Behind every investment project, such as a plantation, a processing plant or a hydropower dam, there are a variety of actors that make the project possible. This section explains key terms and describes the different actors and relationships that make up an investment chain.
This section explains how to map an investment chain. It will give you tools and methods for identifying and recording the different actors along the chain and important information about each one.
In this section, you will learn what a pressure point is. You will also learn how to assess the strength of different pressure points by investigating the specific actors and relationships in the investment chain and the external factors that affect them. Finding pressure points can help you target your advocacy to most effectively influence the behaviour of different actors, and ultimately the project on the ground. This increases the chances of achieving your advocacy goals, such as protecting land rights, avoiding negative environmental impacts or seeking remedies for violations and harms that have already occurred.
In this section, you will learn how to document local impacts and analyze whether the project has complied with certain standards, including human rights standards, the environmental and social policies of development banks, or company or industry standards. You will also learn how to organize and present the information to use in evidence-based advocacy.
This section provides ideas for strengthening and maintaining community solidarity and working with communities to develop their advocacy messages and demands. It also provides strategies for engaging the first advocacy target: the business managing the project.
This section explains some of the opportunities and challenges for using courts in home and host countries to hold actors along the investment chain to account and seek remedies. It describes several international and regional human rights bodies that may be used as a part of your advocacy strategy. It then describes how to use several non-judicial grievance mechanisms, including operational-level (company) grievance processes, multi-stakeholder industry initiatives, OECD National Contact Points and the accountability mechanisms of multinational development banks (MBDs). The section also provides information on the effectiveness of each of these mechanisms.
This section explores some of the different advocacy strategies that can be used in combination with formal accountability mechanisms to increase your chances of success. These complementary strategies include building alliances, direct lobbying of key people and agencies, using the media, and advocating with consumers and shareholders.View downloads for worksheets and PDF Guides used on the site. 
This resource is for advocates working to support communities who have been affected by harmful investment projects. It will help you follow the money to identify and analyze the companies, investors and other actors behind these projects. It also explains how to collect evidence and develop tailored advocacy strategies to hold these actors accountable and defend land, housing and resource rights.
This resource is informed by the lessons learned and real-life experiences of community advocates throughout the world. It draws on the strategies that communities have used to successfully challenge harmful investments and shape development in their regions.
