Publishing What We Learned

Presentation by Henry Parham

Montreal, 18 November 2009

G’day!

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

Who we are

Henry Parham

• International Coordinator of PWYP from 2002 until 2007

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

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!

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

Why we wrote this report

• At first, we thought it would be like this...

...a nice and simple historical record of how PWYP came about, who was involved, etc.

Then it turned into this...

But really...

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

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

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

What’s in it (#1)

Foreword by Christian Mounzeo

What’s in it (#2)

• Historical narrative on the establishment and development of PWYP in the years 2002-2007– Basic facts– How started and why– Reactions to launch of PWYP– Achievements and progress made – Lead up to the establishment of EITI– Role of external stakeholders

What’s in it (#3)

Assessment of PWYP on policy and advocacy endeavours:• Objectives and strategy• PWYP’s role in EITI• Campaign for mandatory disclosure• Engagement with companies

Success factors – policy & advocacy• Niche issue• Persuasive moral argument• Credible research gave authenticity to policy

asks• Clear, limited set of objectives – but

adapted/expanded over time when necessary• Focused advocacy on where could generate

most impact• Coalition-building in developing countries

prioritised from the start

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

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?

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

What’s in it (#4)

Assessment of operational aspects:• Roles played by individual coalition

members• Organisational structures• Communications• Membership dynamics

Success factors – operational issues

• Individuals were willing to take risks• George Soros opened doors• Catholic Church gave moral credibility• PWYP capitalised on existing work/research• Coordinator role ‘facilitated’ activities rather than

dictated• Loose, ad-hoc nature was useful for a specific period of

time• Donors provided resources quickly and reliably to

support expansion

Challenges – operational issues• Democratic deficit: campaign strategies

developed by the few rather than the many• No action plan for many years• Campaign went too fast for some members• Lack of access to information and

communications technology among developing country partners

• Website under-utilised for long time

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

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

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

What’s in it (#5)Future priorities and challenges – to ensure continued progress and improvement

• Greater ownership of PWYP at the local level• Organise around developing country partners’ priorities• Maintain focus but keep targets mobile • Balance between widening / deepening coalition• Robust strategy needed to overcome vested business and

political interests in lack of transparency• Engage Brazil, India, Russia and China• Regularly review progress and do assessment again• Continue to emphasise moral case: how bad does it have to

get?

PWYP has gone from this...

...to this

As a coalition, PWYP has gone from this...

...to this

On advocacy, PWYP has gone from this...

Hello, is that ExxonMobil?

...to this

Operationally, from this...

...to this

Conclusion

The main reason why PWYP has made so much progress and been so successful is because of ...

YOU

VOUS

USTEDES

Good luck and keep in touch!

henry.parham@gmail.com