman offices, or international mechanisms such as the CAO.
Acknowledgment: A statement or action by which a party recognizes and validates the experiences, suffering, or concerns of another party. In company-community mediation, acknowledgment often involves the company recognizing the impact of its operations on community members, which can be a crucial step in rebuilding trust and facilitating healing.
Active Listening: A communication technique that involves giving full attention to the speaker, observing body language and tone, and responding in ways that demonstrate understanding. Key components include paraphrasing, reflecting emotions, maintaining eye contact, avoiding interruptions, and picking up on unspoken concerns. Active listening builds rapport and creates a safe space for dialogue.
Agenda Setting: The phase in mediation where parties collaboratively identify and prioritize the issues to be discussed. Topics are listed in neutral language, clarified for shared understanding, and organized in a logical sequence. Effective agenda setting ensures no key grievance is overlooked and makes complex conflicts feel more manageable.
Anchoring Bias: A cognitive bias in negotiation where the first number or offer presented disproportionately influences subsequent discussions and perceptions of fairness. Mediators help parties focus on objective criteria and interests rather than arbitrary anchors to counteract this bias.
Apology: A formal expression of regret or remorse for harm caused. In mediation, sincere apologies can be powerful tools for healing and trust-building. Effective apologies acknowledge specific impacts, express genuine empathy, and may be accompanied by commitments to prevent future harm. Legal considerations may require careful wording.
Arbitration: A formal dispute resolution process in which a neutral third party (the arbitrator) hears evidence and arguments from both sides and renders a binding decision. Unlike mediation, the parties do not control the outcome. Arbitration may be voluntary or mandated by contract, and is sometimes used when mediation has been attempted but failed to produce agreement.
Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM): Labor-intensive mining operations conducted by individuals, families, or small groups using minimal mechanization and capital. ASM communities are often affected by the arrival of large-scale industrial mining operations, which may displace them from deposits they have worked for generations, creating a distinct category of stakeholder in company-community disputes.

B

BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement): The most favorable outcome a party can achieve if negotiations fail and they pursue their next-best option outside of mediation. Understanding BATNAs helps parties assess whether proposed agreements are acceptable and provides a realistic baseline for evaluation. A weak BATNA often increases motivation to reach an agreement.
Benefit-Sharing Agreement: A formal arrangement in which a company commits to sharing benefits from its operations with affected communities. These may include financial compensation, community development funds, infrastructure projects, employment opportunities, or other tangible benefits designed to ensure communities receive fair value from resources extracted or operations conducted in their area.
Brainstorming: A creative problem-solving technique used in the option-generation phase of mediation, where parties generate multiple potential solutions without immediate evaluation or commitment. Ground rules typically include suspending criticism, welcoming all ideas, and building on suggestions. The goal is to expand possibilities before narrowing to preferred options.
Burnout: A state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion resulting from prolonged occupational stress, characterized by three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization (cynical detachment from work), and reduced sense of personal accomplishment. Mediators working in protracted, high-conflict mining disputes are particularly vulnerable.

C

CAO (Compliance Advisor Ombudsman): The independent accountability mechanism of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The CAO addresses complaints from communities affected by IFC/MIGA-supported projects, offering dispute resolution services and compliance investigations. It is one of the few international mechanisms available to communities in disputes with mining companies financed by development institutions.
Capacity Building: The process of developing skills, knowledge, and resources within a group to enable more effective participation. In company-community mediation, capacity building may involve training community representatives in negotiation, providing technical advisors, or helping parties understand complex information to reduce power imbalances.
Caucus: A private meeting between the mediator and one party, conducted separately from joint sessions. Caucuses allow parties to express concerns confidentially, explore flexibility without losing face, reality-test positions, and receive coaching on presentation. Mediators must maintain the confidentiality of caucus discussions unless given permission to share them.
Closed Questions: Questions that elicit specific, brief responses, often yes or no answers. Examples include “Do you have authority to agree today?” and “Was the meeting held on March 15th?” Closed questions are useful for confirming facts, clarifying details, and establishing concrete information during mediation.
Co-Mediation: A mediation approach involving two or more mediators working together. Co-mediation can bring diverse expertise, help manage complex multi-party disputes, facilitate cultural bridging, balance gender representation, and enable mentoring of less experienced mediators. Roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined beforehand.
Co-optation: The process by which a mediator, community leader, or other actor becomes an unwitting instrument of a more powerful party, lending legitimacy to processes or outcomes that primarily serve that party’s interests. In mining disputes, co-optation risks are heightened when one party funds the mediation process or provides logistical support.
Cognitive Bias: A systematic pattern of deviation from rational judgment in which individuals draw inferences about other people and situations in an illogical fashion. Common cognitive biases in mediation include anchoring bias, confirmation bias, loss aversion, reactive devaluation, and the endowment effect. Mediators must recognize these biases in themselves and in the parties.
Community Development Fund: A financial mechanism established to channel resources toward community improvement projects. Often included in company-community agreements, these funds may support infrastructure, education, healthcare, livelihood programs, or other priorities identified by the community. Governance structures typically include community representation in decision-making.
Compassion Fatigue: A specific form of burnout affecting professionals who work with traumatized populations, characterized by a diminished capacity for empathy and emotional engagement. Mediators who repeatedly hear accounts of community suffering, displacement, and environmental harm may develop compassion fatigue, reducing their effectiveness and personal wellbeing.
Concession (Mining): A specific tract of land or set of mineral rights granted by a government to a company for exploration and extraction over a defined period under specified conditions. Concession boundaries frequently overlap with community lands, creating the foundational land-use conflict that mediation seeks to address.
Confidentiality: A core principle of mediation ensuring that information shared during the process remains private and cannot be disclosed outside mediation or used in subsequent legal proceedings without consent. Confidentiality creates psychological safety for honest dialogue and candid exploration of interests and options.
Confirmation Bias: The tendency to notice, seek out, and remember information that confirms existing beliefs while ignoring or dismissing contradictory evidence. In conflict, parties often interpret the other side’s actions through a negative lens. Mediators can counteract this bias by highlighting exceptions and encouraging perspective-taking.
Conflict Assessment: A systematic analysis of a dispute conducted before or during mediation to understand its dynamics, causes, parties, issues, history, and context. Assessment tools may include stakeholder mapping, conflict timelines, issue trees, and analysis of power dynamics. Thorough assessment informs process design and intervention strategies.
Conflict Escalation: The process by which conflicts intensify over time through cycles of action and reaction. Stages typically progress from initial tension and disagreement, through polarization and position-hardening, to actions replacing dialogue, and potentially culminating in a crisis marked by hostility or violence. Understanding escalation helps mediators tailor interventions appropriately.
Conflict Mapping: A visual or analytical tool used to diagram the parties, issues, relationships, alliances, and dynamics in a dispute. Conflict maps help mediators understand the conflict systemically, identify all stakeholders who should be involved, and reveal underlying factors that may not be immediately apparent.
Cultural Competence: The knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to work effectively across cultural differences. In mediation, cultural competence involves understanding local customs, communication styles, power structures, gender dynamics, and decision-making norms. It requires humility, curiosity, and willingness to adapt processes to cultural contexts.

D

De-escalation: The process of reducing tension and intensity in a conflict. De-escalation strategies include improving communication, building empathy, focusing on problem-solving rather than blame, making incremental agreements, and creating space for emotions to subside. Successful de-escalation often requires addressing both substantive issues and emotional needs.
Dehumanization: The psychological process in intense conflict in which parties view each other as less than human, resorting to extreme characterizations or stereotypes. Dehumanization enables hostile attitudes and actions. Mediators work to counteract this by using humanizing exercises, storytelling, and perspective-taking to reveal shared humanity.
Digital Divide: The inequality of access to technology, including reliable internet connectivity, devices, digital literacy, and supporting infrastructure. In mining contexts, the digital divide is particularly acute because many operations are located in remote regions where community representatives may lack the technological access that company personnel take for granted.
Digital Mediation: Mediation conducted through electronic communication platforms, including fully virtual sessions, hybrid formats where some participants are remote, and technology-assisted in-person processes. Digital mediation raises distinct challenges around power dynamics, nonverbal communication, confidentiality, and equitable access to technology.
Do No Harm: An ethical principle requiring mediators to ensure their interventions do not worsen the situation, exacerbate power imbalances, or cause psychological harm to participants. This principle is particularly important when working with trauma survivors or vulnerable populations and guides decisions about process design, questioning, and timing.
Domestic Violence: Patterns of abuse, including physical, emotional, psychological, or financial harm, occurring within intimate or family relationships. Domestic violence may affect participation and safety in mediation processes, requiring mediators to assess whether conditions are appropriate for mediation to proceed and to implement safety measures when necessary.
Duty of Care: The legal and ethical obligation of companies to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm to communities affected by their operations. In the mediation context, duty of care may extend to ensuring that the mediation process itself does not cause additional harm to vulnerable participants.

E

Emotional Intelligence: The ability to recognize, understand, and manage one’s own emotions while also perceiving and responding appropriately to others’ emotions. High emotional intelligence helps mediators remain calm under pressure, read the room accurately, respond to emotional cues, and navigate intense feelings constructively.
Empathy: The capacity to understand and share the feelings of another by imagining oneself in their position. In mediation, empathy involves acknowledging emotions, validating experiences, and demonstrating genuine concern for each party’s perspective. Mediators model empathy to encourage parties to develop empathy for one another.
Endowment Effect: A cognitive bias causing people to overvalue what they already possess simply because they own it. In land disputes, for example, communities may value their current land far more than objectively equivalent alternatives. Mediators should respect these attachments and address them through symbolic recognition or transition rituals.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): A formal study evaluating the likely environmental effects of a proposed project before it proceeds, including baseline conditions, predicted impacts, and proposed mitigation measures. EIAs are frequently contested in mining disputes, with communities challenging the adequacy of assessments or the independence of the consultants who prepared them.
Escrow: A financial arrangement in which funds are held by a neutral third party and released only when specified conditions are met. In mediation agreements, escrow accounts can build trust by ensuring that compensation payments or development contributions are actually available and will be disbursed as agreed.
Evaluative Mediation: A mediation approach in which the mediator actively assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each party’s position and may suggest specific settlement terms. This contrasts with facilitative mediation, where the mediator refrains from offering opinions on the merits. Evaluative approaches carry greater risk of perceived bias but may be useful when parties are deeply entrenched.

F

Facilitation: The skill of guiding group discussions and processes in a neutral manner to help participants achieve their goals. Facilitation techniques include setting ground rules, managing participation, keeping discussions on track, summarizing progress, and ensuring all voices are heard. The facilitator focuses on the process, while the parties focus on the content.
Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC): A principle recognized in international law requiring that indigenous peoples and local communities give their voluntary, informed agreement before projects that affect their lands, territories, or resources may proceed. FPIC requires that consent be sought sufficiently in advance, based on full and accessible information, and free from coercion, intimidation, or manipulation.

G

Gender-Based Violence: Violence directed at individuals because of their gender, including intimate partner violence, sexual assault, harassment, and exploitation. In extractive-industry contexts, gender-based violence may increase with the influx of workers or displacement of communities. Mediators must assess whether such violence is present, implement safety measures, and determine whether conditions are appropriate for mediation to proceed.
Grievance Mechanism: A formal process through which individuals or communities can raise complaints, concerns, or claims against a company or organization. Effective grievance mechanisms are accessible, predictable, equitable, transparent, and rights-compatible. They provide structured channels for addressing issues before they escalate into larger conflicts.
Ground Rules: Agreed-upon guidelines for conduct during mediation that establish expectations for respectful behavior. Common ground rules include: one person speaks at a time, no interruptions, attack the problem not the person, maintain confidentiality, and respect cultural norms. Ground rules create psychological safety and structure for productive dialogue.
Grounding Technique: A psychological technique used to redirect attention from traumatic memories or overwhelming emotions to immediate sensory experience in the present moment. Mediators working with traumatized communities may use grounding exercises (such as focusing on physical sensations or surroundings) to help participants manage distress during difficult sessions.
Group Polarization: The tendency for group deliberation to push members toward more extreme positions than they individually held before discussion. In community assemblies preparing for mediation, group polarization can harden negotiating positions and make compromise more difficult. Mediators should be aware of this dynamic when assessing the flexibility of group-designated representatives.

H

Hybrid Mediation: A mediation format in which some participants are physically present while others join remotely via technology. Hybrid formats create inherent asymmetries in participation quality, nonverbal communication, and relationship-building that mediators must actively manage to ensure procedural fairness.
Hypothetical Questions: Questions that explore “what-if” scenarios to help parties consider alternatives, consequences, or perspectives without commitment. Examples include “What if you were in their position?” or “What if we tried this approach instead?” Hypothetical questions encourage creative thinking and can help parties envision solutions.

I

IFC Performance Standards: The environmental and social standards established by the International Finance Corporation that companies receiving IFC financing must meet. The Performance Standards address issues central to mining disputes, including land acquisition, resettlement, indigenous peoples, biodiversity, and stakeholder engagement. They are frequently referenced as benchmarks in company-community mediation.
Impartiality: The mediator’s commitment to treating all parties fairly and without favoritism. Unlike neutrality (which focuses on issues), impartiality focuses on equal respect and support for all parties in the process. Some describe this as “multi-partial” or “all-partial,” meaning fully supportive of everyone reaching a fair outcome.
Impasse: A point in negotiation at which the parties are stuck and unable or unwilling to make further progress. Signs include circular arguments, rigid body language, breakdown in communication, and statements of incompatibility. Impasse-breaking strategies include caucusing, reframing, introducing new options, reality-testing BATNAs, and taking breaks.
Implementation Gap: The distance between what is written in a mediation agreement and what actually occurs in practice, resulting from unclear language, insufficient resources, changing circumstances, or lack of accountability mechanisms. Addressing the implementation gap is one of the most persistent challenges in company-community mediation.
Incremental Agreement: A strategy of building toward comprehensive resolution through smaller, achievable agreements on specific issues. Each successful agreement builds trust, demonstrates good faith, and creates momentum for addressing more difficult issues. This approach is particularly valuable in complex disputes where full resolution requires extended time.
Informed Consent: The principle that participants must understand and voluntarily agree to the mediation process with full knowledge of what it entails. Informed consent requires explaining the process, participants’ rights, the limits on confidentiality, the mediator’s role, and how outcomes may be used. Consent should be ongoing throughout the process.
Interest-Based Negotiation: An approach to negotiation that focuses on underlying interests, needs, and concerns rather than stated positions. By understanding what parties truly need (interests) rather than what they demand (positions), mediators can help identify creative solutions that satisfy multiple interests simultaneously, creating value for all parties.
Interests: The underlying needs, desires, concerns, and motivations that drive parties’ stated positions in a dispute. While positions are specific demands (“We want $1 million”), interests explain why (“We need to rebuild homes and secure our children’s future”). Understanding interests enables creative problem-solving and win-win outcomes.

J

Joint Fact-Finding: A collaborative process where disputing parties agree to work together to gather and analyze information relevant to their dispute. This may involve jointly hiring independent experts, conducting shared investigations, or forming technical committees. Joint fact-finding builds shared understanding and trust while removing factual disputes as barriers.

L

Loss Aversion: A cognitive bias whereby people feel the pain of losses more strongly than the pleasure of equivalent gains. In mediation, parties may fiercely resist changes perceived as losses even when potential gains outweigh them. Mediators can address this by reframing proposals in terms of gains or loss prevention.

M

Mediation: A voluntary, confidential process in which a neutral third party (the mediator) assists disputing parties in communicating, understanding each other’s perspectives, and working toward mutually acceptable resolutions. Unlike arbitration or adjudication, the mediator does not impose decisions; parties retain control over outcomes.
Mediation Agreement: A document formalizing the outcomes of successful mediation. The agreement specifies commitments, responsibilities, timelines, monitoring mechanisms, and consequences for non-compliance. Effective agreements are specific, clear, realistic, and address all issues identified in the mediation. They may be legally binding or operate on good faith.
Mediator Capture: A situation in which a mediator loses their independence and becomes aligned with or controlled by one party, whether through financial dependence, social relationships, or gradual ideological alignment. In mining disputes, mediator capture most commonly occurs when the company funds the mediation and provides logistical support.
Mediator’s Proposal: A settlement suggestion offered by the mediator when parties are deadlocked, typically presented as a middle-ground option based on the mediator’s understanding of both sides’ interests. This technique allows parties to save face by accepting “the mediator’s idea” rather than appearing to concede to the other side.
Monitoring: The ongoing process of tracking the implementation of mediated agreements to ensure commitments are fulfilled. Monitoring mechanisms may include joint committees, periodic review meetings, third-party verification, progress reports, or independent oversight. Effective monitoring builds trust by providing accountability and early warnings of problems.
Moral Distress: The psychological experience of knowing what the ethically correct course of action is but feeling unable to pursue it due to institutional constraints, professional role limitations, or external pressures. Mediators experience moral distress when they observe injustice or harm but feel constrained by their neutral role from intervening directly.
Moral Injury: Deep psychological harm resulting from perpetrating, witnessing, or being unable to prevent acts that violate one’s fundamental moral beliefs and expectations. Community members who have witnessed environmental destruction or violence may carry moral injury that shapes their capacity to engage in mediation.
Multi-Party Mediation: Mediation involving more than two parties, which adds complexity in managing multiple interests, relationships, and communication dynamics. Company-community disputes often involve multiple stakeholders, including various community groups, company departments, government agencies, and NGOs. Process design must ensure all voices are heard.
Multipartiality: An active mediator stance that involves being equally committed to the legitimate interests of all parties, rather than maintaining passive neutrality. A multipartial mediator advocates for a fair process and outcome for everyone, which may require giving more support to less powerful parties to achieve genuine balance.

N

Neutrality: The mediator’s stance of not taking sides on the substantive issues in dispute. A neutral mediator does not advocate for particular outcomes or express opinions about who is right or wrong. Neutrality is maintained by treating all positions as worthy of consideration and helping each party present their case effectively.

O

Objective Criteria: External standards, benchmarks, or precedents used to evaluate fairness of proposed solutions independent of the parties’ subjective preferences. Examples include market rates, industry standards, legal guidelines, scientific data, and comparable settlements. A reference to objective criteria shifts the discussion from positional bargaining to principled negotiation.
Open-Ended Questions: Questions designed to encourage detailed, explanatory responses rather than brief answers. They typically begin with “What,” “How,” “Tell me about,” or “Can you describe.” Open-ended questions help mediators understand perspectives, uncover underlying interests, and encourage parties to express themselves fully.
Opening Statement: The initial presentation by each party at the beginning of mediation, sharing their perspective on the dispute without interruption. Opening statements allow parties to feel heard, provide information to the mediator and other parties, and can serve as an opportunity for emotional expression. The mediator typically summarizes key themes afterward.
Option Generation: The phase in mediation where parties brainstorm potential solutions to address identified interests. Effective option generation separates invention from decision-making, encourages creativity, builds on others’ ideas, and aims for multiple options for each issue. The goal is to expand possibilities before evaluating and selecting preferred solutions.

P

Package Deal: A negotiation approach in which multiple issues are bundled for agreement, allowing trade-offs across issues. One party may concede more on Issue A in exchange for gains on Issue B. Package deals can create value by accommodating different priorities and ensuring overall balance even when individual issues favor different sides.
Paraphrasing: A communication technique in which the listener restates what the speaker said in their own words to confirm understanding. Effective paraphrasing captures both content and emotion: “So you’re saying the contamination has affected your health, and you feel the company hasn’t taken your concerns seriously.” Paraphrasing demonstrates active listening.
Perspective-Taking: The cognitive and emotional exercise of imagining oneself in another’s situation to understand their viewpoint. In mediation, perspective-taking exercises help parties see beyond their own experience, recognize others’ legitimate concerns, and develop empathy. This can transform adversarial dynamics into collaborative problem-solving.
Positions: The specific demands, solutions, or outcomes that parties state they want in a dispute. Positions are often presented as fixed requirements (“We demand $1 million compensation”). Effective mediation moves beyond positions to explore underlying interests, opening the door to creative solutions that satisfy both parties’ true needs.
Power Asymmetry: An imbalance in power between parties, which can manifest in resources, information, status, expertise, or influence. In company-community disputes, companies typically have greater financial and legal resources. Mediators must recognize and address power imbalances to ensure fair processes and outcomes, potentially through capacity-building or process adaptations.
Pre-Mediation: Preparatory activities conducted before formal mediation sessions begin. Pre-mediation may include stakeholder identification, individual meetings with parties, conflict assessment, process design, logistics planning, and building initial trust. Thorough pre-mediation increases the likelihood of productive sessions and successful outcomes.
Premature Closure: The tendency to push toward agreement before parties are psychologically ready, before underlying issues are adequately addressed, or before sufficient trust has been rebuilt. Premature closure often results in agreements that fail during implementation because the parties never genuinely committed to the outcome.
Probing Questions: Questions that dig deeper into topics to uncover additional information, motivations, or underlying concerns. Examples include “Can you tell me more about that?“ or “What led you to that conclusion?” Probing questions help mediators move past surface-level statements to understand the whole picture.
Procedural Fairness: The perception that the process used to reach decisions was fair, regardless of the outcome itself. Elements of procedural fairness include voice (opportunity to be heard), consistency, impartiality, accuracy, and respect. When parties perceive the process as fair, they are more likely to accept and comply with outcomes.
Psychological Safety: An environment where participants feel safe to express themselves, share concerns, and take interpersonal risks without fear of negative consequences. Creating psychological safety is essential for honest dialogue and is established through confidentiality, ground rules, respectful communication, and trauma-informed practices.

R

Reactive Devaluation: A cognitive bias where proposals are valued less simply because they come from an adversary. Even if a proposal meets a party’s interests, they may reject it because accepting it would feel like losing to the other side. Mediators can counteract this by reattributing ideas or framing proposals as joint solutions.
Reality Testing: A technique used to help parties evaluate the feasibility and consequences of their positions by asking probing questions about alternatives and outcomes. Reality testing often involves exploring BATNAs: “If you don’t reach an agreement here, what will you do? What are the costs and risks of that path?” It injects realism without being coercive.
Reconciliation: The restoration of a relationship between parties after conflict, involving acknowledgment of harm, expression of remorse, rebuilding trust, and commitment to changed behavior. Reconciliation goes beyond settlement of immediate issues to address the relationship itself, often through symbolic acts, ceremonies, or ongoing collaboration.
Reflexive Questions: Questions that encourage parties to reflect on their own thoughts, feelings, assumptions, and perceptions. Examples include “How do you feel about that?” and “What assumptions are you making?” Reflexive questions promote self-awareness and can help parties recognize their own biases and contributions to the conflict.
Reframing: The technique of restating a negative, accusatory, or positional statement in more constructive, neutral terms. For example, transforming “The company lies and doesn’t care about us” into “Trust has been broken, and you need assurances that commitments will be honored.” Reframing de-escalates emotions and refocuses on interests.
Resettlement: The process of relocating individuals or communities from their original location, typically due to development projects or resource extraction. Resettlement raises significant concerns about compensation, livelihood restoration, cultural preservation, and consent. Poorly managed resettlement is a major source of company-community conflicts.
Restitution: Actions taken to restore what was lost or damaged, or to compensate for harm caused. Restitution may include financial compensation, restoration of property, provision of services, or other measures aimed at making affected parties whole. It is a common element in settlements for community grievances.
Retraumatization: The experience of having trauma symptoms triggered or worsened by subsequent events, discussions, or processes that recall the original traumatic experience. Trauma-informed mediation practices aim to minimize retraumatization by providing choice and control, avoiding invasive questioning, and creating supportive environments.
Risk-Based Questions: Questions that help parties identify and consider potential risks, drawbacks, or unintended consequences of decisions or courses of action. Examples include “What could go wrong with this approach?” and “What are the risks if we don’t address this issue?” These questions promote thorough analysis and informed decision-making.

S

Secondary Traumatic Stress: Psychological symptoms, including intrusive thoughts, avoidance, and hyperarousal, that develop in professionals who are repeatedly exposed to the traumatic experiences of others through empathic engagement. Mediators working with communities that have experienced violence, displacement, or environmental harm are at risk.
Self-Determination: The fundamental mediation principle that parties retain control over the outcome and make their own decisions about whether to agree and on what terms. The mediator facilitates the process but does not impose solutions. Self-determination respects parties’ autonomy and produces more durable agreements because parties own the outcome.
Shuttle Diplomacy: A mediation technique where the mediator moves between parties who are not meeting face-to-face, carrying messages, proposals, and information between them. Shuttle diplomacy is useful when direct interaction has broken down, emotions are too high for joint sessions, or parties need to consider proposals privately before committing.
Social License to Operate: The ongoing acceptance and approval of a company’s activities by its stakeholders, particularly the local community. Unlike a legal or regulatory license, a social license is granted informally and can be withdrawn at any time. Its loss has been identified as one of the top business risks in the extractive sector, often motivating companies to engage in mediation.
Stakeholder: Any individual, group, or organization that has an interest in or is affected by the dispute and its resolution. In company-community mediation, stakeholders may include affected community members, company representatives, local government officials, traditional authorities, NGOs, and others with an interest in the outcome.
Structural Neutrality: Neutrality that extends beyond the mediator’s personal conduct to encompass the design of the mediation process itself, including venue selection, timing, information access, language of proceedings, and funding arrangements. A process that is structurally biased toward one party undermines mediation regardless of the mediator’s personal impartiality.
Substantive Needs: The tangible outcomes or concrete results that parties seek from negotiation, such as compensation, resources, policy changes, or specific actions. Substantive needs form one corner of the Triangle of Satisfaction, alongside procedural needs (fair process) and emotional needs (acknowledgment and respect).
Summarizing: The technique of concisely restating key points that have emerged in discussion to confirm understanding, organize the conversation, validate contributions, and create a shared narrative. Effective summaries capture both substance and emotion, highlight areas of agreement, and identify remaining differences.
Sustainable Development Fund: A long-term funding mechanism designed to provide ongoing benefits to a community, often established as part of company-community agreements. These funds typically support projects that promote sustainable livelihoods, infrastructure, education, or healthcare, and may involve community participation in governance and project selection.

T

Tailings: The waste material left after the target mineral has been extracted from mined ore. Tailings are typically stored in large engineered facilities (tailings dams or storage facilities) near the mine site. Community concerns about tailings storage, including risks of dam failure, water contamination, and dust, are among the most common triggers for mining disputes.
Transformative Mediation: A mediation approach that focuses on two key dynamics: empowerment (helping parties gain clarity about their own needs and options) and recognition (helping parties understand and acknowledge each other’s perspectives). Transformative mediation prioritizes relationship transformation over settlement, which can be particularly valuable in long-term company-community relationships.
Trauma-Informed Approach: A framework for practice that recognizes the widespread impact of trauma, understands potential paths for recovery, recognizes trauma signs and symptoms, and responds by integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices. Key principles include safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment.
Triangle of Satisfaction: A framework identifying three types of needs that must be addressed for parties to feel satisfied with mediation outcomes: procedural needs (fair process, voice, inclusion), emotional needs (acknowledgment, respect, validation), and substantive needs (tangible outcomes). Lasting agreements address all three dimensions.
Trust: Confidence in the reliability, honesty, and good intentions of another party. Trust is often damaged in conflicts and must be rebuilt through consistent actions, kept promises, transparency, and demonstrated good faith. Trust is essential for parties to share information openly and commit to agreements.

U

UNGP (United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights): An international framework establishing standards for preventing and addressing business-related human rights impacts. The UNGP outlines state duties to protect human rights, corporate responsibility to respect human rights, and the need for access to remediation for those affected. They inform standards for company grievance mechanisms and mediation processes.

V

Vicarious Trauma: The cumulative psychological transformation that occurs in professionals who are repeatedly exposed to the traumatic material of their clients. Unlike secondary traumatic stress, which focuses on symptoms, vicarious trauma refers to deeper shifts in the mediator’s worldview, trust, sense of safety, and beliefs about human nature.
Victim Mentality: A psychological state in which individuals or groups perceive themselves as powerless victims with no responsibility for or ability to change their situation. While acknowledging genuine victimization, mediators help parties move from victimhood to agency by focusing on what they can do to improve their circumstances.
Voluntariness: The principle that participation in mediation is entirely voluntary, with no party compelled to attend or to agree. Voluntariness ensures genuine engagement, respects autonomy, and produces more durable outcomes. Parties must be able to withdraw at any time without penalty.

W

WATNA (Worst Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement): The least favorable outcome a party might face if negotiations fail and they pursue alternatives. Understanding WATNAs alongside BATNAs provides a realistic assessment of the range of likely outcomes outside mediation, motivating parties to find agreement when alternatives are unattractive.
Win-Win Solution: An outcome that satisfies the core interests of all parties, creating value rather than simply dividing a fixed pie. Win-win solutions become possible when mediators help parties move beyond positions to interests, revealing opportunities for creative arrangements that address multiple needs simultaneously.

Z

Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA): The range within which an agreement is possible because it would satisfy both parties’ minimum requirements. ZOPA exists when party A’s acceptable outcomes overlap with party B’s acceptable outcomes. Understanding parties’ BATNAs and reservation points helps identify whether a ZOPA exists.

The method

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Insights

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Diagnostics

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