USAID’s launching of their Social, Economic, and Environmental Accountability Mechanism (SEE-AM), scheduled for this Fall, will now be in early 2025, according to the latest information on the SEE-AM website. While they have been working on the structure, oversight, policies and procedures of this mechanism, one of the last remaining hurdles is the Paperwork Reduction Act Notice in the Federal Register which was recently published.
SEE-AM enables program participants and project-affected people (and their representatives) to submit concerns or complaints about social, economic, and environmental harms related to USAID-funded projects and activities. If the complaint is found eligible, the SEE–AM can offer:
- Problem Solving support in which a neutral person assists both sides to help address the harm;
- Policy and Process Review in which the SEE–AM reviews USAID’s policies and processes to understand why the harm happened and how USAID can prevent it in the future; or
- Both Problem Solving and Policy and Process Review.
USAID’s accountability mechanism is modeled on the World Bank’s Accountability Mechanism and the Green Climate Fund Independent Redress Mechanism. The standards for these mechanisms include independence from management, fairness, trustworthiness, and accessibility based on beneficiary awareness. And as with any speak-up line, beneficiaries considering raising a concern must have confidence that the report will be properly handled, and they will be protected from retaliation.
The Paperwork Reduction Act notice estimates 20 respondents per year will complete the SEE-AM form in submitting concerns or complaints. As with other hotline type mechanisms, its use will increase to the extent potential users feel safe reporting and confident that the issue will be fairly and appropriately handled.
Read more about SEE-AM here.
Read the Federal Register Notice here.
