What International Accountability Project does

International Accountability Project (IAP) is a US-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 2000 that supports communities affected by development finance projects and the civil society organizations that back them. Its mission is to ensure communities have verified information about proposed development bank-funded projects and clear advocacy strategies before funding decisions are made, with tools and approaches currently used in more than 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

The organization's product and program portfolio is anchored by the Early Warning System (EWS), a database tracking over 27,000 investments valued at USD2.8 trillion at 15 development finance institutions and over 12,000 private actors, with daily updates. Built on top of EWS are three specialized trackers launched or extended in 2024: the Energy Finance Tracker (1,000+ investments, USD160+ billion, 160+ countries), the Global ISDS Tracker (USD13 billion in fossil fuel investor-state dispute claims), and the Factory Farming Finance Tracker (Tableau visualization). Community-facing products include the Global Advocacy Team (cohorts in 2013-2016 and 2022-present), Defender Alerts (risk notifications and forecasts in partnership with Peace Brigades International, Indigenous Peoples' Rights International, Coalition for Human Rights in Development, and Business and Human Rights Centre), and Community Action Guides translated into 15+ languages.

IAP is funded through foundation and institutional grants supplemented by public donations, with no fees charged for any platform, tracker, training, or advocacy service. It operates as a distributed team of 12 across the US (Executive Director), Thailand (Deputy Director and Asia-Pacific hub), Philippines (Southeast Asia organizer), Malawi (Africa/Middle East coordinator), and Argentina (Latin America/Caribbean organizer). Go-to-market is community-led organizing combined with event-driven engagement at World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings, UN Special Rapporteur processes, and global learning exchanges; the organization hosts the Coalition for Human Rights in Development and acts as convener across multiple coalitions.

Name

International Accountability Project

Legal name

International Accountability Project

Website

https://accountabilityproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IAP is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs the Early Warning System database and a portfolio of trackers across energy, investor-state disputes, and factory farming to support community-led advocacy against harmful development finance projects in 20+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development Accountability and Advocacy

NAICS

National Security and International Affairs (9281), Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Early Warning, Conflict Analysis & Prevention Programs (BPADAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Data, Monitoring, Remote Sensing & Early Warning (BPADALAN), Mine Action & Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) (BPADADAM)

Keywords

• Development finance tracking
• Community-led advocacy
• Human rights accountability
• Civil society support
• Development bank monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Institutional Grants: IAP operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through grants from foundations and institutional donors. The organization engages in fundraising activities and donor engagement to sustain operations.
2. Donations: IAP accepts contributions through Network for Good donation portal. The organization relies on public donations and supporter contributions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

International Accountability Project operates the Early Warning System (EWS) database, the first civil society-led technology initiative tracking over 27,000 investments valued at USD2.8 trillion across 15 development finance institutions. IAP complements these data platforms with the Global Advocacy Team initiative, Community Action Guides in 15+ languages, Defender Alerts, and direct community organizing support to equip affected communities and civil society with information, training, and advocacy strategies before development funding decisions are made.

Product overview

International Accountability Project operates as an advocacy organization with a suite of interconnected platforms and programs focused on community-led development and accountability. The core offering is the Early Warning System (EWS), a technology platform that tracks development bank-funded projects across 15 development finance institutions. This platform serves as the foundation for specialized tools including the Energy Finance Tracker (for energy sector investments), Global ISDS Tracker (for investor-state disputes), and Factory Farming Finance Tracker. The Global Advocacy Team (GAT) and Community Action Guides provide community organizing support and training materials, while Defender Alerts delivers targeted risk notifications. These products work together to provide communities with information, training, and advocacy support for development accountability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early Warning System (EWS)

Quantifiable outcome

• Tools and approaches used in more than 20 countries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• ESCR-NetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIAP collaborates with ESCR-Net (Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Network) for knowledge exchange and tool development. Through collaborative efforts, IAP has developed tools and approaches that are being used in more than 20 countries.
• NAMATIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIAP works with NAMATI on legal empowerment and community-led approaches. NAMATI is a key partner in developing community organizing tools and supporting campaigns.
• NYU BernsteinsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIAP collaborates with NYU Bernstein (NYU Bernstein Institute for Law and Security) on knowledge exchange and development of community-led approaches.
• Mekong Youth AssemblycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIAP created the Curriculum on Ecological Child Rights In the Mekong Region and Youth Advocacy curriculum with the Mekong Youth Assembly. These guides were created with support from terre des hommes (tdh) Germany – Southeast Asia.
• Business and Human Rights CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner in the Defender Alerts initiative. Building on deep experience in defender protection, corporate accountability, climate justice, and community-led advocacy.
• Peace Brigades InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner in the Defender Alerts initiative, bringing expertise in defender protection and accompaniment.
• Coalition for Human Rights in DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner in the Defender Alerts initiative. IAP hosts the Coalition for Human Rights in Development, a global coalition of social movements, civil society organizations, and grassroots groups working to ensure development finance institutions respect human rights.
• Indigenous Peoples' Rights InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner in the Defender Alerts initiative, bringing expertise on indigenous peoples' rights and protection.
• Stop Financing Factory Farming CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIAP works in partnership with locally affected communities and organizations as part of The Stop Financing Factory Campaign. IAP is an integral intermediary between local campaigns and global efforts to bring comprehensive and lasting results on factory farming finance.
• International RiverssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard member Ange Asanzi previously supported movement building among civil society organizations in Africa at International Rivers.
• Drug Policy AlliancesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard member Cindy Mathew advises IAP on donor engagement. She is Deputy Director of Development for the Drug Policy Alliance.
• Human Rights Funders NetworksupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard member Kellea Shay Miller is Deputy Director at Human Rights Funders Network and advises IAP on donor engagement.
• Beloved EconomiessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard member Joanna Levitt Cea is Co-Director of Beloved Economies, an interdisciplinary research, story-telling and action initiative. Board member Nairuti Shastry also works with Beloved Economies.
• StripesupportingOthersBoard member Kate Lauer works on global regulatory strategy at Stripe. She advises IAP on its engagement with development finance institutions and IAP's internal financial systems.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bank Information Center: Bank Information Center is a US-based nonprofit that monitors the policies and projects of international financial institutions (especially the World Bank) and works with affected communities to promote accountability. It is the most direct peer to IAP, with overlapping missions on DFI transparency and community-led advocacy.
• urgewald: urgewald is a German nonprofit that maintains the global CoalExit database and investigates public finance for fossil fuels and other harmful industries. It is comparable to IAP for tracking development and public finance flows (especially via the Energy Finance Tracker) and producing public accountability databases.
• Inclusive Development International: IDI works directly with communities harmed by development finance institutions and uses investigative research and policy advocacy to hold DFIs accountable. It is closely comparable to IAP in mission, constituency (affected communities), and methodology (community-led research + DFI accountability).
• Recourse: Recourse (formerly the Center for Financial Accountability) campaigns to ensure international financial institutions finance a just and sustainable economy. It is a direct peer in DFI accountability, with comparable work on climate finance, human rights safeguards, and policy advocacy targeting the World Bank and regional development banks.
• Global Witness: Global Witness investigates and campaigns against the role of banks, companies, and governments in enabling human rights and environmental abuses linked to natural resource extraction and development finance. It is highly comparable to IAP for combining investigative data platforms (e.g., on land deals and energy finance) with international advocacy and community partnerships.
• Friends of the Earth International: FoEI is a federation of environmental justice organizations working on development finance, climate justice, and community resistance to harmful projects globally. It is comparable to IAP for combining grassroots organizing, environmental advocacy, and accountability work targeting development banks and corporate actors.

Emerging players

• 350.org: 350.org is a global climate movement organization that campaigns to end fossil fuel use and shift finance away from fossil fuel projects. It overlaps with IAP's Energy Finance Tracker work and just transition advocacy, though 350.org focuses on broader climate mobilization rather than DFI-specific accountability.

Broad incumbents

• Oxfam International: Oxfam is a much larger confederation of development and humanitarian NGOs with global advocacy on inequality, development finance, climate justice, and human rights. It is a broad incumbent that overlaps with IAP's mission but operates at far larger scale with broader programmatic remit.
• Human Rights Watch: Human Rights Watch is a leading international human rights organization that investigates and reports on abuses, including those linked to development projects. It is a broad incumbent comparable in research methodology and international advocacy focus, though much larger and broader in scope than IAP.

Others

• ESCR-Net: ESCR-Net is the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a coalition of over 400 civil society organizations. IAP is an active partner of ESCR-Net and co-develops community organizing tools; while not a direct competitor, ESCR-Net's membership and convening function overlap with IAP's community-empowerment work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/4accountability
• Facebookbit.ly/IAP4FB
• LinkedInbit.ly/IAP_LinkedIn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Accountability Project