Empowering Change: IRM and IIU join forces to strengthen grievance redress and integrity
For the second consecutive year, the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM) collaborated with the Independent Integrity Unit (IIU) to organise a joint in-person capacity-building and outreach workshop. This year's workshop, convened in Casablanca, Morocco from 15-19 April, brought together GCF Direct Access Entities (DAEs) and civil society organisations to learn about GCF policies concerning grievance redress and integrity issues.
As part of their GCF Accreditation Master Agreement (AMA), “It is the responsibility of the Accredited Entity to require and ensure that its [Accountability Mechanism] and the grievance mechanisms established for the purposes of a Funded Activity are functioning effectively, efficiently, legitimately, and independently in a manner that is accessible, equitable, predictable and transparent.”
The three-day IRM workshop was facilitated by IRM consultant Mia Corpus,Communications Officer Peter Carlson and Dispute Resolution Case Associate Sue Kyung Hwang.
On Monday, participants were welcomed to the workshop with opening remarks from Rachid TAHIRI, Head of Climate Change and Green Economy Division of the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development - Kingdom of Morocco and Sonja Derkum, IRM Head. David Simpson, Director of the Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM) of the African Development Bank Group (AFDB), shared valuable insights into key principles guiding grievance redress mechanisms, drawing from experiences at the IRM/AFDB.
On Tuesday, participants learned how to manage complex cases and leverage interview and mediation skills. Sushma Kotagiri, Information & Complaints Officer at British International Investment, shared insights into the key process steps used to handle complaints. Participants also got a first hand look at the IRM’s case handling process by playing the IRM’s "Road to Redress” board game.
On Wednesday, participants learned about how the IRM manages compliance review, communications and outreach activities. Participants finished the morning session by sharing how the workshop will help them in their future work with the GCF. In the afternoon, the IRM facilitated personalised 1-1 consultations with direct access entities, fostering direct engagement and support tailored to individual needs. At the same time, civil society organisations (CSOs) dedicated their efforts to laying the groundwork for an IRM CSO advocacy toolkit, paving the way for enhanced efforts to increase awareness of the IRM with local communities.
The last two days of the workshop, focusing on GCF’s integrity policies, were facilitated by Outreach & Engagement Manager Bayartsetseg Jigmiddash, Integrity & Compliance Manager Sanjeev Narrainen, and Integrity & Compliance Specialist Eunyoung Lee.