NRGI End-of-Year Review 2020
In 2020, NRGI helped resource rich countries navigate the unprecedented economic, governance, and social justice challenges of 2020, with timely, rigorous analysis and brokering open dialogue on the path to recovery and resiliency.
NRGI's End-of-Year Review looks back at 2020, which brought seismic changes to all sectors of international development, including the governance of natural resources. A crash in oil prices created immediate revenue shortages and debt concerns at a time when governments needed funds for their coronavirus responses. Desperation for investment to address revenue shortages threatened to undermine decades of gains in governance, environmental and social standards as governments considered concessions to incentivize projects. This short term decision-making often excluded civil society voices, and in some cases emergency coronavirus measures were used to threaten and restrict civic space.
This document summarizes how NRGI’s 75 staff were part of a global response by the resource governance field to address these challenges, roiled as any by world events but steadfast in our mission. Through partnerships both longstanding and new across 21 countries, we rose to meet a slew of dynamic resource governance challenges. We provided rigorous, thoughtful analysis on the policy decisions and challenges governments were facing and supported civil society to assess and advocate for critical policy choices.
This review highlights how NRGI 2020-2025 strategy provided a framework for NRGI to focus and deepen our engagement where our expertise was most valuable. At the same time, we adapted our strategic priorities to better address and contribute to good governance in the transition to clean energy, in the context of volatile commodity prices. The organization also underwent significant leadership changes, starting with the addition of a new chief financial and administrative officer, Luis Garcia, and concluding with the appointment of a new president and CEO, Suneeta Kaimal. Additionally, Smita Singh took on the role of interim board chair, supporting the ongoing search for a long-term board chair which will be concluded in 2021.
NRGI emerged from 2020 tested, galvanized, reoriented and energized—equipped to innovate solutions for a new generation of resource governance challenges.