Review of PWYP mission, membership and priorities
Presentation of “Publishing What We Learned” report – historical perspective on PWYP
Henry Parham, The Elders
3. Who we are Mabel van Oranje Director of OSI Brussels (1997-2003) OSI International Advocacy Director (2003-2008) Involved in setting up the coalition Member of management committee
4. Who we are Henry Parham International Coordinator of PWYP from 2002 until 2007
5. Who we are Co-authors of the report “Publishing What We Learned” Both now work for The Elders Mabel, CEO Henry, Policy Officer www.theElders.org Not here in Montreal representing The Elders – participating in a personal capacity
6. What am I going to do Launch “Publishing What We Learned” Provide an historical perspective on PWYP’s development – success factors and challenges Summarise main lessons learned from our assessment of PWYP between 2002-2007 in terms of: Policy and advocacy initiatives Operations Potentially going to tell you things you already know!
7. What I am not going to do Not going to give you the whole history of PWYP Not going to focus on EITI Not going to discuss any one country Not going to tell you which companies or governments were good guys / bad guys Not going to give you recommendations on PWYP’s current advocacy initiatives and operations
11. Why we wrote this report Establishment and evolution of PWYP an interesting story Assessment of PWYP’s achievements and progress at the international level Determine what factors contributed to successful foundation and expansion of PWYP Critical analysis of failures and weaknesses – and how we overcame challenges Provide tool for other civil society movements Nothing like this had been done before within the international NGO community
12. Why we did not write this report Tell history of EITI – NO Assess PWYP at the country level – NO Boast about PWYP’s achievements – NO Give publicity for any one person or coalition member – NO Tell personal stories – NO Answer every question you might have about the foundation and expansion of PWYP – NO
13. How we did it Interviewed more than 40 individuals – in person, over the phone and by e-mail: PWYP coalition members (north and south) Extractive company representatives Investors Government officials Consulted PWYP members on drafts Independent editor reviewed text OSI provided financial and technical support PWYP London office provided practical support Authors responsible for content and opinions – not PWYP or OSI
20. Success factors – policy & advocacy (continued) Extractive Industries Review, Kimberley Process, etc. provided a wider context about impact of natural resources PWYP members successfully positioned themselves at core of EITI from the start Developed good working relationships with companies, governments, investors, etc. External stakeholders also gave revenue transparency a push
21. Challenges – policy and advocacy Large investment of time and resources on EITI Lost momentum on mandatory campaign? Tangible results? Not enough information internally/externally on: Strategy to achieve mandatory mechanisms Difference between PWYP and EITI Overlooked contract transparency, banks and export credit agencies for long time Little in-house expertise on technical issues (accounting standards, regulation, etc.) Focused too much on oil companies – less on mining Too nice to companies? Co-opted?
22. Lessons learned – policy and advocacy Use limited human and financial resources on advocacy initiatives where there is greatest scope for change Don’t take no for an answer from governments and companies! Persistence pays off in taking on mandatory disclosure campaign despite technical, complex nature Training and capacity building for members on advocacy activities is crucial Campaign plans should be developed from the bottom up to the greatest possible extent
33. Challenges – operational issues (continued) Too many e-mails Generally too reliant on English to communicate among members Too few resources at the centre to support media and communications Little thought to how to resolve/prevent disputes within membership Inadequate protection of PWYP ‘brand’ Some members not active at all or for specific periods of time Threats to partners
34. Lessons learned – operational issues Successes should be shared Build on and embrace each other’s strengths Define roles and functions clearly Organise around delivering results Rules and structures should be introduced when necessary – and so long as they are adding value Formal organisational structures should be given time and space to develop – and should be regularly reviewed
35. Lessons learned – operational issues (continued) Develop procedures to prevent competition for money and power struggles among members Sustainable coalition growth is reliant on sufficient human and financial resources Do not rely on one or too few donors Develop clear strategy for dealing with threats to civil society partners