Insights IFC SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISORY DATA IN ACTION NATURAL RESOURCES DISCLOSURE FOR PEOPLE AND PROGRESS January 2020 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH: DATA IN ACTION Natural Resources Disclosure for People and Progress January 2020 These are key highlights from the publication “Data in Action” which consolidates the findings of the natural resources data assessments conducted in: Colombia, Ghana, Mongolia, and Peru by the From Disclosure to Development (D2D) program. It describes key challenges and makes recommendations to industry, governments, and civil society that help bridge the existing data gaps and unlock data-enabled opportunities in the natural resources sector. The report aims to help better understand 1) the most pressing information needs of communities, 2) available datasets that can help address their concerns, and 3) the concrete entry points for multi-stakeholder collaboration that that can facilitate disclosure for development impact. The publication is part of a series of knowledge products by IFC’s From Disclosure to Development program. Two other publications in the series are Unlocking Data Innovation for Social License in Natural Resources and Transparency for Impact. USING OPEN DATA TO REDUCE DISPARITIES AND BUILD TRUST BETWEEN OWNERS OF ASSETS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES Revenue from oil, gas, minerals, metals, agricultural land, and and can begin to (re) build trust and maintain sustained forests accounts for almost half of all wealth in low-income engagements throughout the lifetime of the investment. countries. But the benefits they yield are not widely shared, Governments and companies that efficiently disclose, share, and leaving local communities poor and leading to social and use data can improve service delivery across sectors, catalyze economic conflict. innovation and support job creation. IFC’s “From Disclosure to Development” program was Open data—data that anyone can freely use, reuse and established in 2017. The program facilitates the disclosure and redistribute, for any purpose, without restrictions—on license use of information and open data in support of broader benefit allocations, contracting, beneficial ownership, royalties, and sharing from investments in natural resources. environmental and social impacts, has the potential to reduce disparities and build trust between owners of assets and the communities where these are located. Equipping stakeholders BECOMING PART OF A DATA with the information they need to make fact-based decisions ECOSYSTEM about investments can improve accountability, curb corruption, Companies, governments, and civil society increasingly recognize and increase equitable benefit sharing. that to meet the information demands and expectations of diverse stakeholders, they have to become part of a broader For open data and information to be useful, companies, data ecosystem rather than operating in data silos. They need governments, and communities must acknowledge that to provide datasets that respond to end-user’s demands—by, transparency is not the ultimate goal but rather a means to an for example, revealing production totals by resource type and end in which all parties involved are better informed; ensured site; total revenue collected; royalty payments and allocation; mutual benefit; have relevant, timely, and accurate information; taxes; public investments of natural resources revenues; job 1 opportunities for local communities; procurement opportunities environmental impacts, job creation, and local procurement for local vendors and other measures that affect people’s lives. opportunities help address communities’ primary concerns. To be useful, data must be provided in reusable formats (Excel 3. Create feedback mechanisms (via an open data portal or company files, for example, rather than PDFs). data dashboards) through which users can request datasets and information of interest to them. These platforms can also D2D works with companies, governments, and civil society to be used for participatory data collection and verification, enable access to and the use of relevant, timely, and accurate allowing citizens to provide missing data, particularly for information on natural resources investments. As data becomes implementation of investment projects in their communities. digitized and connectivity continues to expand, companies and 4. Mandate the design and implementation of open data governments face a paradigm shift in the cycle of information. initiatives in the natural resources sector, under the umbrella of The dramatic change of pace and tools used to drive and push national open data policies. Initiatives can include institutional information forward means that companies and governments mechanisms to guide data collection and disclosure standards must adapt to fulfill the information demands of investment for agencies and industry, identify the types of data that projects while ensuring that this new change is inclusive of civil must be collected, and establish the level of disaggregation society and communities. required. 5. Establish natural resources data disclosure standards through cooperation agreements with governments, companies, and IDENTIFYING THE DATA civil society. Agreements can establish guidelines for data CHALLENGES IN COLOMBIA, collection, reporting frequency, and format, in order to ensure GHANA, MONGOLIA AND PERU consistency. 6. Design simple platforms with end-users in mind. Governments To better understand the natural resources data landscape, IFC and industry have invested significant resources in public data developed a sector-specific data assessment approach, which platforms. The return on these investments has not yet been D2D tested in four pilot countries. The assessments identified realized. Search functionality, one-click download buttons, five challenges: and feedback mechanisms are low-hanging fruits that 1. The data and information provided often fail to match the can change the user experience and make these datasets needs of end-users, including communities, civil society, media, accessible. companies, and investors. 7. Engage digital entrepreneurs to transform company data 2. The quality of the data is poor. Data is not timely, accurate or and reports into interactive apps that share data in a readily in usable formats. consumable way. 3. Access to data is limited. Datasets are not digitized or open, or 8. Partner with the technology sector to provide capacity building they are stored on complex and difficult to access dashboards. to data users. Governments and companies can partner with 4. The capacity of data users is limited. tech companies to provide trainings and skills transfer in 5. Communities mistrust the private sector and the information digital transformation, data visualization, and data literacy. they disclose. Design participatory data collection and validation initiatives. 9. Design participatory data collection and validation initiatives Companies, governments and civil society can use data MAKING BETTER USE OF OPEN to engage with local communities in new ways including, DATA co-creation of data, collaborative action plans for public Stakeholders can address these challenges in a variety of ways: investments and monitoring. 1. Deliberately assess community information needs to inform data collection strategies and disclosure. The most useful disclosures are those designed with the end-user in mind. Understanding the concerns of communities (which may not Read the full publication here. always be related to mining operations) helps governments Follow us on LinkedIn @IFC Infrastructure and find us and companies engage with communities and design online at www.ifc.org/infrastructure and interventions that address the challenges they are facing. www.commdev.org 2. Prioritize disaggregated and project-level data for disclosure. Contact: Alla Morrison, D2D Program Manager, Communities are most interested in specific insights amorrison@ifc.org about their municipality, district, or mining project site. Michelle Jacome, D2D Operations Officer, Granular data on local development investments, social and mjacome1@ifc.org 2