Shale development in the US and Canada: a review of engagement practice

Thomas, Merryn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8529-8245, Pidgeon, Nick ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8991-0398 and Bradshaw, Michael 2018. Shale development in the US and Canada: a review of engagement practice. The Extractive Industries and Society 5 (4) , pp. 557-569. 10.1016/j.exis.2018.07.011

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Abstract

Public and stakeholder engagement with shale development is difficult, but essential. We review 26 engagement processes carried out by US and Canadian companies, alliances, government agencies, academics and activists; systematically exploring who participates, the stage at which engagements take place, aims and methods, provision for multiway engagement, and issues of credibility. We find a multitude of actors carrying out engagement using a variety of formats, ranging from barbeque events and town hall meetings to citizen science and in-depth qualitative research. Whilst we find many strengths, we also highlight a number of weaknesses. Much of this engagement does not occur at the earliest stages of development, and rarely asks the most fundamental question -whether shale development should proceed at all- instead commonly focusing on questions of impact minimisation, regulation and gaining support. Furthermore, the majority of activities tend to elicit the responses of interested and affected parties, with much less attention to views of the wider public. We reflect on what may be limiting engagement practice, and discuss how engagement might be improved.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2214-790X
Related URLs:	Publisher
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	1 August 2018
Date of Acceptance:	27 July 2018
Last Modified:	05 May 2023 14:37
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/113834

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