By Rob Doherty

As a seasoned expert in development accountability, David Simpson has spent years working with independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs) to ensure that development projects are carried out in a responsible and sustainable manner. David stepped down as Director of the Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM) at the African Development Bank (AfDB) at the end of August. He recently responded to questions from Accountability Matters.

How did you first become involved in development accountability? Was there a specific event or person that inspired you?

My journey into development accountability probably began as an independent practitioner providing assurance to organizations on their sustainability disclosures. I was the first lead sustainability assurance provider certified in North America and also provided training to sustainability auditors across the globe. This role taught me the importance of independently assured sustainability information and meaningful stakeholder engagement in promoting accountability and improving sustainability performance. Later, I joined the international non-profit think tank AccountAbility as the Director of Sustainability Standards and Collaborative Governance, where I oversaw the development of an international standard on accountability principles and the world’s first stakeholder engagement standard, which laid the groundwork for the IFC’s guidance on stakeholder engagement for their borrowers.

I also had the privilege of working with incredible colleagues, board members, and advisors during this time. A pivotal moment came during a board retreat session with the then Honorary Chair, Anwar Ibrahim, now Prime Minister of Malaysia, who observed that at its core, accountability is about civilizing power, empowering it with the legitimacy to act in return for being answerable to those it impacts, a notion that has guided my work ever since. It reminds us that those with power, including governments, companies, development finance institutions, and even development NGOs, have a crucial responsibility to those affected by their actions and development interventions.

Over the years, what milestones or shifts in development accountability stand out to you?

I’m encouraged by the progress made in strengthening social and environmental safeguards within international financial institutions (IFIs), particularly in areas related to gender equality and in promoting sustainable supply chains. There’s also been a positive shift in the mandates of the IAMs themselves, with a renewed emphasis on involving stakeholders more within the complaint-handling process. However, I believe the most significant advancements are happening in the private sector, through evolving national regulatory pressures, particularly regarding the promotion and protection of human rights. IFIs, once considered leaders in this space, may need to challenge themselves to do more to catch up—especially with regards to human rights due diligence. 

What do you believe is the most pressing challenge facing IAMs today?

The most pressing challenge is ensuring that the green energy transition is both rapid and just. While there’s a necessary emphasis on developing green energy projects in response to the climate emergency, we must ensure that affected communities are properly consulted and that social and environmental risks are adequately addressed.

In the rush toward this green transformation, there may be a temptation to cut corners on meaningful consultations with project-affected people. This could lead to an increase in complaints submitted to IAMs.

This challenge is magnified as some IFIs seem to be distancing themselves from responsibility for project-related harms. Clearer guidelines are needed to define IFIs’ responsibilities when things go wrong. While borrowers bear primary responsibility for addressing negative impacts, IFIs must ensure compliance with social and environmental safeguards stipulated in loan agreements. When due diligence and supervision fall short, they need to be part of the remedy discussion. Guidance based on the UN Guiding Principles is useful here, but some IFIs have been a bit reluctant to engage in this conversation.

Additionally, IAMs face internal challenges. We need to increase awareness of our mandates among relevant communities, reduce complaints-handling timelines without compromising quality, and enhance our own accountability through more standardized performance indicators and transparent reporting to stakeholders. I think there also needs to be a better understanding of where IAMs fit within the overall governance framework of IFIs and their critical duty of care to stakeholders. 

Let’s talk about your time at the African Development Bank. Are there any particular achievements you’re especially proud of?

Leading the IRM has been an incredible privilege. Together with a dedicated team, I think I was able to make significant advancements in ensuring fair and effective recourse for those adversely affected by Bank-funded projects. 

We successfully implemented recommendations from the 2021 policy review, developed a robust strategic plan, issued an anti-retaliation tool, revamped our annual reporting to make it more of an actionable accountability tool, and published important advisory notes on critical issues like Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment and on preventing, mitigating, and responding to occupational safety and health risks in Bank-financed projects—which hopefully will be published soon.

Our complaint-handling effectiveness also significantly improved both in terms of volume and quality. We also launched a new website, revitalized our communications strategy, and established a world-class stakeholder advisory council—which helped to launch the very successful Accountability in Action Awards. These efforts have strengthened our outreach and engagement and helped us to enhance trust among stakeholders.

I’m proud of the work we accomplished at IRM in advancing accountability and “civilizing power,” especially for those most vulnerable in our societies—but, of course, much work remains to be done.

The Nachtigal case in Cameroon was a unique example of IAM collaboration. What were some of the challenges you encountered in co-management?

The Nachtigal case highlights the importance of IAM collaboration. Community members filed complaints with three different mechanisms: the IFC’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, the AfDB’s IRM, and the World Bank’s Accountability Mechanism. 

Early on, we recognized the need for a coordinated approach and established the Accountability Mechanism Group via a memorandum of understanding to help guide our engagement. Our goals were to avoid duplication, exploit the individual strengths of the participating individuals and IAMs, and prioritize the interests of stakeholders while respecting the operating procedures of each IAM. The joint dispute resolution process ultimately led to an agreement between the parties—thanks largely to the active participation and influence of the IFIs. 

While the long-term outcomes remain to be seen, it provided invaluable lessons on how IAMs can collectively address joint cases, which will continue to be relevant as development projects increasingly involve financing from multiple financiers and IFIs.

What inspired you to write poetry for the IAM Network (IAMnet), and how do you feel it contributes to your work?

(Laughing) I think it’s a stretch to call my annual recitations “poetry,” but I did claim the role of the IAM’s unofficial poet laureate for the last number of years. It started during the pandemic when our meetings were virtual, as a way to inject a bit of fun into long Zoom sessions. It was also a way to give our staff permission to have a little fun and not take ourselves too seriously all the time. 

We often deal with the darker side of development (forced evictions, abusive treatment, complainants threatened, imprisoned, etc.). All of this can take a toll on our staff’s mental health. The other day I was listening to an interview with Dr Gabor Maté highlighting the importance of play in our work. He was noting that people sacrifice their playfulness because they’re being driven by an unconscious need to validate their own existence. I, however, exist and therefore I am! My annual poem recitations at the IAMnet meetings were just a way to engage in a little fun and encourage others to do the same. At the end of the day, we humans relate to each other through all sorts of communications, and the world could probably use a few more poets and artists to help us promote a future toward an economy of well-being.

What are some of your favorite activities or hobbies for unwinding outside of work?

I enjoy staying active by hiking, jogging, and playing tennis. Recently, I’ve even been persuaded by my wife to incorporate short YouTube yoga sessions into my routine! And we have a tradition of learning and recording a TikTok dance each year. We’re terrible dancers, but it’s a fun way to unwind and bring some joy to our friends and family.

Lastly, what aspirations or next steps are you considering for your career moving forward?

For now, I want to catch my breath and decompress a little before considering my next steps. I remain deeply passionate about issues of human rights, transparency, and accountability. So as long as I can add value, I will most likely continue in this field, whether working for a public, private, or non-profit organization directly, or by taking on relevant consulting assignments. 

I’m very interested in how governance and accountability innovations can help to address challenges in public–private partnerships to enable the effective delivery of public goods and that can also serve the diverse needs of different actors within multistakeholder partnerships.

I’m also interested in helping development finance institutions and their public and private sector clients to implement more effective grievance redress mechanisms so that they can integrate these mechanisms into their project management systems to improve projects, raise standards, reduce conflicts, and enhance the overall sustainability of their projects. 

And finally, in terms of IAMnet—I’ve long been a supporter of creating a more formalized and professional association among IAMs that would focus learning and collaboration and help enhance their overall quality, strengthen their standards, and ultimately result in improved practice right across the board. I think this could be very useful and I’d be happy to contribute if there was ever an appetite for it in the future.