The Natural Resource Charter Benchmarking Framework is a tool for benchmarking a country’s management of oil, gas and minerals against global best practices. Created in response to government and civil society demand for a practical way to measure resource governance, the framework is the product of five years of expert input and testing in more than 15 country projects. (Learn more about the evolution of the framework here.)

Drawing on the policy options and practical advice of the Natural Resource Charter, the framework contains a series of questions that government officials, concerned citizens or actors in the international community can use to structure research, discussions and strategic planning.

These questions are organized using the 12 precepts of the Natural Resource Charter, which address a range of issues including the foundations of good governance, resource discovery and the decision to extract, getting a good deal, revenue management and investing for development. Within the framework, each precept addresses a specific area of policy and practice and has its own guidance note providing explanation of concepts and further considerations.

The framework has been designed for a diverse set of uses, ranging from basic desk research, to training curricula, complex projects involving the production of primary research, cross-stakeholder dialogue, and evaluations of government strategy and its implementation. And new users will likely find many more possible ways to use the framework. The framework is therefore openly licensed, and available in Excel for users that want to copy and adapt it for their own needs.

NRGI staff are available to answer questions and provide guidance to those wanting to use and apply the framework to improve resource governance. Email nrc-support@resourcegovernance.org for more information.