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It is widely accepted that greater transparency over revenue flows between oil, gas and mining companies and resource-rich developing country governments is necessary to enhance accountability and to curb corruption. Transparency is a fundamental first step to lifting the "resource curse" so that resource revenues promote economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries around the world.
Several international initiatives have been launched to address this issue. Companies and governments of both the developed and developing worlds have made various commitments to transparency. But what actual progress has been made to date? How does their performance rate?
The Measuring Transparency project has developed a standard to assess the performance of companies and governments in support of revenue transparency. It also provides a framework to track their progress over time. The project's results highlight the leaders and laggards in both the extractive industry and between several countries. These will be used by investors, NGOs, ratings agencies and other relevant actors to pressure companies and governments for greater transparency.
Measuring Transparency was conceived by Save the Children UK and developed in collaboration with investors, independendent consultants, ratings agencies and other members of the Publish What You Pay NGO coalition of which Save the Children UK is a co-founder and leading member.
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