Transparency in Environmental and Resource Governance: Theories of Change for the EITI

The authors argue that the EITI lacks a proven Theory of Change, risking obsolescence in some countries. They propose three models—Name-and-Shame, Public Debate, and Technical Reform—and find that while stakeholders prefer the Public Debate model, actual change occurs primarily through Technical Reform. The study emphasizes that ToCs must be dynamic and context-specific to bridge the gap between disclosure and actual accountability.

• The authors propose three stylized 'Theories of Change' (ToC) for the EITI: 'naming and shaming' to denounce mismanagement, 'public debate' to increase public demand for better governance, and 'technical reforms' to strengthen bureaucratic procedures.
• There is a significant mismatch between the preferred ToC and the actual mechanism of change; while survey respondents favor the Public Debate model, interviews suggest that Technical Reform is the primary way change has been observed in practice.
• The EITI is at risk of becoming obsolete in some countries because it has failed to translate high-quality data disclosure into actual government accountability or responsiveness.
• Effective Theories of Change for transparency initiatives must be dynamic and tailored to specific national political, social, and legal contexts rather than following a universal model.
• The EITI's relevance is limited by its failure to adequately address critical issues such as environmental and social impacts, the expenditure side of revenue management, and subnational-level extraction.

APA

Le Billon, P., Lujala, P., & Rustad, S. A. (n.d.). Transparency in Environmental and Resource Governance: Theories of Change for the EITI. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ee78f604-a8e5-4855-9a61-b037e2babdc3/Transparency in Environmental and Resource Governance.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Le Billon, Philippe, Päivi Lujala, and Siri Aas Rustad. Transparency in Environmental and Resource Governance: Theories of Change for the EITI. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ee78f604-a8e5-4855-9a61-b037e2babdc3/Transparency in Environmental and Resource Governance.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Le Billon |first1=Philippe |last2=Lujala |first2=Päivi |last3=Rustad |first3=Siri Aas |title=Transparency in Environmental and Resource Governance: Theories of Change for the EITI |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ee78f604-a8e5-4855-9a61-b037e2babdc3/Transparency in Environmental and Resource Governance.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lebillonndtransparency, author = {Le Billon, Philippe and Lujala, Päivi and Rustad, Siri Aas}, title = {{Transparency in Environmental and Resource Governance: Theories of Change for the EITI}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ee78f604-a8e5-4855-9a61-b037e2babdc3/Transparency in Environmental and Resource Governance.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }