Transparency initiatives: shared goals and challenges

Posted on 13 May 2009

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative and the Medicines Transparency Alliance are three DFID-funded initiatives designed to increase transparency and accountability with the ultimate aim of improving the lives of poor people. A summary report from an international development conference organised by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2008 highlights the common ground between these initiatives (see page 28 of the report.)

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) began in 2002. The Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST) and the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) started in 2008. Although the scope and design of each initiative is distinct, all adopt a multi-stakeholder approach to enhance transparency in their respective fields.

At a conference in November 2008, PricewaterhouseCoopers brought together some 200 people from government, international organisations, the private sector and civil society for its fourth international development conference. A key session focused on these three initiatives to draw out some of the similarities and differences between the them and to consider the key challenges and opportunities which they all face.

Danny Graymore of DFID noted that all three initiatives have the potential to have a major impact on global poverty by improving governance. They are country driven activities and ones that push the boundaries by establishing unconventional relationships to tackle complex issues.

Richard Calland, member of the MeTA International Advisory Group, emphasised that multi-stakeholder initiatives come in all shapes and sizes but the core ingredients are trust and the ability to overcome pre-existing positions and ideologies in order to look afresh at a problem and come up with new solutions. What multi-stakeholder initiatives do best is change the power game. They change power relations within different sectors because if you get the process right, you not only bring to the table people who would not otherwise be at the table, but you create a level of equality amongst them. In the sectors in which the EITI, CoST and MeTA are operating, private sector power dwarfs that of other social actors which the private sector may choose to ignore. It is therefore crucial to establish a genuine multi-stakeholder process.

One of the most important issues is how to get representation right when you form a multi-stakeholder initiative? How do you ensure the people involved are not bogus or there as Trojan horses? How do make sure they are not involved simply because they want to find employment with one or other of the sectors? The driving principle of multi-stakeholder initiatives should be one of finding a consistent process which has clear objectives and rules.

The objectives of the EITI were absolutely clear: to compare payments and revenues in countries where the extractive industries are operating. This is a linear enquiry. With MeTA, the situation is far more complex, giving greater potential for uncertainty. A key issue for MeTA is to focus on particular aspects to the supply chain, for example, so that everyone understands its purpose and scope.

All multi-stakeholder processes are likely to encounter challenges around language and culture, but a consistent process and clear rules of the game will enable relationship building across different borders. However, throughout the process you must not lose sight of the fact that greater transparency provides information which can be used by people to advance and protect their rights and their interests.

Read the full report or the section on EITI, COST and MeTA on page 28.