This past week, I had the pleasure of facilitating a 3-day peer learning workshop in Hanoi, bringing together integrity practitioners working across the climate finance landscape. Co-hosted by the Green Climate Fund’s Independent Integrity Unit (IIU) and GIZ, the workshop created something all too rare in integrity and compliance work: time and space for reflection, exchange, and real human connection. As climate action accelerates, so does the scale and complexity of climate finance. But with rising investment comes growing responsibility—and increased risk. Upholding transparency and integrity in the use of climate funds is not just a technical exercise—it’s a critical part of protecting the planet and the communities most affected by climate change.
Integrity systems are only as strong as the people behind them. Frameworks and audits can only go so far. What’s often missing is the relational infrastructure: the peer support, shared problem-solving, and informal guidance that help integrity professionals thrive. That’s where peer learning and mentoring come in.
Peer learning means learning with and from others. It recognises that the best solutions often come not from manuals or handbooks, but from experience. From trying, failing, adjusting, and sharing. In our Hanoi workshop, we used a range of participatory formats—from case clinics and world café-style discussions, to lightning talks and collaborative planning sessions. Participants shared real institutional challenges, compared notes on what’s worked (and what hasn’t), and offered one another grounded advice. These weren’t theoretical debates; they were anchored in the realities practitioners face every day. What makes peer learning powerful is its horizontal nature. It removes hierarchy from the equation and fosters trust-based, reciprocal exchanges. Everyone has something to offer, and everyone leaves with something new—an idea, a contact, a renewed sense of purpose.
And crucially, peer learning reinforces one of the most important messages in integrity work: you’re not alone.
Beyond the peer-to-peer exchanges, the workshop also embedded a focus on mentorship. Former mentors and mentees from the IIU’s broader programming joined us virtually to share insights about what makes these relationships meaningful and effective. In the context of climate finance integrity, mentoring offers essential scaffolding. It supports newer practitioners navigating sensitive issues; it opens space for critical reflection in politically complex environments; and it strengthens personal and institutional accountability through dialogue and trust. Mentorship is more than knowledge transfer—it’s a relationship. One that allows both mentor and mentee to learn, grow, and hold space for complexity. It’s also a powerful tool for building leadership and resilience in systems that can sometimes feel isolating or risk-averse.
Designing Sustainable Peer Learning Beyond the Workshop
This was not a passive training. Participants were the architects of their own learning experience. The final day was dedicated to designing collaborative peer learning initiatives that will continue after the workshop ends. These included proposals for regional mentoring circles, cross-agency exchanges, webinars on common challenges, and joint learning visits.
Each initiative was grounded in a real shared need, and developed with specific learning objectives, target audiences, and support structures in mind. As a facilitator, I found this deeply rewarding. It’s a reminder that when participants are given ownership, learning becomes action—and action becomes sustainable.
Workshops like these don’t end with closing remarks. They plant the seeds of professional relationships that grow into long-term support systems. And that’s exactly what climate finance integrity needs: trusted networks, reflective leaders, and shared spaces for accountability.
Integrity Is a Team Sport
It’s easy to reduce integrity to compliance checklists or procedural oversight. But in reality, integrity is built in conversation. In mentorship. In mutual reflection. In courageous questions and honest answers. Peer learning and mentoring remind us that we don’t need to face difficult decisions alone. That even across vastly different institutions and geographies, we share common challenges—and often, surprisingly aligned values. As practitioners in a rapidly evolving field, we need each other. And we need more spaces like this one to come together, not just to learn—but to connect, support, and lead with integrity.
As I leave Hanoi, I carry with me the energy of 17 in-person participants (and one very dedicated virtual attendee), the wisdom shared across sectors and regions, and the reminder that the integrity agenda is as much about people as it is about policy. At MNPQ Consulting, I’ve seen first-hand how powerful these peer-based approaches can be. And I look forward to supporting more spaces where professionals can reflect, reconnect, and co-create the future of integrity in climate finance. Because the future of our planet depends not just on what we fund—but on how we build the systems that fund it.