Three top-tier scholars awarded prestigious Insight Development Grants

The goal of this research is to investigate the role of NGOs in mitigating the social impacts of mining critical minerals in Uganda. Uganda works as an ideal case for this study because critical minerals are attracting national and multi-national corporations and this is starting to generate significant activity especially in rural areas. Activities to explore and extract minerals are expected to have major impacts on local communities.

Dr. Egunyu and her team will develop a typology of NGOs working with mining host communities in Uganda to mitigate mining impacts. The typology will provide context for data collection on the extent to which NGOs alleviate mining impacts in Uganda using surveys, and personal and group interviews.

This study will provide more information about NGO roles and as well as community participation in addressing the social impacts of mining while contributing scholarly findings (i.e., social impacts assessment, civil society, and environmental governance fields) practice guidance (i.e., strengthening the capacity of NGOs working in communities to alleviate mining impacts), and increasing understanding about ways in which mining could support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals in Uganda.

Pressure has steadily mounted on firms to take actions to address environmental sustainability concerns, and transparently report on actions taken to stakeholders. Sustainability reporting has evolved as international standardization bodies have attempted to create consistent metrics for reporting. However, studies continue to find that businesses globally, and within the Canadian context specifically, report inconsistently and using non-comparable frameworks and measures.

Bringing together a team of researchers across disciplines, including management, accounting, and environmental studies, the aim is to establish a baseline for sustainability reporting in Canada. The researchers will do so by assessing the readiness of Canadian firms to adopt standards put forward by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). They will also assess net-zero targets and the financial stability of Canadian firms. 

To ensure a broad uptake of results, two academic papers, a policy paper, a summary impact report, and a video will be generated to share the findings with academics, standard-setting entities, businesses, and the general public. The results of the research will provide a baseline from which evidence-informed practices and strategic initiatives can be developed by Canadian businesses across various sectors. Ultimately, the research will help stakeholders engaging with Canadian businesses to better understand the actions and responses of firms to address net-zero targets, thus supporting Canada and the world to meet their climate change commitments. 

The grant supports Dr. Shilomboleni's research to assess how advancements in rice breeding might help to address major stresses emanating from climate change as well as to improve food security and farm income for Kenyan farmers. She examines the collaborative efforts of key national and international partners working in this area, including the International Rice Research Institute as well as Kenya’s Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization.