Building on two years of research, consultation, and testing, we are excited to announce that research is now in full swing for the 2015 Corporate Accountability Index.
The Index, to be unveiled in early November, will evaluate 16 telecommunication and Internet companies headquartered around the world on 31 indicators examining policies and disclosures affecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy.
Data collection and analysis is being carried out by members of the RDR team, our research partner Sustainalytics, and a group of international researchers. We are following a rigorous multi-step process including peer review and company review.
The Index, its data, and other findings from the research will be displayed on an interactive website which will include data visualizations, company profiles, and a narrative report.
The indicators and research process have undergone substantial changes since the 2014 pilot study, through which we learned many important lessons. Detailed feedback received on the pilot through in-person and online consultations with experts and stakeholders helped us make some difficult decisions about what would be possible given our resource constraints. We are also indebted to a number of individuals who took the time to provide comments on several draft revisions, as well as feedback from our research partners at Sustainalytics.
Of course, none of this would be possible without our funders and partners, many of whom have been working with us throughout the two-year process of research, development, and consultation necessary to produce a rigorous and credible index of companies.
In the run-up to November’s launch we will be reaching out to potential media partners and strategizing with advocacy groups, investors, and others who want to be prepared to use the Index in their work as soon as it comes out.
