Stakeholder analysis of the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to support multi-stakeholder dialogue, Myanmar

Country / date: Myanmar, May 2015

Partner: PeaceNexus

Project objective(s): Provide deeper understanding of the stakeholder context and attitudes of key stakeholders, to support planning for a proposed intervention at the Thilawa SEZ aimed at promoting conflict sensitive business practices and building trust between company and community actors.

Project outcome(s): The Thilawa SEZ is one of three such initiatives underway in Myanmar aimed at accelerating foreign investment into the country. Due to be fully operational in 2015, it is the furthest along in terms of planning and funding. While the SEZ is an encouraging symbol of Myanmar’s ability to attract investment and create much-needed jobs, it has also received critical attention from domestic and international NGOs, with allegations including forced relocation of communities and inadequate compensation to those resettled. In response, PeaceNexus were considering how to design an intervention that improved multi-stakeholder dialogue and addressed grievances. Integrity conducted research into the socio-economic and stakeholder context around Thilawa, including attitudes of key stakeholders across government, business and communities, to support PeaceNexus’ decision making – with recommendations that drew on lessons from other multi-stakeholder dialogues already underway in Myanmar.