PROTOCOL P-12 | Grievance Redress System

Escalation Pathway Protocol

TRIGGER When a concern cannot be resolved at the frontline level; when a response is refused; when a concern implicates a systemic issue; or when the affected party is not satisfied with the response received.

STEPS

1. Identify the escalation trigger

   Four trigger conditions: (a) the frontline response is insufficient, the concern requires authority or resources beyond the ComRel officer's remit; (b) the response has been refused, an actor who was assigned a response has not acted within the agreed timeline; (c) the affected party is not satisfied, after the Feedback Closure Protocol has been completed and the person has expressed continued dissatisfaction; (d) the concern reflects a systemic issue, it recurs or implicates multiple affected parties.

2. Classify the escalation tier

   Tier 1: escalate to Project Manager level (authority to commit project resources or modify project activities). Tier 2: escalate to Developer Senior Management level (authority to make organizational commitments). Tier 3: escalate to LGU / Agency level (concerns requiring regulatory, governmental, or inter-institutional authority). Tier 4: escalate to external process (ombudsman, legal, or regulatory channels).

3. Notify the responsible actor for the assigned tier within 24 hours

   Provide: concern description, what has been tried, why it was insufficient, and what authority or resource is needed at the next tier.

4. Set a new response timeline at the escalated tier

   Do not carry the original timeline into the escalated tier without resetting expectations. Communicate the new timeline to the affected party.

5. If escalation to external process is required, inform the affected party

   Clearly explain: what the external pathway is, how to access it, what it can and cannot do, and what the project's role will be in that process.

6. Document the escalation

   Record: escalation trigger, tier assigned, responsible actor at new tier, new timeline, and communication to affected party.

7. Track the escalated case at every GRM review

   All escalated cases are standing items on the Early Warning Review and GRM monthly review agendas until resolved.

PURPOSE

To define clear steps and responsible actors for concerns that cannot be resolved at the frontline level of the GRM, preventing concerns from stalling in the system without a clear path forward. Escalation is not failure; it is the GRM functioning as designed for complex or unresolved cases.

Roles and Responsibilities

Triggers:

Actor: ComRel Officer / PCO
Responsibility: Identifies escalation trigger; notifies the responsible actor at the appropriate tier; communicates to the affected party; documents the escalation.

Tier 1:

Actor: Project Manager
Responsibility: Receives escalations requiring project-level authority; acts within their remit; escalates to Tier 2 if insufficient.

Tier 2:

Actor: Developer Senior Management
Responsibility: Receives escalations requiring organizational commitments; makes or declines to make commitments and explains why.

Tier 3:

Actor: LGU / Agency Focal Person
Responsibility: Receives escalations with government or regulatory dimensions; acts within their mandate; escalates to policy level if needed.

Affected Party:

Actor: Person or group who raised the concern
Responsibility: Informed at each escalation step; given the opportunity to confirm or continue to contest the response.

Field Notes and Adaptation Guidance

• Field Note — Most GRM systems have intake but no escalation pathway

  The escalation pathway is the second half of the GRM. A system with intake and no escalation is like a hospital with an emergency room but no treatment wards, cases arrive but have nowhere to go. Without a defined escalation pathway, the GRM works only for the simplest concerns. For anything complex or contested, it stalls.

• Field Note — Escalation is not confrontation

  Escalating a concern to management or to an LGU does not mean the community is confronting the project. It means the concern is being taken seriously enough to involve the actors who have the authority to address it. Frame escalation positively to all parties: 'We are escalating this because it deserves a response at the level that can actually act on it.'

• Adaptation Guidance

  In projects involving novel technologies with regulatory gaps (floating solar, offshore wind), pre-map the Tier 3 escalation pathway with relevant agencies before the project begins. Identify which agency handles which concern type, confirm their willingness to receive escalated concerns, and establish a named contact. A Tier 3 escalation pathway that says 'contact the relevant agency' without a named contact is not a functioning pathway.

Required Output / Documentation

• Escalation record: trigger, tier, responsible actor, new timeline, communication to affected party

• Updated Grievance Register entry reflecting escalated status

• Pathway information provided to affected party if external escalation is required