A Message From Daniel Kaufmann, President and CEO of the Natural Resource Governance Institute
Dear friends and colleagues,
Following a fruitful 2018 in a rather challenging global context, we at NRGI have started 2019 by tackling new frontiers and implementing programming to help people to benefit from their countries’ natural resources. As a “think and do” independent global organization, we are focused on concrete impact at the country level, achieved with rigorous, evidence-based approaches.
Among our recent successes, NRGI played a key role in public consultations with decision-makers in Ghana and issued recommendations that parliamentarians included in the country’s Fiscal Responsibility Act, which should help to mitigate Ghana’s debt challenges. We’ve played a role in similar legislative successes in Ukraine, which has recently adopted an extractive industries transparency law, and Lebanon, where we helped legislators to draft into law critically important rules requiring disclosure of the identities of beneficial owners of subcontracted firms in the oil and gas sector.
Yet we have also learned from our Resource Governance Index that the adoption of modern laws is just the beginning; implementing them remains a challenge for many resource-rich countries. Addressing this gap is a top area of focus for us in 2019 and beyond. This was but one theme on which NRGI colleagues engaged at this month’s African Mining Indaba; finding the right balance in resource taxation was another.
We are also encouraged by indications of how we are seen by our peers. In the University of Pennsylvania’s annual global survey, following an upward trajectory in rankings in recent years, respondents have ranked NRGI third among think tanks working on governance and transparency globally. This is, of course, just one measure of our efforts, but it reflects our ongoing quest for continued learning, improvement and impact.
One central pillar of our mission is to help people develop the skills to understand and act on resource governance issues. To that end, we encourage those interested to register for the May edition of the ever-popular free online course Natural Resources for Sustainable Development: The Fundamentals of Oil, Gas and Mining Governance.
We are also looking forward to the 42nd Board Meeting of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative at month’s end in Ukraine. Cementing gains in project-level disclosure and fully requiring contract transparency as part of the EITI Standard are key aims for us and our partners, as well as making progress on open data and on long-overdue environmental and gender-related disclosures. Following the EITI board meeting in Kiev, I will deliver public lectures in Istanbul and in London on an evidence-based approach to governance and corruption, and the need for innovation in addressing this critical global challenge. I welcome the opportunity to meet any of you who may be able to attend one of these presentations.
Before ending, let me preview of one of NRGI’s flagship projects for this year: the launch of a national oil company database, to be unveiled next month. National oil companies account for most of the world’s production, dominate output in some of the world’s most important oil states and generate huge revenues. Some are well managed and governed; others are not. This evidence-based analysis and data tool will enable cross-country comparisons and benchmarking of these behemoths and contribute to further understanding and research of, and policy-making on, a critical resource governance issue.
To attain impact, partnerships are critical for us; in fact, NRGI is itself the result of a merger. Looking ahead, we will continue to work closely with our many partners and donors. We are starting work toward our 2020-2024 strategy, drawing on lessons learned and impacts attained, as well as on changing realities, constraints and setbacks. We look forward to collaborating with you all this year.
Best regards,
Daniel Kaufmann
President and CEO
Natural Resource Governance Institute