organization

IDI & Equitable Cambodia

description

Follow the Money is a research service housed at Inclusive Development International (IDI) that undertakes investment and supply chain mapping on request from grassroots advocates and communities or from larger CSOs that have grassroots relationships. IDI is able to respond to requests involving transnational investments in a variety of economic sectors (e.g. energy, extractives, agribusiness, infrastructure). IDI's five-person research team undertakes the research, then the findings are workshopped with others from their team who have advocacy experience to identify pressure points that could form the basis for a multi-pronged advocacy strategy. Afterward, a report is developed for local partners that lays out the research findings and recommended advocacy strategies. IDI also provides a simplified version of the report that can be distributed locally. Roughly one month of an experienced researcher's time is needed for the research and report-writing process on each case. To date, IDI has responded to research requests from multiple countries in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Americas.

The extent of IDI’s participation in follow-up advocacy varies. In some cases, IDI accompanies the full process of developing and implementing the advocacy strategy with partners. In other cases, other international or national organizations do this work. In Cambodia, Equitable Cambodia is IDI's main partner. Once they've received IDI's report, Equitable Cambodia develops a community engagement strategy with which to discuss findings and potential strategies with communities. Communities have the final say on what strategies get implemented. The report may be updated and further discussed as actors change over time. Equitable Cambodia has developed an in-house team and a system using Follow the Money research and has become equipped to submit complaints to financial institutions and investors.

IDI and Equitable Cambodia also provide trainings and have developed an English-language online tool that describes the Follow the Money process, including tips for research; identifying pressure points; understanding the legal, regulatory and policy commitments of diverse actors; documenting harms and lack of compliance with standards; and developing advocacy strategies. IDI has also used Follow the Money in a successful policy campaign targeting the World Bank Group’s practice of lending to financial intermediaries, including through journalist-style case studies based on their growing database of some 160 harmful projects.