Most transnational corporations that operate in the Niger Delta face the challenge of how to determine the success or failure of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, in terms of their effect on community development and corporate/community relations.
At this year’s Offshore West Africa (OWA) conference, Nedo Osayande, general manager of Shell Petroleum Development Co. (SPDC), will contend that a business case and justification for continued support for CSR initiatives require some evidence that demonstrate the return on corporate social investments for both the company and for its external stakeholders.
The limited nature of such available evidence has meant that the debate over the relationship between CSR and development in the Niger Delta continues to remain contested, and the policy challenge confronting community relations managers remains poorly understood. This can be partly attributed to the fact that CSR as a discipline lacks a well developed and elaborate methodology to measure, capture, and report its impact.
Osayande’s presentation will address the gaps in knowledge by examining the SPDC community transformation and development index (SCOTDI) launched in 2013. The author will discuss how the new system can be used to integrate and adapt a number of international standards into a composite index that is not only responsive to local context but can also be used to assess and rank performance and development outcomes.
The presentation is scheduled to take place Thursday, Jan. 22, from 10:30-13:00, in the Abora Suite of the Eko Hotel & Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. For more information, please visitwww.offshorewestafrica.com.
