Mick Moore explains how to help politicians break bad tax habits. "Politicians have a bias, amounting sometimes to an obsession, with registering far too many nominal ‘taxpayers’ who will not in practice pay tax."
Rachel Etta-Phoya gives a useful state of play on tackling international tax avoidance and why it matters for people’s everyday lives around the globe.
New research on the evolution of mobile payments (M-payments) as a money laundering methodology.
Ukraine’s Digital Reconstruction Ecosystem for Accountable Management (DREAM) is a fully transparent electronic platform for citizens, government, and donors to manage all stages of the country’s reconstruction projects.
David Eaves reflects on the promise and pitfalls of digital governance drawing on lessons of World Bank technical assistance to more than 50 countries to build more robust digital-public-infrastructure systems.
Why be worried by the newly signed Zimbabwean 'Patriotic Bill'? Khanyo Farisè outlines the risks to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.
WALK THE TALK - NEW TOOL FROM WINGS AND TAI!
We have created an interactive version of the new Guide on Transparency and Accountability for Philanthropic Organizations that we developed with the global philanthropy network WINGS. This will be further showcased at their Summit in October.
OSF: President Mark Malloch-Brown explains plans to “limit” grantmaking from October until the end of February as it sorts through a reorganization that will include changing its operating model and laying off at least 40% of its staff.
FORD: shares feedback from their latest grantee perception survey.
SKOLL: asks how can funders nurture equitable systems change effectively. They highlight the vital role of system orchestrators such as Skoll Awardee Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara and the Financing Alliance for Health.
MACARTHUR:highlights insights from sandwich strategies for accountability applied in Nigeria and beyond. Drawing on 19 reform cases there are six propositions for funders and allies.
ESSENTIAL WATCHING!
Behind Closed Doors: Corruption in Democracies is a three-part podcast series exploring the fallout of corruption scandals on democracies around the world.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation has released a strategic communications planning guide, to help advance policy, advocacy and organizational planning.
As the saying goes, “Money talks,” and there’s no better example of this than the Giving Pledge and its effect on the social sector. To date, 241 individuals with a cumulative net worth easily surpassing $1 trillion have made the pledge to give the majority of their fortunes to charity. That’s potentially a lot of philanthropy.
Where are we on localization? European donors have managed to avoid the glare of scrutiny that descends on USAID, but some of the biggest players on the continent are laggards in the localization department.
ESSENTIAL READING!
TAI and the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office hosted a call last week on responsible infrastructure development, so are intrigued to read this review of the infrastructure program promoted by then Bolivian president Evo Morales. Contracts were won by businessmen close to power and companies received contracts before being legally authorized before the Public Treasury. The discretional distribution of projects resulted in economic losses and oversized, underutilized, or defective works.
ESG might not be dead
In a signal of the remaining power of ethical investment strategies, the Council on Ethics of Norway’s huge government pension fund recommends that the fund not invest in PowerChina given the Chinese firm’s hydropower project in Northern Sumatra that threatens orangutan populations.
Helmut Scholz helps us understand the importance of institutional, legal, and regulatory frameworks for investment in renewables, as well as the dangers that investment treaties pose - manipulated by investors to bring lawsuits that deter the transition from fossil fuels.
The African Development Bank is experimenting with debt for nature swaps - innovative climate finance, but we wonder who will assure countries are accountable for protecting nature?
Nature already faces so many threats. Drawing on powerful case studies, this Wildlife Justice Commission report urges strong action to counter corruption in relation to wildlife crime, while Gerard Flynn and Any Ball unravel the connections between the garment industry in Cambodia and illegal logging.
Finally, good to see that COP 28 President-Designate Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber has finally set out the priorities for the December summit. It calls for loss and damage funding, a “package” on Just Energy Transition Partnerships, and additional climate finance for fragile and conflict-affected areas. However, if you read the full letter there is just one reference to companies and countries remaining “accountable through disclosures, in line with best practices and global standards.” We will need more attention to governance if the hoped-for mobilization of finance is to bring the results we all hope for.
JOBS LISTINGS
Full-time position, Energy and climate implications of Chinese overseas economic activity.
Anti-corruption Analyst, OECD.
Research Consultant: OGP Schools of Government Options Paper.
CALLS/OPPORTUNITIES
Apply for OGP Local for 2024
Local Media for Democracy offers grants in Europe. Deadline September 28, 2023
Nominations for the WINGS 2023 board are open. Deadline August 4, 2023
World Bank and IMF Civil Society Policy Forum Call for Proposals for the next Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Deadline July 31, 2023.
Next Generation Investigative Journalism Fellowship in Ghana, Deadline July 25
The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society at the University of Toronto currently has open calls for a Global Fellow and a Scholar-in-Residence.
The Civic Innovation Fund (CIF) is calling for applications, Deadline is 1 September 2023.
CALENDAR
4th African Philanthropy Conference, created by TrustAfrica, CAPSI, APF, EAPN, Southern Africa Trust, 31 July - 04 August 2023
Open Government Partnership Summit, Estonia, September 5-6
Africa in the World - Festival of human possibilities Stellenbosch, South Africa, 12-16 September
2023 SDG Summit, 18-19 September 2023 in New York.
2023 Global Investigative Journalism Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden, 19-22 September 2023
WINGSForum 2023, 03 - 05 October, 2023
Tackling Disinformation: Strengthening Democracy through Information Integrity, Paris, OECD, November 13-14