Dear readers!
We start the big picture with the underpinnings of democracy and good governance, before exploring everything from centering participation in climate responses to debt transparency and statistical frameworks to measure corruption.
Happy reading!
P.S. Remember, TAI doesn't own the photos. All photos used in this weekly have a link to their source.
WHAT'S NEW?
WINDOWS OF REFORM, POST-KLEPTOCRACIES AND UNHEALTHY INFORMATION SYSTEMS
"All who believe in the importance of transparent and accountable governance must mobilize whenever there is a democratic opening, helping reformers deliver tangible benefits to their people." Samantha Power, USAID Administrator, offers her latest articulation of an anti-corruption, pro-democracies agenda.
How do you navigate post-kleptocratic transitions? National Democratic Institute has released a new framework for reformists, researchers and practitioners to identify and assess the lingering or reconfiguring kleptocratic networks that might act as "spoilers", undermining democratic and anti-corruption progress.
TAI just hosted a consultation on what makes for a healthy information ecosystem, so we are intrigued to see a bipartisan bill in the United States Senate seeking transparency and accountability from social media platforms. The bill’s sponsors discuss efforts to regulate social media, bipartisan support for tougher online restrictions for kids, and algorithmic forces skewing information online.
She Persisted's Monetizing Misogyny research series uncovers the patterns, impact and modus operandi of gendered disinformation attacks facing women in politics in Brazil, Hungary, India, Italy and Tunisia. In country after country, social media is being weaponized against women’s rights and democracy advocates, while providing a perfect propaganda machine to authoritarians and illiberal actors.
Journalists and watchdogs deserve better protection against the ‘lawfare’ of powerful politicians or businesses. The new EU anti-SLAPP initiative could turn the worrying tide of weaponizing laws and courts to silence critical voices in Europe.
ESSENTIAL LISTENING!
Karabo Rajuili of Open Ownership helps us unpack the importance of beneficial ownership transparency in this post-state capture era. In the wake of Zondo Commission revelations, is South Africa doing better in this area?
FROM OUR MEMBERS
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS:
Mary Fitzgerald, director of Expression at the Open Society Foundations talks about how expression can inspire change.
HEWLETT FOUNDATION:
Since 2004, Hewlett’s Organizational Effectiveness program has awarded $67 million to more than 750 grantees. These grants have supported areas such as diversity, equity, and inclusion; strategic planning; communications planning; and leadership transitions. An evaluation sheds light on the value and benefits and flags areas for improvement.
CHANDLER FOUNDATION:
Remembers that donors should invest in Rule of Law and Anti Corruption efforts to help rebuild public and social trust and cultures of integrity.
FORD FOUNDATION:
What does it mean to be a social justice funder? Nearly a decade ago, the Ford Foundation set out on a journey to answer this question from a new angle, interrogating not only what it was funding but also how it was funding. Ford Foundation and its partner Twaweza launched this case study on the importance of full indirect cost coverage.
ESSENTIAL LISTENING!
How do we strengthen mutual transparency and accountability in philanthropy? You can now watch the session on this topic moderated by TAI’s own Eszter Filippinyi at the Effective Development Co-operation Summit last December.
TOOLS & TRENDS FOR FUNDERS
How will giving evolve in 2023? Stephen Kump offers 5 suggestions, including a growth in asset giving, more trust-based philanthropy, and more collective giving.
By de-scaling, the philanthropic community can invest in and amplify racial justice organizations’ own voices, expertise, and needs. Organizations that have received MacKenzie Scott grants offer recommendations and insights for funders.
Storytelling has become an essential part of communication for social impact. It's how we connect with audiences to elicit an emotional response and create a conversion to our calls to action. And while that intention is often well-meaning, it requires far greater care than is usually given. Dignified Storytelling outlines the responsibilities of social impact communicators.
As the World Bank considers a radical overhaul and debate begins on whom should be its next president, the 60th-anniversary edition of the OECD Development Co-operation Report focuses on rethinking the international aid system.
FOCUSED TOPIC OF THE WEEK
Climate response – getting to participation, local benefit
Claire Mellier and Rich Wilson look at lessons from the 2021 Global Assembly to make a case for a permanent citizen-led governance chamber to address the climate crisis. A bottom-up approach sought to engage institutions, support citizens’ initiatives, and demonstrate that a more democratic global governance model is possible.
Climateworks also argues that climate solutions are most successful and enduring when they center people, and engage those most impacted by the problem. “Top-down techno-economic interventions can fail if they don’t take into account the direct economic and social impacts on people and communities.“
Turning to the investment side of the equation, wealth manager Osmosis receives a $4.5 billion sustainable investment mandate from a leading Dutch pension fund looking to reduce the environmental impact of its portfolio. (Stay tuned for TAI’s forthcoming guidance on how to strengthen the “G” in ESG.) While Syn Tao offers 10 trends for responsible investment in China.
Some of that investment may go to the critical minerals essential for the energy transition, but how to produce those responsibly? Nsama Chikwanka from PWYP Zambia notes that "Zambian and other African nations’ transition minerals are crucial for a low carbon world. But reform is essential if our people are to benefit from the wealth they will create." Nowhere is such reform more needed than in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where human rights abuses in cobalt mining are rife. Dorothèe Baumann-Pauly unpacks their root causes.
How to assure governments get a fair deal for the resources? Tax Justice Network Africa off their latest advice based on review of fiscal policy for Liberia, Ghana, Zambia and Uganda
ESSENTIAL READING!
Richard Atwood speaks with Mark Malloch-Brown, president of Open Society Foundations about the challenges facing open societies today.
NEWS ROUNDUP
This year is set to see record government debt for many countries. It helps to know how much, but which countries are transparent? USAID has published the 2nd edition of its Debt Transparency Monitor, which summarizes the results and observations from two years of data collection.
Check out the updated Open Ownership Principles - a framework for considering the elements that influence whether the implementation of beneficial ownership transparency reforms will lead to effective ownership disclosure.
Want to know how to file a request for information from the World Bank and International Finance Corporation? The Centre for Law and Democracy and Bank Information Center offer two user-friendly guides, including how to appeal in case a request is denied.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has published the first draft of a comprehensive statistical framework to measure corruption. Offer comments here.
Amy Miller-Taylor is becoming Global Integrity’s new executive director in March. Amy previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at CIVICUS.
JOBS AT TAI MEMBERS
Job postings at Hewlett Foundation - ONGOING
Job postings at MacArthur Foundation - ONGOING
Job postings at Open Society Foundations - ONGOING
Job postings at Luminate - ONGOING
Job postings at Ford Foundation - ONGOING
Job postings at FCDO - ONGOING
Job postings at Skoll - ONGOING
JOBS LISTINGS
Data Support Manager - Open Ownership
Accountability Accelerator! Consultant, Global Commons Alliance
Regional Analyst, Porticus
Director of Communications and Marketing The Fund for Global Human Rights
Program Director - Civil Society, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
Institutional Grants Manager, Front Line Defenders
CALLS / OPPORTUNITIES
Applications are open for Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Board members representing Civil Society Organisations! Deadline February 23.
PIILNET has launched the Call for Session Proposals for the 2023 #GlobalForum
Free online courses for Campaigners and Activists Organizing People Power for Justice
UNESCO’s MOOC on Access to Information is now available free of charge in French.
Contribute to the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples funding trend analysis on indigenous peoples and philanthropy. (Survey in English, Español, Francais, Português)
CALENDAR
Internet for Trust: Regulating Digital Platforms for Information as a Public Good, UNESCO Global Conference, February 21-23
Digital Participation Platforms Ratings Launch event, February 23, 11am EST
What role does OD support play in changing practices in philanthropy? 13-14 March, Brussels
OECD Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum, 29-30 March, Paris, 2023
Summit for Democracy, 29-30 March (multiple locations)
Skoll World Forum, 12-14 April, 2023
Rights Con 2023, June 5-8, 2023
EITI Global Conference, Dakar, June 2023
Michael Jarvis,
TAI's Executive Director