Summer School: Governance and Natural Resource Revenues

Revenue Watch runs an annual summer school at the Central European University in Budapest. In 2007 these courses were presented in partnership with Tiri, an independent NGO that works to combat corruption and build institutional integrity. Two courses were offered relating to the governance of oil, gas and mining revenues.

Technical Training: Governance of Oil, Gas and Mining Revenue

This five-day knowledge-building course was designed to give an overview of the "chain" that is necessary to successfully transform depletable extractive resources into social and economic development, the trends in the oil, gas and mining industries and markets and the possible opportunities for intervention. Attended by civil society activists, it aimed to give participants an understanding of the broader context into which their work fits and to share learning from across the world.

A range of experts were brought in to share their insights, including academics and practitioners with experience in the mining industry, the oil and gas industry, related law and policy, fiscal regimes, revenue distribution and EITI, among other fields.

Course participants came from Zambia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, South Africa, West Africa, Burma, Indonesia, Cambodia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Peru and Mexico.

Policy Lab on the Governance of Natural Resource Revenues

Within the course on Integrity Reform and Strategic Corruption Control, RWI supported the lab dealing with natural resource revenues and governance. In addition to deepening the knowledge of the participants, the lab aimed to create an environment in which participants can discuss innovative approaches to reform and help identify ways to develop knowledge on these issues.

Topics covered included mapping the global integrity movement, understanding the resource curse, social systems and corruption, information access, natural resources and public financial management, fiscal regimes and contracts, natural resource funds and wealth accounts and EITI.

Course participants came from South Africa, Nigeria, Mongolia, Indonesia, Burma, Timor-Leste, Romania, Russia and others.

RWI will continue to launch and support courses in a range of different locations and with different partners. Places are open to individuals from all different sectors (government, academia, civil society, etc.) and notices will be placed on the RWI website inviting applications.

This summer school event was one of several events that RWI has supported. (The others covered Fiscal Transparency, Post-war Reconstruction and Applied Legal Skills).