Building resilient company-community relationships: A preliminary observation of the thoughts and experiences of community relations practitioners across Africa

Abstract

The University of the Witwatersrand presents an accredited four-course training programmers for community relations practitioners (CRPs). Between May 2013 and October 2014 and courses were facilitated for 145 participants, of whom 82% were from sub-Sabaran Africa, 62% worked in mining, and 58% worked directly with communities. Thematic analysis of the comments of course participants collected during course exercises found that there were a set of coherent drivers for resilient company-community relationships, but that the restrainers to resilient relationships were often context-specific and dominated by politics. CRPs reported facing as many difficulties in the internal company environment as in the external environment. These finding for CRPs in Africa resonate with those worldwide.