Sustainable mining development with community using design thinking and multi-criteria decision analysis

The economic and social outcomes of mining development can be enhanced by positioning local communities central to development activities. Conventional approaches have failed to respond to the needs of the community without this involvement in decision making. Accordingly, novel development approaches for community involvement and sustainability have to recognize the complex nature of social systems in which mining sector exists. The objective of this paper is to develop a community-centered approach by integrating rapid and participatory nature of design thinking with multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) in order to support sustainable development. While design thinking engages multiple stakeholders for generating alternatives, MCDA provides metrics for assessing these alternatives. Drawing on an example from a small scale mining development in Central America, this paper shows that early community involvement and rigorous impact assessment on a regular basis motivate community involvement and give value to the social outcome of mining development.