From Promise to Practice: What Makes Community Benefits Agreements Enforceable?

Published below is the accepted manuscript of our latest peer-reviewed research article.

From Promise to Practice: What Makes Community Benefits Agreements Enforceable?, prepared by Dr. Jungwoo Chun, Sanjana Paul, Kahlen Wheaton, Lucy Atkinson, Elise Echarte, and Professor Lawrence Susskind.

This paper examines why some Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) successfully deliver on their promises to host communities while others fall short. By analyzing 72 CBAs across the United States spanning renewable energy, real estate, and other infrastructure projects, the article identifies the key factors and governance mechanisms that support effective implementation and long-term enforcement.

The research highlights the importance of strong monitoring structures, sustained collaboration among stakeholders, and maintaining the capacity of community organizations and other parties after agreements are signed. It concludes with policy recommendations to strengthen future CBAs and help ensure they remain fair, effective, and beneficial to communities over the long term.

This is the accepted manuscript of the article published in Energy Research & Social Science. The final published version is available through the publisher.

Read the full article here: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1nQjP7tZ6aAhx6

License: This Accepted Manuscript is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.