Methodology

The project aims to develop case studies of infrastructure and resource exploitation projects. Two very different pipeline developments were chosen as case studies:

Construction of the oil-pipe line "East Siberia-Pacific Ocean" in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russian Federation.
Construction and operation of the liquid natural gas pipeline in West Wales, UK.

These case studies were chosen in part because the developments are large scale and very much ongoing, and they offer a lens through which to examine the evolution of community interactions and outcomes. However, as importantly the cases also offer a means of comparing the impacts of related activities in very different socio-economic, political, planning and cultural circumstances, then permitting the exploration of the extent to which community outcomes are mediated by specific environmental elements.

The study will be implemented in three phases:

Phase 1 Scoping

At the initial stage of the project, we aim to comprise a review of the literature surrounding the issue of community participation in relation to large infrastructure projects linked to resource exploitation. From the literature we will develop a topic guide to accompany fieldwork with different sets of actors. At this stage we also expect to finalise selection of cases, and with research questions refined in the light of findings from the literature review. As a result of this phase, an academic paper on issues of community engagement in infrastructure development and resource exploitation is envisaged.

Phase 2 Case studies

During Phase 2 empirical evidence for the case studies will be collected. The research is going to collect primary qualitative data. The data collection will include in-depth interviews with selected stakeholders of the major infrastructure projects. Amongst the major stakeholders in the context of infrastructure and resource exploitation projects are corporations, government agencies, community, community organisations and other non-governmental organisations. During the Phase 2 two field work visits will be undertaken in Russia.

Data collection for the case study in the UK will also be conducted during Phase 2 amongst similar groups of key actors. The outputs of the Phase 2 will include the development of case study reports in the form of BRASS working papers.

Phase 3 Outputs and dissemination

During the final phase the analysis of the data and final writing of research results will be conducted. The outputs of this phase will include academic publications in refereed journals using the evidence from the case studies. Dissemination of research results will be also conducted through a seminar in BRASS on community participation in infrastructure projects linked to resource exploitation.