TAI Weekly

TAI Weekly | Accountability, Put to the Test

By TAI (Role at TAI)
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TAI Weekly

October 6, 2026

Dear readers,

No shortage of references to trust, accountability and inclusion in global debates right now, and no more so than regarding artificial intelligence. So, we start this week with Gabriela Ramos’ take on “the need for an international AI body that can set standards and coordinate a collective response to threats no country can handle alone.” A global governance gap has rarely felt so existential.

Of course, there is a lot more to explore in the Weekly, from major tax avoidance to transparency in large-scale infrastructure to worrying trends in natural resource governance funding to learning as part of civic infrastructure.

Happy reading!

TAI team

What's New 

The South Centre has published a new brief, “Beyond Amicus Curiae: Rethinking the Role of Third-Party Participation in Investment Arbitration and Environmental Governance.” The authors explore how third-party participation could contribute to a more balanced and sustainable investor-state dispute settlement framework, while supporting community participation and stronger accountability for environmental harm. Important stuff (don’t be put off by the title!)

A new Visual Capitalist comparison, "The World's Most and Least Taxed Countries," ranks countries by their overall tax burden, showing how the share of economic output collected through taxes varies significantly across countries. 

The OECD's “Serving Citizens 2026” examines how governments across OECD and partner countries organize and deliver public administrative services. The report identifies practical approaches for making public services more connected, proactive, and centered on the needs of the people who use them. 

Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa previews her new book on the fight against big tech and its implications for democracy. In a recent Foreign Policy interview, she discusses the challenges posed by technology, AI, and concentrated corporate power to democratic systems.

Digital public infrastructure and payments are often viewed through assumptions about tax compliance and digital literacy. Research on Colombia’s Bre-B system shows how social and cultural factors shape payment use. Forthcoming research from the Institute of Development Studies draws on interviews and payment observations to examine these dynamics.

As the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Global Conference gets underway in Brussels, Solomon Islands has rejoined the Initiative as its 56th implementing country. With significant deposits of gold, nickel, bauxite, copper, and zinc, the country's return comes as it prepares for increased mining activity. 

Beth Noveck talks to David Ryan Polger and argues that while mainstream media and public discourse remain consumed by catastrophic AI risks, society is missing a vital opportunity to leverage bounded, practical AI tools to address the global crisis of democratic decline. 

Professor Jonathan Rusch examines the Trump Administration's withdrawal from the Group of States Against Corruption and its implications in “A Loyalty to Truth: The GRECO Withdrawal — What Is It, and Why Does It Matter?.”

The Tax Justice Network has launched a new tracker showing where wealth and finances leave European economies through illicit tax-related outflows. The tracker was presented at an event at City St George's, University of London, and offers a new way to examine the movement of illicit financial flows across Europe.

From Our Members

MACARTHUR FOUNDATION: Has announced its 2026 class of fellows, recognizing individuals for their creative potential and contributions across a range of fields. The fellowship provides unrestricted support designed to give recipients the freedom to pursue their work. 

HUMANITY UNITED:  Together with WINGS and Dimple Abichandani, HU has announced a new global initiative for CEOs of grantmaking foundations. The initiative will create a small peer community for foundation leaders to work through real leadership challenges and explore ways to advance transformation within their institutions and across philanthropy. The program will continue to develop following WINGSForum and is expected to take place in 2027.

OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS: Luis Feliz Leon examines ways in which tech workers can take on the oligarchs, knowing that strikes are difficult in the sector.

ESSENTIAL READING:

In Mining.com, TAI Executive Director Michael Jarvis examines the funding gap behind the critical minerals boom, where major investments in mining and supply chains are outpacing support for the governance, transparency, and community engagement needed to make these projects work. He argues that targeted investment in mineral governance and civil society oversight can help build trust and avoid problems that could ultimately delay projects.

TOOLS AND TRENDS FOR FUNDERS

Candace Moore encourages funders to consider “Funding Power, Not Just Programs.” She urges co-governance whereby communities contribute lived experience and help shape solutions, governments bring expertise and public resources, and philanthropy invests in ideas and possibilities that can support transformation.

Dimple Abichandani's recent piece in Grantmakers for Effective Organizations invites foundation leaders to reconsider how they exercise governance in a period of growing uncertainty, with seven questions focused on moving from oversight toward more courageous and responsive decision-making.

TAI alumna Florencia Guerzovich brings together reflections from civil society organizations on what they want from evaluation practice. The piece considers how evaluation can better respond to the questions organizations themselves need to answer, while recognizing learning as an important part of the infrastructure that enables civil society to remain relevant and responsive. 

As federal funding disappears and community organizations face closures, foundation boards hold significant power to respond. In Stanford Social Innovation Review, Elisha Smith Arrillaga and Ellie Buteau note that nearly 70 percent of nonprofit leaders in the United States reported a drop in funding in 2025 while demand for services increased. 

ESSENTIAL WATCHING:

Bloomberg explores “The Big Business of Helping the Rich Dodge Taxes,” examining the systems and professional services that enable wealthy individuals and businesses to reduce or avoid tax obligations. The video looks at how these practices operate and what they mean for tax fairness and public revenues. 

Focused Topic of the Week

What Does Accountability Look Like in Practice?

What does transparency actually look like when it moves from principle to practice? Recent developments offer very different examples, from political campaign finance to Olympic spending to the ways governments open themselves up to public scrutiny.

The UNODC Corruption and Financial Crime Branch, International IDEA, and IFES are taking on one important piece of the puzzle with the new “Global Initiative on Political Finance Transparency and Integrity.” Funded by the Government of Norway, the initiative will work across Africa and Latin America to strengthen oversight of political finance, connect electoral and anti-corruption bodies with law enforcement and financial intelligence units, and provide technical assistance. 

Then there is the question of what happens when transparency is put to the test on a very public stage. Six months after the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, the Open Olympics 2026 civic network has published “In the aftermath of the Games: five civic recommendations for full and effective transparency and accountability in mega-events.” Its assessment finds that concerns around spending, timelines, and financial accountability remain unresolved, with some worsening. 

What about transparency in the vital infrastructure sector? CoST has launched the “Infrastructure Integrity Toolbox,” bringing together practical diagnostics, tested tools, and real-world examples to help infrastructure stakeholders identify, assess, and manage integrity risks throughout the project lifecycle. The toolbox covers 42 integrity points, more than 100 practical tools, and over 70 examples for public entities, contractors, consultants, investors, and civil society.

At the broader institutional level, the Open Government Partnership marked 15 years at the UN General Assembly with a Leaders Roundtable bringing together governments, civil society, international organizations, and members of the OGP community. The conversation explored how open government can strengthen inclusive and resilient institutions, advance democratic digital governance, and build more prosperous economies. 

We’d love to hear what you are seeing in terms of transparency and accountability: examples that are working, ideas that deserve more attention, unexpected lessons, or new approaches that could change the way we think about accountability. Share your thoughts with us on LinkedIn.

ESSENTIAL WATCHING:

Historian Tim Snyder speaks with Anne Applebaum about "Regime Change and Corruption," discussing the relationship between political change, corruption, and the systems that allow power to be accumulated and maintained. The conversation considers how corruption can shape political institutions and democratic life. Watch the conversation.

JOBS

CALLS

  • Coefficient Giving has introduced Launchpad Funds, a request for proposals to seed new funds or scale existing ones addressing important, underfunded problems.

  •  The European Endowment for Democracy provides rolling funding for local democracy organizations in the Eastern Partnership, Middle East and North Africa, and Western Balkans & Turkey.

  • The Fifth Element invites blog contributions on systems transformation from practitioners and researchers, drawing on both lived experience and analysis across diverse perspectives.

  • School for Thinktankers, On Think Tanks. February 1-5, 2027.

 CALENDAR

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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