Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a global philanthropy that believes in the inherent dignity of all people and is guided by a vision of social justice. Across eight decades, the Ford Foundation mission has sought to reduce poverty, injustice and inequality, strengthen democratic values, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement.
The Ford Foundation is committed to the reduction of inequalities and the advancement of social justice. Natural resource governance has too often failed to reduce inequalities, and has at times been implicated in the deepening of inequalities and the violation of rights. If the extractive industries are to contribute to socially just, equitable development then it is imperative that decisions that surround ownership and investment in these industries, the revenue streams that they generate, and their approach to environmental quality and climate change, are all subject to public scrutiny, transparency and accountability. We see the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative as an important venue and vehicle for furthering this accountability through fostering shared understandings and commitments among diverse stakeholders.
Engagement with the EITI
The Ford Foundation has supported the EITI through grants for a civil society “mapping” process, in which the EITI International Secretariat and its country focal points sought to improve linkages with civil society organisations. Several regional offices of the foundation have also provided grant support to or collaborated with national EITI processes, both directly and indirectly, through the work of other partners. The resulting report, Empowering communities in EITI implementing countries to participate in the oversight of the extractive sector, presents key findings and recommendations from the scoping studies.
The report also informed the design of a new project, “Engaging communities in a just transition through EITI implementation”, implemented in Colombia, Ghana and Indonesia. The project draws on EITI data with a view to provide civil society and EITI national multi-stakeholder groups (MSGs) with a better understanding of how the energy transition impacts livelihoods and the extractive sector. The project is being delivered by the EITI in partnership with the Ford Foundation from January 2022 to December 2023.