TAI Weekly

TAI Weekly | Mining, Democracy and the Fight for Fairer Systems

By TAI (Role at TAI)
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TAI Weekly

November 3, 2026

Dear readers,

This week we range from several stories relating to governance of mining to the latest on beneficial ownership to the important role of community facilitators and a democracy recap. Plus all the usual funder updates, jobs and events.

We start with some new research examining debates around civil society advocacy and legitimacy, particularly in development contexts. At a time when the role and credibility of civil society are increasingly debated, we need to be asking whose voices are being represented and how that representation is earned.

Happy reading!

TAI team

What's New 

UN Special Rapporteur Margaret Satterthwaite has published a new report examining how justice systems can contribute to addressing the climate crisis, including through judicial independence and access to justice.

Ngaire Woods looks at the geopolitics of mining and demands on all players. “Governments in resource-rich countries must balance external pressures with internal demands. Mining firms must also win local communities’ trust, as host countries will be quick to throw them under the bus if public opinion sours.”

Publish What You Fund examines transparency among non-OECD Development Assistance Committee providers and their principal development cooperation institutions across six approaches. The report offers an assessment of the global aid data landscape and the transparency practices of emerging development partners. 

This new Oxfam report examines how climate change deepens inequality, concentrating wealth among the richest, who contribute disproportionately to the crisis while remaining better protected from its consequences.

How can governments better integrate tax expenditures into national budgets? A new OECD paper examines practices in Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, identifying six dimensions for more effective management. The research contributes to the OECD's Restoring Public Finances initiative. 

The Natural Resource Governance Institute calls for a deeper understanding of National Mining Companies and the different roles they play in resource-rich countries, examining their growing ambitions and limited visibility. 

A new World Bank assessment examines challenges facing Ethiopia's justice system and identifies opportunities to strengthen service delivery. Using the JUPITER methodology, the study offers recommendations to support ongoing reforms, including court modernization, digital services, and judicial training.

Aidan Davy explores the “paradox of proximity” experienced by communities living near mining sites but often excluded from their economic benefits. He argues that responsible mining standards can translate broad commitments into practical expectations for corporate conduct and local development. 

Matthew McGlynn from the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies examines how beneficial ownership transparency arguments can be framed in an era increasingly shaped by geopolitical competition and hard power, and how the United Kingdom can continue to demonstrate leadership.

An investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists examines how China's major banks financed Zambia's growing debt burden before adopting a tougher position on repayment, contributing to the country's financial crisis. 

Dimitris Eleas argues in Common Dreams that Lula's victory in Brazil offers renewed hope for democracy and the Amazon rainforest, with implications for environmental protection and biodiversity. 

Open Ownership and the World Bank’s Global Hub for Beneficial Ownership Transparency are inviting research proposals for their second symposium on the evidence and impact of beneficial ownership transparency. The event will take place in Paris and online in March 2027, under the theme “Bridging Research and Practice.” Deadline: November 23, 2026. 

ESSENTIAL READING:

The Sentry has published a new investigation into the financing of the Allied Democratic Forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “Gold-Backed Brutality” documents how the group has shifted from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant funding to illicit gold, kidnapping, cocoa, and extortion. The investigation traces gold flows worth several million dollars annually to Uganda and calls for action against the networks sustaining the group.

From Our Members

FORD FOUNDATION: Following on from the announcement of the Foundation’s new strategy, Nicholas Turner lays out how the organization we reorganize to meet the moment.

OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS: Alliance features editor Kate Balding spoke with president Binaifer Nowrojee, on the final day of WINGSForum about fear, democracy, and embracing change across the global philanthropic sector. 

MOTT FOUNDATION: A new film produced with FARN examines the impact of lithium extraction on Indigenous communities in Argentina. In the Hombre Muerto basin in Catamarca, more than 25 years of mining have transformed local landscapes and livelihoods. With over half of the minerals needed for the energy transition found in or near Indigenous territories, the film explores the costs communities are bearing and the need for a more just transition.

PACKARD FOUNDATION: Is supporting organizations working to preserve and rebuild public data infrastructure, while calling for sustained philanthropic investment. Public data systems underpin decisions across sectors, from public health to nonprofit strategy and grantmaking, but since 2025 they have faced growing challenges, including discontinued datasets and the loss of experienced staff.

ESSENTIAL READING:

Asivikelane has published a collection of stories celebrating community facilitators working across South African municipalities to improve service delivery and defend human dignity in informal settlements. Power from the Ground: Dignity and Change in Informal Settlements documents their leadership and commitment to their communities. 

TOOLS AND TRENDS FOR FUNDERS

Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement has released “All Funders Can Be Civic Funders,” a practical guide for grantmakers across sectors, from health and education to faith and community development. It explores how funders can deepen their civic impact. Although written for US-based funders, many of its approaches may apply to other contexts.

In Alliance magazine, Swedwatch's Mathieu Vervynckt and Benjamin Claeson argue that foundations cannot invest responsibly without supporting independent accountability work. They warn that reliance on commercial ESG providers, combined with declining funding for business and human rights research, leaves serious corporate abuses underreported. 

The World Bank Group has launched a new Philanthropy Hub to connect philanthropic organizations with opportunities to contribute funding, expertise, and innovative solutions to its work. The initiative forms part of a broader collaboration with financial institutions and development organizations. 

The World Bank and Norway's Norad have signed a NOK 49 million agreement to help low-income countries integrate anti-corruption measures into broader public sector reforms. The partnership will be implemented through the Global Program on Anticorruption for Development.

Focused Topic of the Week

At the Ballot and Beyond - Democracy Recap

As voters go to the polls in the United States (U.S.), former federal prosecutors, investigators, and human rights leaders have launched The Rule of Law Project, a nonpartisan initiative seeking to restore criminal accountability for public officials and law enforcement officers who break the law. 

Voter ID has become a hot issue in the U.S., but do voter identification laws protect elections or create additional obstacles for eligible voters? The Democratic Erosion Consortium examines international experiences, noting how difficult it can be to establish their effect on electoral fraud. The debate points to a broader challenge: how can democratic systems protect electoral integrity without making participation harder?

Freedom House's Freedom on the Net 2026: Seismic Shifts on the Global Internet reports that global internet freedom has declined for the 16th consecutive year, as governments introduce new barriers to accessing information and expressing opinions. When the spaces where people communicate and organize become less free, the consequences reach well beyond the internet.

In Wales, Newyddion i Bawb (News for All) grew out of residents' frustration with local media that spoke about their community rather than with it. Through collaboration with residents, public institutions, broadcasters, and creative practitioners, the initiative developed a participatory approach to local journalism and collective sense-making. It offers a reminder that communities need more than access to information: they need a role.

Finally, Keseb has announced the first cohort of its Democracy Innovation Lab. The ten innovators selected are developing early-stage projects across different geographies and areas of democratic innovation. If democracy is to remain meaningful, they see a need to create more space for people to shape it, rather than simply take part in systems already designed for them.

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 and Turkey.

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

  • Open Technology Fund, Internet Freedom Fund: Grants of up to $900,000 support tools and research for online privacy, anti-censorship, and digital security. Individuals aged 18+ and organizations worldwide may apply. Full proposals are by invitation after a concept note, with applications accepted on a rolling basis. 

  • RINGO Reverse Call for Proposals: RINGO invites international actors, including funders and INGOs, to support locally determined priorities through funding or in-kind assistance. The model puts local civil society organizations in the driving seat, allowing them to assess which partners can best meet their needs. 

  • Call for Proposals: Protecting and Promoting Union Values - The European Union invites proposals from intermediaries providing financial support to civil society organizations working to protect and promote EU values.

  • Call for Papers: The Authoritarian Ecosystem: The Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the Political Studies Association's Autocracy and Regime Change Specialist Group invite abstracts on authoritarianism. Deadline: November 10, 2026.

  • 2nd Research Symposium on the Evidence and Impact of Beneficial Ownership Transparency - Open Ownership and the World Bank invite researchers to submit proposals examining the impact of beneficial ownership transparency. Deadline: November 23, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

  • Creative Bureaucracy Festival, Global Call for Participation 2027: Submit projects, research, and creative ideas to challenge public administration. Selected contributions will be presented in Berlin on June 3, 2027. Deadline: December 11, 2026. 

  • Support for Local Media Initiatives: EEA Civil Society Fund Greece offers project-based funding for local media initiatives led by civil society organizations in Greece. Deadline: December 15, 2026.

  • OECD Anti-Corruption Research Challenge 2027: Researchers are invited to participate in the 2027 challenge. Deadline: January 10, 2026.

  • Investigative Reporting Grant for Nonpartisan Stories: FIJ Grant Applications 2027 offers funding for freelance journalists producing nonpartisan stories across all regions. Deadline: January 29, 2027.

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

CALENDAR

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