TAI Weekly

TAI Weekly |It's Open Data Day(s)

By TAI (Role at TAI)
Nigeria paper image.jpg

Dear readers!
 
It’s Open Data Day (or really a full week) with events around the globe. Find out what’s happening near you.
 
In the meantime, lots to dig into in this issue from civic space developments to philanthropy power dynamics to the latest data on profit shifting by multinational companies.
 
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?
 
Electoral accountability questions and the risk of unintended consequences
 
Nigeria’s election ended in controversy with opposition parties complaining about a lack of transparency. Local observers call on the National Electoral Commission to ensure that all polling unit results are immediately uploaded on its portal.
 
Despite thousands of protesters on the streets, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has dismissed concerns about his plan to shrink the country’s electoral watchdog, accusing protesters of links to drug traffickers.
 
The Georgian civil sector, stakeholders, and representatives of international organizations are united in their opinions: the adoption of the "Foreign Agents" law, and even public debates about it, are detrimental to the environment of civil organizations and harm the process of European integration.
 
An anti-corruption campaign in Vietnam has led to paralysis. Civil servants are holding off moving forward with investment projects for fear of corruption accusations - #unintendedconsequences.
 
Peggy Hollinger highlights how corruption settlements in OECD countries need to better compensate true victims in developing economies. The trend of secret plea deals overgoing to trial will likely mean even more money stays in the North.

TAI'S NEW WEBSITE!


ICYMI – we have a new website. We hope it will serve as a more user-friendly hub for funders and practitioners alike for all things transparent, participatory and accountable. Have a look!

FROM OUR MEMBERS 
 

OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS AND HEWLETT FOUNDATION:

Join Waverly Street Foundation to invest $3 million in People Powered to help governments become more responsive and better able to engage communities in addressing major global issues.

 

OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS:

How did migrant teenagers end up working in car factories in the U.S.? Open Society Leadership in Government Fellows Terri Gerstein and Robert Carey explain why child labor is resurging and what needs to be done to stop it. (On that same issue, TAI recommends this visual from Pictoline.)

 

HEWLETT FOUNDATION:

Recommends the latest issue of Dædalus. It includes essays on creating a new moral political economy from Hewlett Board Chair Tino Cuéllar and grantee partners.

 

CHANDLER FOUNDATION:

Highlights the work of Dasra, a strategic philanthropy foundation nurturing partnerships to help India achieve the SDGs. Dasra’s co-founder Neera Nundy shares their origin story and the future of transformational giving in India.

 

FORD FOUNDATION:

Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, argues for a new vision of philanthropy informed by the demands of justice - ‘From Generosity to Justice’ will be released on the 28th of March.

ESSENTIAL READING!

 

Metrics matter: Publish What You Fund, with support from a coalition of development actors, sought to understand how USAID counts what ‘local’ is. They urge creating a credible, replicable process that is accountable to global stakeholders.

TOOLS & TRENDS FOR FUNDERS
 

 

In the face of rising authoritarianism, what stories and tactics drive collaboration within & between movements? Julia Roig and James Savage share findings and provocations.

 
Who gets to decide the philanthropy agenda? African philanthropy practitioners and several international funders agree it is past time to build the power of pan-African and feminist philanthropies and challenge dominant ideas in philanthropy circles.
The Thinking and Working Politically community offer a guide (sponsored by FCDO) to equip us to work in a politically informed manner, engaging with counterparts’ political incentives and preferences.
 
Are you a funder who wants to shift power dynamics? The Shifting Systems Initiative (supported by several TAI members) offers resources to get started on your journey.
FOCUSED TOPIC OF THE WEEK
 

In the rush to scale-up renewables, is a just transition being achieved? 

There is an urgent need for a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels to a renewable energy system that provides for everyone. But how to protect people’s rights, livelihoods and the local environment in the process? In a week when Greta Thunberg complained about “green colonialism,” Friends of the Earth International release case studies around solar energy in India, Palestine, and Bangladesh, and lithium mining in Argentina.

Similar problems are revealed in the Northeast of Brazil by Attilio Zolin of Fundo Casa Socioambiental. Combine with viewing this video on strengthening indigenous territorial rights in the Brazilian Amazon (in Portuguese.) At least some good news for environmental defenders as Belize ratified the Escazu Agreement.

One positive sign of accountability from Indonesia where palm oil tycoon Darmadi was sentenced to 15 years for corruption and ordered to repay the state equivalent of $2.6bn over corruption scheme that cleared protected forests. Perhaps the biggest deforestation corruption case yet.
 
Turning to Europe, leading human rights and environmental organizations are calling on European policymakers to ensure the upcoming Critical Raw Materials Act - the draft proposal of which is expected next week from the European Commission – protects human rights and the environment. The Act should as well introduce systemic measures that decrease demand for newly extracted minerals.

Staying with regulations, the OECD analyzes ways to strengthen Latin America’s legal and regulatory frameworks for sustainability disclosure, the responsibilities of company boards and shareholder rights. Further north in the United States, listen to how a push for corporate climate disclosures in California could influence disclosures in the rest of the U.S.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

ESSENTIAL WATCHING!

 

Global PDX hosted a Lunch and Learn with Joanne Sonenshine on Connecting Doers to Donors. You can watch the recording here and download the workbook here.

NEWS ROUNDUP
 
Pervasive mis- and disinformation have eroded public trust and made it more difficult for governments to deliver the quality policies and services people expect. Elsa Pilichowski lays out steps governments can take and argues for more transparency to strengthen information integrity whilst upholding freedom of speech.
 
A champion of accurate information, Miranda Patrucic takes over as editor in chief of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), succeeding Drew Sullivan.
 
Ludwig Wier and Gabriel Zucman offer the latest figures on how multinationals are shifting profits to avoid taxes. Spoiler alert - we are talking big numbers!
 
Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali has vowed to expose and hold accountable, those individuals who are responsible for the country’s temporary suspension from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
 
What does transparency look like in the fisheries sector? New reports from both the Seychelles and the United States help show us.
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
 

Director, Organizational Effectiveness and Excellence, Ford Foundation
 

Consultant for Environmental Assessment, Civil Rights Defenders
 

Various Roles, Local Government Revenue Initiative

Policy Director, The Fact Coalition
 

Chief Officer- Advocacy & Solidarity Action- CIVICUS

 
CALLS / OPPORTUNITIES
 
2023 Milead Fellows Program for Young African Women Leaders. Application Deadline: Wednesday 22 March 2023
 
CALENDAR
 

NDI's Local Government Gender Assessment Guide Launch Event -  March 10 at 09:00 EST

Advancing the Fight for Gender Justice through Tax Justice: Perspectives from Africa and the U.S.- March 10th, 12pm EST 

What role does OD support play in changing practices in philanthropy? 13-14 March, Brussels

Can deliberation bridge divided publics? Lessons from the Philippines, PeoplePowered webinar, March 16, 8am EST

Ariadne Network’s '2033' Annual Meeting- March 28 – 30, 2023

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

Open Gov Week 2023 - May 8-12

Rights Con 2023, June 5-8, 2023

EITI Global Conference, Dakar, June 2023

2023 #ShiftThePower Summit, Bogota, Colombia, December 2023

 

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
 
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