About Us | IMPACT Transforming Natural Resource Management

Our Story

A history rooted in community leadership.

IMPACT was founded in 1986 as a part of Canada’s mobilization to address the root causes of poverty in Africa. Then known as Partnership Africa Canada (PAC), we’ve evolved into one of Canada’s leading global development organizations that focuses on improving natural resource governance in high-risk contexts.

Over time, our organization has grown from our African-focused roots into work that spans the global nature of supply chains. We transitioned from our early beginnings as a project funding mechanism toward developing policy solutions rooted in research and multi-stakeholder engagement, and working alongside local communities to test solutions for supply chain transparency.

We are guided by the core belief that lasting and transformative change in the natural resource sector comes from strengthening local actors through capacity, investment, and visibility.

Communities are our guiding star

Publication

Introducing IMPACT’s New Strategic Plan 2024-2029: Enabling Change

Enabling Change 2024-2029 establishes our priorities for the next five years as we re-recommit to our focus areas and approaches while adjusting our goals to better meet current contexts. We name communities as our guiding stars and make Enabling Change the focus of the next phase of our work.

Natural resources shape security, development, And equality.

Mismanagement of natural resources fuels and sustains insecurity around the world.

Local communities don’t benefit from the natural resources in their communities.

Competition over minerals, timber, wildlife, and water are heightened by climate change, geopolitical consideration, trade, and security.

Corruption and weak political systems increase the risk of human rights violations.

Change is essential for ensuring a safe and equitable future for local communities, even when progress builds gradually.

What We Stand For

The Principles that Guide Our Work.

Natural resources should benefit local communities and all genders and peoples equally.

Transforming natural resource management systems will generate more equitable benefits for local communities while decreasing conflict.

Local communities know their contexts best.

Local communities must challenge, change, and ultimately, lead how their natural resources are managed and used. To do that, they need support to access capital, appropriate technologies and tools, and skills.

Political will is required to ensure the transformation of natural resource management is sustainable.

Our Mission

We transform how natural resources are managed in areas where security and human rights are at risk. We investigate and develop approaches for natural resources to improve security, development, and equality. We are an independent non-profit, collaborating with local partners for lasting change.

OUR Vision

We envision a world where resources contribute to equitable peace and development, and where communities are empowered to decide how their natural resources are managed.

How We Drive Change

Our Approach to Transforming Natural Resource Management.

Reveal

We investigate, monitor, and analyze how natural resources are managed and how these systems can be improved.

Innovate

We develop, test, and deliver improved systems for the management of natural resources through technical assistance, information sharing, and capacity building.

Engage

We advance constructive dialogue with stakeholders including civil society, policymakers, industry, and communities to improve how natural resources are managed.

Our History

A Journey Shaped By Partnerships.

Our history reflects decades of learning, partnership, and innovation led by local priorities and global challenges.

1986

Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) launches as a coalition of Canadian civil society groups, tasked with disbursing Government of Canada funds to civil society in Africa.

1993

Partnership Africa Canada becomes an independent non-profit organization.

1996

The organization restructures and shifts its strategy to support partners through research and policy solutions.

1998

First international office opens in Ethiopia to give African civil society a central voice in the organization.

2000

Investigation into the link between diamonds and conflict financing in Sierra Leone is published. It leads to the Kimberley Process for conflict diamonds, with Partnership Africa Canada as a founding civil society member.

2003

Partnership Africa Canada is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to end the trade of conflict diamonds.

2006

Work begins on conflict minerals in Central Africa, supporting the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) to address the illegal exploitation and trade of tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold.

2010

Partnership Africa Canada advises and contributes to the development of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, the standard to support private sector actors to source responsibly.

2013

Rwanda issues the first certificates as part of the ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism for conflict minerals. Partnership Africa Canada drafted the Certification Manual and supported drafting of legislation, as well as trained technical service agents across Member States to enable implementation.

2014

Investigation into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a gold and diamond trading hub uncovers lax import controls that allow smuggled gold to enter the legal supply chain. This leads to attention on the role of trading hubs such as UAE and India in mineral smuggling.

2015

After almost more than twenty years, Partnership Africa Canada opens offices in Africa and shifts its approach to include local project implementation.

2017

Partnership Africa Canada, working with a Congolese cooperative and Canadian jeweller, announces the first legal, traceable, conflict-free export of artisanal gold from Democratic Republic of Congo to Canada, and the United States the following year.

2017

The organization becomes IMPACT, refining its mission and approach to natural resource management.

2017

IMPACT withdraws from the Kimberley Process, a system that has become ineffective in ensuring the transparent and responsible trade of diamonds.

2017

After 3 years of research in partnership with academics, IMPACT launches a ground-breaking study on the role of women in the artisanal mining sector and its importance to women’s empowerment.

2018

IMPACT begins work in the artisanal cobalt sector, supporting local actors and policymakers in Democratic Republic of Congo to create conditions for responsible production and sourcing.

2019

IMPACT introduces the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) to artisanal mining communities in Democratic Republic of Congo. It publishes the first case study documenting the VSLA model in the artisanal gold sector.

2019

The organization opens a social enterprise, Knowledge for Impact, to deliver innovative solutions for data transparency and community empowerment. The first project is Bloom by IMPACT, a monitoring and evaluation platform for responsible supply chains and projects.

2020

IMPACT announces the first traceable and commercially viable artisanal gold supply chain in Côte d’Ivoire, with an export from an artisanal mining cooperative to a European, LBMA-affiliated refiner.

2022

The organization ramps up its efforts to reduce and eliminate mercury in the artisanal gold sector as it becomes an implementing partner for planetGOLD.

2024

IMPACT strengthens its work on climate change adaptation, with the introduction of ecosystem restoration to support local artisanal mining communities in Democratic Republic of Congo.