The purpose of this paper is tocontribute to theunderstanding and discussion of how thecosts andbenefits of natural resource development aresharedacross society. This paper presents how IFC, as bothaninvestor and a development organization, determineswhetherbenefits and costs are shared reasonably, and how thisassessment influences IFC’s decision to invest inaparticular natural resource project. the goal of the paperis to promotea broad, constructive dialogue acrossstakeholders—governments, investors, civil society, andothers—around benefit sharing. The paper draws on IFC’sexperience and presents anoverarching framework formulti-stakeholder benefitsharing, providing analysis andguidance for a range ofcomplex topics. The paper is intendedto provide entrypoints for stakeholders of varying levels offamiliarity with the issues to benefit-sharing assessment.The paper is not a definitive manual for all the issuescoveredfor which more detailed, high-quality andexcellentreferences and literature exists. This paper isorganized along these broad areas of impact that IFCconsiders in the benefit sharing assessment:fiscal,economic, environmental, and social. The approaches IFC usesto evaluate benefit sharing arepresented in each area, alongwith some lessons learned. This is complemented by adiscussion of key issues thatare topical in the field. Eachchapter opens with a list of questions that can be used as aguide to assess the potential benefits and costs of aninvestment. As a result, there is a spectrum of what can beconsidered reasonable overall. However, there may beparticular features of a benefit-sharing arrangement thatstand out and can signal a risk to its legitimacy. Ouraspiration is that this paper will complement as well asstimulate work by others that can enhance the collectiveknowledge and encourage dialogue.
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