Frequently Asked Questions
How is development currently designed, funded and implemented?
Governments, banks and private companies design a majority of development projects that are in turn funded by development banks and institutions. Local communities rarely lead this process, even though development planners are required to inform and consult with the people who may be affected. Evidence suggests that consultations with local communities are rarely completed on time or designed in an inclusive manner. When development does not address local priorities or is designed without meaningful community participation, projects may cause harm to people’s homes, lands, human rights and environment.
What is community-led development?
Community-led development is a community-led process that advances the fulfillment of individual and collective rights so all people may live with dignity and thrive on the land they love.
What is the Early Warning System?
The Early Warning System is a global initiative that ensures local communities, and the organizations that support them, have verified information about proposed bank-funded projects likely to cause human and environmental rights abuses and provides clear strategies for advocacy before the project financing is approved by the bank.
The initiative exchanges advice, tools and resources with communities and the local organizations and other groups supporting them. The information collected includes critical and accessible information about projects from development-finance institutions and local research for advocacy. The EWS initiative includes the first web-based tool to centralize information on development projects from the largest and most influential development finance institutions. The growing database is updated daily and holds more than 20,000 projects proposed since 2016 and records the involvement of more than 6,000 private actors.
How does the Early Warning System gather information?
The Early Warning System collects information from development banks and institutions and organizes this data into a standardized format that is easy to understand and share. To learn more about this process, please refer to the Methodology page.
Why should it be “early”?
The Early Warning System prioritizes taking action before a project is funded or implemented as a strategy to prevent harm and advocate for development that is truly community-led. To prevent harm, the people most affected by development projects should be informed about projects before their approval or implementation. The Early Warning System makes sure information and options are available for local communities early-on in the development process.
Who can use the Early Warning System?
Civil society groups at local, national, regional and international level as well as community organizers use the Early Warning System to exchange information with communities and to advance their potential advocacy and campaigns. All of the projects summaries verified and published by EWS team members are public and the EWS team distributes these summaries to over 600 civil society groups around the world.
Access to search the database is available upon request for civil society groups, community organizers and community representatives. With access to the Early Warning System Database, they will find out more about proposed and approved projects which could affect their homes, lands and the environments and thereby improve their campaigns. Over 200 civil society members, and growing, are trained to access the Early Warning System Database. Register today: ewsdata.rightsindevelopment.org.
If these civil society groups, community organizers and community representatives wish to join others groups around the world who support the Early Warning System more deeply by verifying, publishing and distributing project summaries in their country, the EWS team provides training and ongoing support for this. Register for access and then contact the EWS team for more information.
Is the Early Warning System ‘public’?
The Early Warning System is a global initiative that ensures local communities, and the organizations that support them, have verified information about proposed bank-funded projects likely to cause human and environmental rights abuses and provides clear strategies for advocacy before the project financing is approved by the bank.
All of the projects summaries verified and published by Early Warning System team members are public. To meet our overall goal, the Early Warning System team and over 600 civil society groups around the world distribute these project summaries to those nearest the impacts. Access to search the database is available upon request for civil society groups, community organizers and community representatives. The Early Warning System Team receives many requests from governments, banks and investors to access the Early Warning System Database. We continue to focus on reinforcing the work of civil society groups, community organizers and community representatives. This is a clear effort to redistribute and recentralize power by placing community-led development front and center.
Is the data available for me to use?
The information collected by the Early Warning System is available for use based on Creative Commons Licences Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International. This Creative Common license allows others to copy, distribute, display, build upon and use information provided by the Early Warning System for any purpose other than commercial unless they get permission. Others who want to modify information provided by the Early Warning System, must get permission first. This Creative Common license requires that others who use the information provided by the Early Warning System must give credit, but not in a way that suggests endorsement of them or their use of the information. If others want to use the information provided by the Early Warning System without giving credit or for endorsement purposes, they must get permission. To request permission for use outside of these terms, please Contact Us.
How do I translate the project information?
Access to information is the essence of the Early Warning System. Until development banks produce information in relevant languages, we will continuously strive to find new ways of making the data accessible to partners and communities. In terms of the translation, the Early Warning System has embedded translation for its website and the database. To translate any page on the Early Warning System website and on the Early Warning System Database, select a language in the dropdown menu in the upper right corner of the page. Accuracy varies, so please review translations carefully.
How does the Early Warning System change the status quo?
The Early Warning System aims to make sure affected communities take the lead in development processes. Community-led participation can interrupt the normal exclusionary development process, especially when community narratives and expertise reach decision-makers before financing agreements are signed. The results of EWS’ community-led work show that national governments respond to the political and financial pressures from banks and donor governments by improving consultation and participation or providing it where it did not already exist.
While the Early Warning System facilitates community-led research and increases engagement at a domestic level, IAP and our partners also push development finance institutions and donor governments to ensure compliance with and expand commitments on borrower governments to support community participation and consultation in the development processes they finance.
How do I get in touch with the Early Warning System team?
For general and media enquiries, contact the Early Warning System through Contact Us.