February 7, 2023
WHAT´S NEW?
DATA – GOOD AND BAD
Data.org argues that “to truly make data-driven tools that serve society, we must re-imagine data for social impact more broadly, more inclusively, and in a more interdisciplinary way." Check out the new report on data for social impact.
Turning to regulation, Shubhi Mathur drawsparallels between the Indian Intermediary Guidelines and the EU regulations of Digital Services Act. Mathur hopes to demonstrate that it isn’t just the developing world wary of tech implications.
How can civil society with scant resources take on big tech? That was one question in a recent European ecosystem workshop sponsored by Civitates that fostered connections among those working on different aspects of digital and tech policy. Read the reflection on how mosquitos can take on elephants.
Investigators use beneficial ownership data to uncover that the son of Rovnag Abdullayev, until recently head of Azerbaijan’s state oil company, bought a $22.4 million property in London, even though his father made just a modest official salary.
Meanwhile, close to 13,000 offshore companies holding UK property have failed to declare their ultimate owners and may now face fines and a ban on selling their land.
Mathilde Warda explains how Tunisia has become an "impenetrable fortress" for journalists.
The Committee for the Protection of Journalists calls for transparency and public accountability in Cameroon’s investigation into Martinez Zogo’s death.
In Armenia, a new draft law would allow the government to block access to the internet and censor information and social media in times of war.
ESSENTIAL READING!
Building on last week’s featured indices, we look at Transparency International‘s Corruption Perceptions Index 2022 results this week. The global average has remained unchanged for over a decade at just 43 out of 100. Despite concerted efforts and hard-won gains by some, 155 countries are perceived to have made no significant progress against corruption or have declined since 2012.
FROM OUR MEMBERS
HEWLETT FOUNDATION:
Highlights Angela De Barger's key findings on design, implementation, and impact from a recent report evaluating Open Education curricula. "Open Education Resources provide freely accessible and adaptable learning materials to better engage students", she said.
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATION:
OSF supported Carnegie Europe to analyze how European governments are caught in a complex web in which they must accelerate climate action but also redress the social inequities of the energy crisis. The EU needs to pay more attention to the politics of the energy transition and ensure more effective democratic engagement in the social elements of climate action.
LUMINATE:
Reflect on their efforts to become a more authentic learning organization and calls for consultants who support social change organizations.
ESSENTIAL LISTENING!
Open Government Partnership Local members are working on many policy areas to make governments more transparent and accountable to their citizens. In this video, the Buenos Aires governments shares its commitment linked to access to rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.
TOOLS & TRENDS FOR FUNDERS
What does progressive funding for civil society look like? How it can be supported? Watch the full recording on model funding, or read the event summary here.
Narrative change work has been a funder darling for a few years now. But, Sho Walker Konno argues we do not pay enough attention to the discipline it overtook as a fashionable buzzword: organizing. Read more on whether words can change the world
"We are not talking enough about the way we operationalize grant funding and foreign aid. ...If we do not operationalize funding in a way that aligns with our politics, we will fail in our mission to shift power." Clare Gibson Nangle and Devon Kearney have more to say about how putting a big bet on the ecosystem approach, will drive positive change.
FOCUSED TOPIC OF THE WEEK
POLITICAL ECONOMY AND THINKING BIG
Guillermo Toral argues that political appointments in bureaucracies - often viewed as bad for development - can actually enhance bureaucrats’ accountability and effectiveness, not just for rent-seeking purposes but also, in certain conditions, for public service delivery.
Emma Kerr and Paula Estrada Tun offer insights from conducting political economy analysis in a sensitive project - in this case for an anti-corruption project. They highlight lessons that have emerged for them from the process.
Going bigger picture, economist Mariana Mazzucato lays out a vision of good governance for the achievement of common goods.
Incoming president and CEO of the Fund for Global Human Rights, Gabriela Bucher says “Global inequality is a failure of imagination.” Gabriela reminds us that in 1980, the average marginal tax rate on the highest incomes was 51% in Latin America. Now it is nearly half that. Taxing the richest will start to claw back their power and reduce not only economic inequality but racial, gender and colonial inequalities, too.
Staying with economic thinking, The Winning Jobs Narrative Project looks to build a people-centered narrative. Funders behind the project (including TAI member OSF) claim that progressives should center and lead with working people so that they see that they are a priority, not an afterthought.
NEWS ROUNDUP
How does it help to push for health rights across multiple levels - local health facility, district, regional, provincial or national? Abrehet Gebremedhin offers insights in a cross-case comparison of multilevel approaches in ten health rights programs across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Carlos Alberto Diaz reflects on expert views on building accountable and accessible health systems for better pandemic response (including insights from TAI’s own report last year.)
Climate Inequality Report 2023 calls for fair taxes for a sustainable future in the Global South. The Report aims to shed light on these various dimensions of climate inequality in a systematic and detailed analysis, focusing on low- and middle-income countries.
Can Africa profit from its mineral boom this time around? David Thomas looks at the elements, needed to do so, including governance.
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
Summer Intern- Ford Foundation
Intern – Transparency International US
Civic Engagement and Government Technology Fellow- Ford Foundation
Program Associate - Ford Foundation
Consultant to update the safety and security strategy - Global Greengrants Fund
Lead Program Officer, Community Resources (North Western Europe) - Wikimedia Foundation
Management Assistant- Porticus
Grants Management Associate - Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
Grants Officer - Media Defence
Programme Associate for Red Umbrella Fund- Mama Cash
CALLS / OPPORTUNITIES
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.
Open Government Partnership – your last chance to add your comments on the draft 2023-28 strategy until the 15th of February.
Apply for mini-grants on the use of data from Databarometer. This call is open to governments, civil society, academia, the private sector or individuals from the Global South. Deadline 15 February, 2023.
Contribute to the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples funding trend analysis on indigenous peoples and philanthropy. (Survey in English, Español, Francais, Português)
CALENDAR
From Research to Action: Indirect Costs and Financial Resilience, Ariadne and EDGE Funders Alliance Webinar, February 16, 2023, 3pm UTC
Internet for Trust: Regulating Digital Platforms for Information as a Public Good, UNESCO Global Conference, February 21-23
Skoll World Forum, 12-14 April, 2023
Rights Con 2023, June 5-8, 2023
EITI Global Conference, Dakar, June 2023
OECD Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum, 29-30 March, Paris, 2023
Summit for Democracy, 29-30 March (multiple locations)
Michael Jarvis,
TAI's Executive Director
We’d love to hear from you on how we can further improve TAI Weekly to better serve your needs in program management on the transparency, accountability, improved grantmaking and civic space. Please direct your feedback to [email protected] or