Glossary | Accountability Console

Glossary

Term	Category	Definition
Active	Complaint Stage	An active complaint is a complaint that is currently undergoing the IAM process. Active complaints do not include complaints in monitoring or complaints that have been closed.
Advisory services	IFI Support Type	Non-lending activities, such as advice or technical assistance, that help clients advance specific objectives or sectors. Examples may include feasibility studies or other early-stage project research, expert consultants to support legal reform, capacity building for clients, and workshops and training programs.
Agribusiness	Sector	Project relates to the agricultural industry, including smallholder operations. Examples may include support for production, distribution, capacity building, and access to credit.
Agriculture	Commitment Type	Measures to support agricultural livelihoods such as grazing land, support for livestock, new agricultural equipment, maintenance of agricultural equipment, etc.
Apology	Commitment Type	An apology from project implementer or other project stakeholders to project-affected people for wrongdoing and/or harm caused.
Biodiversity	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about impacts on plant or animal species in the natural environment.
Cancelation	Commitment Type	The full cancelation of a project or business operations in response to violations of rights or bank policy.
Capacity Building	Commitment Type	Measures to improve community capacity. This is typically skill-building through trainings, workshops, coaching, mentoring, etc. in areas of social support such as the establishment of community collectives, trainings and awareness campaigns, transferring implementation of an action item to the community with bank resource support, micro loans, other social support initiatives.
Cash	Commitment Type	Monetary compensation given to project-affected people for a damage or loss suffered.
Chemicals	Sector	Project relates to the development or production of chemical compounds, including construction and operation of production facilities.
Civil Society Organization	Organizations	Civil society organizations (CSOs) are groups that represent the collective pursuit of shared interests and values. CSOs may be international, national, or local and include community-based organizations, village associations, cooperatives, professional associations, labor unions, and environmental and human rights groups.
Client	Project	The client of an international financial institution (IFI) is the entity provided with funds to manage and/or implement an IFI project. Clients may be public or private entities.
Client Operational Changes	Commitment Type	Actions in which the receiver of the action is the client or implementor of the project rather than the community. example, update to client E&S management systems.
Closed	Complaint Stage	A complaint is closed when the relevant IAM is no longer addressing the complaint. Complaints in monitoring are not considered closed. Closed complaints are categorized as "Closed With Outputs," "Closed Without Outputs," or "Closed With Outputs Outside Process."
Closed Without Outputs	Complaint Stage	A complaint is closed without outputs when it did not achieve any tangible outputs. This includes unregistered and ineligible complaints, as well as eligible complaints that failed to produce tangible outputs. For compliance review, a tangible output is a publicly disclosed compliance report. For dispute resolution, a tangible output is a settlement.
Closed With Outputs	Complaint Stage	A complaint is closed with outputs when the IAM process completes at least one substantive phase with a tangible output. For compliance review, a tangible output is a publicly disclosed compliance report. For dispute resolution, a tangible output is a settlement. Where sufficient information about dispute resolution settlements is available, those concerning only procedural matters or minor interim issues are not categorized as outputs.
Closed With Outputs Outside Process	Complaint Stage	A complaint is closed with outputs outside process when it produced a tangible output outside of the formal IAM process.
Collective Compensation	Commitment Type	Compensation intended for the entire community, can be cash or other forms of support. This is a broad category that can encompass different types of support.
Community capacity and development	Sector	Project relates to programs targeted at training, capacity-building, and/or enabling public participation for specific groups within the community.
Community Development Funds	Commitment Type	Development Funds established by borrower or IAM for community development; community often has a role in deciding which projects/ activities the funds will be used for.
Community health and safety	Issue	Complaint raises concerns related to public health and safety including incidents of or an increase in accidents, release of hazardous materials, and spread of diseases. Concerns related to retaliation and/or violence are not included.
Community Safety	Commitment Type	Measures to increase community safety from project activities, such as emergency action plans that include community evacuations or process changes to avoid causing community harm.
Complainant	Complaint	The complainant is the individual(s) and/or entity who filed the complaint. Complainants are usually those directly affected by the project, but may also be representatives of directly affected people, CSOs, IAM or IFI leadership, or IFI clients.
Complaint	Complaint	A complaint is a submission to an IAM that raises concerns about actual or potential harm related to an IFI-supported project.
Complaint Process	Complaint	The complaint process is the IAM's process for addressing complaints. The complaint process generally includes the following stages: registration, eligibility, dispute resolution and/or compliance review, and monitoring. The specific process and terminology varies by IAM.
Compliance Review (CR)	Complaint Stage	Compliance Review (CR) is an investigation by an IAM into whether the IFI followed relevant social and environmental safeguard policies in its administration of the project that is the subject of the complaint. Compliance review is completed when the IAM publishes a compliance report with findings regarding the IFI's compliance with relevant policies.
Conservation and environmental protection	Sector	Project relates to preservation or management of the natural environment, legal frameworks regarding environmental protection or pollution, and carbon sequestration or other climate change mitigation activities.
Consultation and disclosure	Issue	Complaint raises concerns regarding inadequate or absent consultation about or disclosure of project information, including project impacts and/or mitigation plans.
Consultation (non-FPIC)	Commitment Type	Consultations with project-affected people about project design, risks and impacts, mitigation measures, resettlement measures, etc.
Corruption/fraud	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about corruption and/or fraud related to the project. Most IAMs cannot address corruption or fraud concerns.
Cultural heritage	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about impacts on any type of tangible or intangible cultural heritage, including significant sites, unique environmental features, cultural knowledge, and traditional lifestyles.
Cultural Heritage	Commitment Type	Measures to protect or restore cultural heritage or to honor lost cultural heritage.
Displacement (physical and/or economic)	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about physical relocation, loss of shelter, and/or loss of assets that relate to income or livelihood.
Dispute Resolution	Complaint Stage	Dispute Resolution (DR) is a voluntary dialogue process facilitated by the IAM in which the parties seek mutually agreeable solutions to the concerns raised in the complaint. Parties to the dialogue include the complainants and the IFI client, project implementer, and/or IFI. Dispute resolution is completed if the parties reach a substantive settlement.
Due diligence	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about inadequate or absent prior investigation of project impacts.
Education	Sector	Project relates to schooling at all levels, public or private, including support for policy reform, educational infrastructure, teachers, and broader acess to education.
Education	Commitment Type	Increased access to education including repairs to/new building of educational facilities and enrollment of project-affected people in an educational program; differentiated from job training by receiving a general education or participating in an education program that does not accumulate in a singular, specific job skill.
Eligibility	Complaint Stage	Eligibility is the stage of the IAM process in which the IAM determines whether a complaint meets all of the criteria to advance to a substantive phase of the complaint process. Specific eligibility criteria vary by IAM.
Employee Trainings	Commitment Type	Initiate employee trainings to better handle the implementation of bank/project policies and increase employee knowledge of mitigation measures. Can include hiring a specialized employee to handle particular aspects of project implementation.
Employment conditions	Commitment Type	Changes to employment conditions at the project level: Workplace health and safety measures; fair and ethical working conditions (hours, elimination of child labor); fair pay; changes to collective bargaining, freedom of association.
Employment Opportunities	Commitment Type	The receiving of an employment opportunity; this can include employment with the project or business operations or with a third-party organization.
Energy	Sector	Project relates to energy access, legal frameworks regarding the energy sector, and development and operation of energy infrastructure, including power generation and electric and gas distribution and storage. Projects specifically related to the extraction of oil and gas are not included.
Environmental	Issue	Complaint raises concerns regarding environmental impacts that do not refer specifically to water, pollution, or biodiversity.
Environmental protection	Commitment Type	Measures to prevent or mitigate against future environmental harm.
Environmental remediation	Commitment Type	Actions designed to return environmental spaces to their pre-project status (addressing pollution that has already occurred).
Environmental studies	Commitment Type	Studies to further investigate environmental impacts.
Equity	IFI Support Type	Direct investment in companies by buying shares of a company.
Extractives (oil, gas, mining)	Sector	Project relates to the extractive industries, including oil, gas, and mining. Examples may include mines, drilling operations, pipelines, and the associated legal frameworks.
Filing	Complaint Stage	Filing is the date that the IAM received the complaint.
Financial Intermediary	IFI Support Type	Loan or equity investment in a company in the financial industry, including banks, private equity funds, and insurance firms, for the purpose of on-lending.
Financing	Sector	Loan or equity investment in a company in the financial industry, including banks, private equity funds, and insurance firms, for the purpose of on-lending.
Forestry	Sector	Project relates to forests, including preservation and management of natural forests, and operation of forest plantations.
FPIC	Commitment Type	Provision of the right to free prior and informed consent to project-affected indigenous groups. This category also includes the application of other indigenous-specific consultation processes that some banks substitute for FPIC (i.e. free prior and informed consultation).
Gender-based violence	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about incidents of or an increase in abusive behavior perpetrated because of a person's gender, or against people of a particular gender. This can include overt physical abuse, psychological abuse, deprivation of resources needed for physical or psychological wellbeing, and treatment of people as commodities.
Gender-related	Issue	Complaint raises concerns regarding impacts on individuals because of their gender identity that do not relate specifically to gender-based violence.
Grant	IFI Support Type	Financial award that does not have to be repaid.
Guidance Notes/Manuals	Commitment Type	Creation of or changes to existing guidance notes and manuals for bank and project staff aimed to clarify policy and implementation guidelines for future use.
Health	Commitment Type	Increased access to general health care needs or direct attention from a specific health care professional.
Healthcare	Sector	Project relates to healthcare infrastructure and services, including healthcare policy and access.
Housing	Commitment Type	Housing enhancements including building new homes, repairs to damaged homes, bathroom installations, and other upgrades to housing amenities and functions.
Human rights	Issue	Complaint frames concerns using the language of human rights violations.
Independent Accountability Mechanism (IAM)	Accountability	An independent accountability mechanism (IAM) is a citizen-driven complaint office of an IFI that operates independently of the IFI project teams. IAMs receive and respond to complaints regarding social and environmental concerns related to IFI-supported projects. Most IAMs offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.
Indigenous peoples	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about impacts on indigenous or traditional communities.
Information disclosure	Commitment Type	Distribution of information to project-affected people and civil society organizations, especially about project design, risks and impacts, mitigation measures, resettlement measures, etc.
Infrastructure	Commitment Type	Infrastructure enhancement, such as paved roadways or improved utility access; this can be provided by employees of the project/business operations or contracted to a third party.
Infrastructure	Sector	Project relates to construction or improvement of large structures, facilities, or public works projects. Examples include roads and other transportation projects, sanitation and water treatment facilities, power plants, and industrial facilities.
International Financial Institution (IFI)	Bank	International financial institutions (IFIs) are publicly financed banks and other agencies that operate internationally and often have a development mandate. IFIs include multilateral development banks and national development banks and export credit agencies. IFIs provide support for projects through a variety of financial instruments, including loans, grants, insurance guarantees, equity investments, and technical assistance.
Job Training	Commitment Type	The receiving of job training or enrollment in job training programs.
Labor	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about violations of appropriate labor standards related to the project, including issues regarding compensation, workplace conditions, retaliation, and child or forced labor.
Land	Commitment Type	Land or real property given to project-affected people for a damage or loss suffered.
Land reform	Sector	Project relates to development of or changes to legal frameworks regarding land tenure.
Livelihoods	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about impacts on the means by which people make a living, including wage-based income, trade and bartering, agriculture, fishing, foraging, and other natural-resource based means.
Loans	IFI Support Type	Lending activities to governments or private sector clients, sometimes below market-rate.
Manufacturing	Sector	Project relates to large scale production of goods, including production capacity and infrastructure.
Microfinance	Commitment Type	Measures that facilitate access to microcredit/ microfinance opportunities for project-affected people.
Monitoring	Complaint Stage	Monitoring involves documenting the implementation of settlements reached in dispute resolution, or steps taken by the IFI to correct noncompliance findings in a compliance report. Specific monitoring practices vary by IAM.
Monitoring project impacts	Commitment Type	Measures to monitor project impacts, such as water monitoring or other environmental monitoring programs.
Monitoring remedies	Commitment Type	Measures to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of remedy measures (i.e. compensation / resettlement measures, livelihoods support measures, etc.).
No IFI Involvement	IFI Support Type	Complaint was filed about a project that did not receive support from the relevant IFI.
Other	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about impacts that do not fit in one of the other categories. Complaints about which there is no publicly available information regarding the issues raised are also included.
Other	Sector	Project relates to an industry that does not fit in one of the other sectors. Projects about which there is no publicly available information regarding the industry are also included.
Other	IFI Support Type	IFI provided support that does not fit in one of the other categories. Projects about which there is no publicly available information regarding the type of IFI support are also included.
Other	Commitment Type	Any outcome that does not fit into another category.
Other Compensation	Commitment Type	Other forms of material repayment to project-affected people for a damage or loss suffered.
Other Livelihoods	Commitment Type	Other measures that support affected people to improve their livelihoods, including measures to increase income earned from their livelihoods and measures to establish new livelihoods.
Other project changes	Commitment Type	Other project changes, i.e. a commitment to re-design a project.
Other Social Support	Commitment Type	Other measures that support affected communities. Examples include the building of recreational spaces, donations, and food aid. Excludes livelihood and compensation related commitments.
Personnel	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about human resource issues related to the IFI. Most IAMs cannot address personnel concerns.
Policy Change	Commitment Type	A change in the language of a particular bank or IAM policy.
Pollution	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about releases of pollutants related to the project, including hazardous or non-hazardous chemicals, minerals, metals, pathogens, odors, noise, vibration, radiation, light, and heat.
Process Change	Commitment Type	A change in guidance documents, project implementation strategy, or other sub-policy expectations to ensure greater compliance with bank policy.
Procurement	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about the process for obtaining goods or services related to the project. Most IAMs cannot address procurement concerns.
Project	Project	A project refers to an activity supported by an IFI often for the purpose of furthering economic development. The scope of IFI projects is broad, and may include building infrastructure, reforming laws and institutions, strengthening the financial sector, developing private corporations, or investing in public goods such as conservation or education. A single project may be supported by multiple IFIs.
Project-Level Grievance Mechanism	Commitment Type	Establishment or improvement of a local grievance mechanism where project-affected people can raise concerns about the project.
Property damage	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about specific harm to property, including buildings, land, or property value. Concerns related to physical or economic displacement, pollution, or community health and safety are not included.
Reduction	Commitment Type	The reduction of project or business operations scope or activities in response to violations of rights or bank policy.
Registration	Complaint Stage	Registration is the initial stage of the IAM process, in which the IAM determines whether the complaint meets basic threshold criteria for moving forward. Registration criteria vary by IAM, and is not undertaken by all IAMs.
Regulatory Development	Sector	Project relates specifically to development or reform of legal frameworks, including laws and regulations.
Resettlement	Commitment Type	Commitment to establish a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) or general resettlement commitment separate from individual land compensation as an action of resettlement.
Retaliation (actual or feared)	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about incidents or risk of harm against those who have raised concerns about the project perpetrated by the project company, government, public or private security forces, or other individuals acting on behalf of project proponents. Retaliation may include discrimination, slander, threats, denial of services, unfounded judicial proceedings, and termination of employment. Concerns regarding specific incidents of violence are not included.
Rights Recognition	Commitment Type	Acknowledgement of rights, to the community or individual members. This can include the recognition of land rights for areas traditionally used and maintained by the community.
Risk Guarantee	IFI Support Type	Insurance provided to mitigate key non-commercial risks, which may relate to the viability of the project or assist project investors to access funding.
Sanitation	Commitment Type	Measures to increase sanitation related infrastructure and community environment. Includes construction/maintenance of drains and septic tank installation.
Status	Complaint	Status refers to a complaint's state in the IAM process. A complaint's status can be Active, Monitoring, Closed With Outputs, Closed With Outputs Outside Process, or Closed Without Outputs.
Studies (not environmental)	Commitment Type	Assessments to further investigate the social impact of operations.
Supporting Groups	Organizations	Supporting groups are civil society organizations (CSOs) that provide assistance to complainants. This may include research, reviewing complaints, advising complainants as they move through the IAM process, and/or assisting with advocacy at the relevant IFI. Supporting groups are generally not directly named in a complaint or are named in a supporting role only.
Temporary suspension	Commitment Type	The suspension of project implementation or business operations for a temporary period (i.e. for the duration of an investigation, dialogue process, or monitoring process until an agreement or remedy has been reached).
Unknown	Commitment Type	There is not enough information available to select a category for the commitment.
Violence against the community	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about incidents of violence against community members or activists perpetrated by the project company, government, public or private security forces, or other individuals acting on behalf of project proponents.
Water	Issue	Complaint raises concerns about access to or availability of water. Concerns related to water pollution are not included.
Water	Commitment Type	Measures to improve or ensure access to water for project-affected people; differentiated from measures to address water pollution which would go under environmental protection.
Workers compensation	Commitment Type	Provision of compensation for workplace injuries.