Socio-Economic Impact Assessment from a Scholarship Program Founded by Mining Project Using Grey Systems

The large-scale mining operations around indigenous and rural populations, despite their tremendous profit for Peru's economy, have usually been accompanied by limited improvement in wealth and standards of living and thus leading currently to a rise in social conflict and violence. A case study was carried out on a scholarship programme founded by the mining company Las Bambas surrounding the community of Fuerabamba. This study was conducted using a method based on grey systems. One main stakeholder group and four evaluation criteria were recognized. The result has reported that the program has a positive social impact on the sponsored students, thus contributing to closing education gaps in the country and promoting diversity. The method showed interesting results and could be applied to future socio-economic evaluations of programs that offer significant opportunities for young people, especially those founded by mining companies.