A new energy plant project was completed, but days before startup the local community protested and blocked access, claiming a natural reserve was affected and they were not consulted. What should the project manager verify first?

The project manager should first verify the stakeholder engagement plan. This plan outlines how stakeholders, especially external ones like the local community, should be identified, analyzed, and engaged throughout the project lifecycle. A failure to consult the community suggests a potential oversight or breakdown in executing this plan. Reviewing it will help determine if the community was identified, if their concerns were assessed, and if appropriate engagement strategies were planned but not implemented, or if the plan itself was deficient. A cost-benefit analysis is a financial tool and wouldn't directly address the community protest. The business case justifies the project's existence but doesn't detail stakeholder engagement. While the protest is a risk, the risk management plan would outline responses to identified risks; however, the immediate need is to understand why this specific stakeholder issue occurred, which points back to the stakeholder engagement process.