About the Trust Fund

The Multi-Donor Trust Fund for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was established in August 2004 through an agreement between the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the World Bank. The governments of Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway joined in 2005. The government of France joined in 2006 and the governments of Australia, Belgium, and Canada joined in 2007. The US Government and European Commission joined in 2008. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the MDTF and the EITI International Secretariat early in 2008.

The goal of the EITI Multi-Donor Trust Fund (EITI-MDTF) is to broaden support for the EITI principles and process through the establishment of extractive industries transparency initiatives in countries that have signed on to EITI through programs of cooperation among the government, the private sector, and civil society.

A Multi-Donor Trust Fund is an arrangement whereby the World Bank manages funds on behalf of multiple donors. It is governed by standard World Bank Rules and Procedures.

How the EITI-MDTF is managed

The EITI-MDTF is guided by a Management Committee which consists of one senior representative from each Donor that has committed the equivalent of US$500,000 or more to the Trust Fund and a senior representative from the World Bank. The meetings of the Management Committee are chaired by the World Bank. Decisions are made jointly by the Donors and the Bank. It is expected that the funds will have been fully committed by the World Bank by 31 December 2010.

The role and the responsibilities of the Management Committee are defined in the Administration Agreements and annexes which have been signed by the Bank and each Donor. The Management Committee meets twice a year. An Annual Meeting in April/May makes the strategic decisions on priorities and policies and approves the Work Program for the following fiscal year. Revisions of the Work Program which exceed US$50,000 need approval by the Committee, while smaller revisions of less than US$50,000 of the cost of an item in the Work Program are at the Bank’s discretion. A less formal Work-Planning Meeting follows up on progress and implementation.

The first meeting of the full Management Committee took place at the World Bank offices in London on 23 February 2006. The Annual Meeting was held on 5 June 2006. Bi-monthly meetings and additional “special” meetings are arranged at the request of either the Bank or a Donor, and may be held by e-mail, over the Internet, or by phone.

Activities

The EITI Multi-Donor Trust Fund currently funds activities in more than 12 countries, and the EITI has been endorsed in almost 10 more. Country-specific Grant Agreements are signed between the Recipient country and the Bank to define and establish which activities are to be executed by the Recipient with respect to the Bank. The Bank may be able to execute some activities itself outside the framework of the Grant Agreement.

For updates on the activities and progress in each country see EITI candidate country.

The Trust Fund can be used to support:

1. Activities centered on the six basic EITI criteria that were adopted at the London Conference on 17 March 2005
2. Global activities aimed at coordinating, disseminating, and producing/publishing outputs and sector-specific information and guidelines produced in the various countries
3. Countries which have not yet signed on to the process but where the government has given the EITI Management Committee reasonable grounds to believe that they will endorse and implement EITI before the Trust Fund closes on 31 December 2010.

Basic Documents/Agreements

• Initiating Brief for a Trust Fund (IBTF) revised final
• Administration Agreements with Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, and UK DFID.
• Amended Agreements to extend Trust Fund closing date: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, and UK DFID.

Donor Contributions

More information

For up to date information, please visit the World Bank's EITI web site, or contact aravat [at] worldbank [dot] org or epetrilli [at] worldbank [dot] org at the World Bank.