Following the Money to Justice
Our Follow the Money to Justice initiative is the cornerstone of Inclusive Development International’s work to advance corporate accountability and inclusive, rights-based development.
We launched Follow the Money in 2016 in response to the global land-grabbing crisis, which sees more than 15 million people driven from their land and resources every year to make way for lucrative mines, plantations and other industrial and development projects. The multinational corporations behind these projects often act with impunity, but they don’t act alone. Following the money shines a light on the web of banks, investors and commodity buyers enabling these harmful projects and opens new opportunities for advocacy and pathways to justice for affected communities.
Our Investigations
Upon request from affected people and grassroots advocates, we conduct investigations to uncover and expose the companies who profit from human rights violations and environmental destruction. Our researchers systematically unpack complex investment chains and identify hidden pressure points where communities can direct their advocacy to get results. We deliver this information along with tailored advice about how communities and advocates can use it to develop more effective strategies to prevent harm, secure redress and take control of their own development paths.
How to Request our Support
Communities challenging harmful investment projects in the Global South and their civil society supporters can request a Follow the Money investigation by our team by filling in the following form (in English or en français). Given our regional focus, and capacity restraints, we currently prioritize requests from the sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia regions.
We will assess whether our approach is suitable for your case and, if it is, we will place it in our research queue and provide you with an estimated completion date. At that time, we will provide you with a report laying out our findings, along with tailored advice on how you might put this information to use. We will also hold video a conference or in-person workshop to answer questions and brainstorm advocacy strategies. In many cases, we can also produce accompanying materials, such as a short, simplified report translated into local languages.
How to Follow the Money
In addition to conducting investigations at the request of communities and grassroots advocates, Inclusive Development International has developed the Following the Money to Justice online resource hub to make our tools and methodology easily and publicly accessible, with the goal of growing a community of practitioners who are able to provide investment and supply chain research and strategic advice to impacted communities.
For information, tools and resources that explain how to do Follow the Money research and use it to hold corporations accountable, please see www.followingthemoney.org.
In May 2022, we hosted a series of webinars to show community advocates how to use this resource. View the recording below.
Follow the Money
Impact
Investigated nearly 280 harmful projects in 36 countries.
Helped communities identify 570 advocacy opportunities, including 127 opportunities to access international accountability mechanisms.
Uncovered the involvement of more than 1 in 4 Fortune 500 companies in harmful projects.
Learn more about the projects the Follow the Money initiative has investigated in the interactive map below. Zoom in and click on the icons to learn about the projects. Drag the Pegman onto the map to see the projects sites in Street View.