This report examines the influence of political and institutional factors on environmental licensing processes, including environmental assessment and approval, for mining projects. It aims at devising better ways to take account of, and respond to, political and institutional factors as part of environmental assessment and approval processes. The research is based on the premise that while political and institutional dimensions exert a strong influence on regulatory impact assessment and approval processes (Tang et al., 2005, Bebbington and Bury, 2009a, Owens et al., 2004), this influence is often poorly understood, leading to shortcomings in design and implementation (Devlin and Yap, 2008, Glasson and Salvador, 2000, Doelle and Sinclair, 2006). The International Mining for Development Centre (IM4DC) funded the project with the aim of generating material that can be used in its training programs for developing country audiences. The Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at the University of Queensland led the research, which was conducted in collaboration with Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia).