Witness Strategy Is More Than Who Gets Interviewed
Witness strategy is a governance issue, not a checklist — what decision-makers should demand from how witness evidence is planned, tested, and weighed.
Witness interviews are often treated as a technical part of an investigation. The investigators identify relevant people, conduct the interviews, assess the evidence, and reflect the findings in the report.
But for international organizations, witness strategy is also a management issue.
When witness evidence is poorly planned, the risk does not stay inside the investigation team. It can affect disciplinary decisions, donor reporting, tribunal exposure, staff trust, retaliation risk, and the organization's ability to defend its conclusions.
This week, we are revisiting our Witness Matrix as a practical tool for thinking about witness strategy. The matrix maps witnesses by knowledge and cooperation, but the deeper point is this: organizations should not treat witness interviews as a checklist exercise.
A good investigation report should not need to describe every tactical decision made during the inquiry. But it should give decision makers confidence that witness evidence was approached deliberately.
At a minimum, the investigation function should be able to explain:
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Topics: Investigations
