TAI Weekly

TAI Weekly | Open Information Under Siege

By TAI (Role at TAI)
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TAI Weekly

February 24, 2026

Dear readers,

India’s AI Impact Summit last week got a lot of coverage and while the Indian government pointed to the need for inclusive AI, most discussion was focused on jobs and investment. Governance was less discussed, but delegates might have done well to read Cedric Sabbah and Moshe Uziel's three-layer framework, covering infrastructure, logical, and social dimensions of AI governance. It offers a lens for understanding where power is consolidating and where meaningful oversight is absent as AI firms extend their reach across all three layers, outpacing regulatory frameworks.

For more on the information environment, see our Focused Topic this week. Plus we have all the regular news, research, funder developments, jobs and events. Happy reading!

TAI team

What's New

The Investigative Simulations Lab, an emerging organization, is developing simulation games to train people in how to investigate crime and corruption. They bring this innovative approach to building investigative capacity.

Laura García and Nisha Owen from Global Greengrants make the case that grassroots climate justice movements are continuing to advance solutions despite geopolitical turbulence, and call on funders to meet them with solidarity, resources, and trust. 

Publish What You Fund has announced the 34 organizations that will be assessed in the 2026 Aid Transparency Index, including first-time participant the Green Climate Fund. Together, the assessed agencies represent two-thirds of global aid spending published to the IATI standard in 2025.

The fifth edition of the European Democracy Support Annual Review, published by the Carnegie Endowment, finds that mounting security threats and economic pressures have led European governments to prioritize strategic interests over democratic ambition, pointing to a troubling gap in the EU's external action.

Robert I. Rotberg, Founding Director of Harvard Kennedy School's Program on Intrastate Conflict, offers a sobering analysis of the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index. The value of the index is one of frequent debate, but Rotberg still examines what the data reveals about global corruption trends and the continued decline in the United States' standing.

Chile has taken a landmark step forward in social policy: on February 9, the government promulgated the Chile Cuida law, which establishes care as the fourth pillar of social protection and affirms it as a social right and a matter of gender co-responsibility. The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights showcases this as a significant victory born of civil society advocacy.

Alexander Howard reflects on the United States decision to formally withdraw from the Open Government Partnership. Civil society critics say the move undermines transparency and accountability, and reflects broader rollbacks on openness and leaves oversight to Congress, the courts, the press, and civic organizations.

New data from the China Dissent Monitor reveals a sharp rise in protest activity inside China, with over 5,300 dissent events tracked in 2025,  a 44% increase over the previous year. Workers, property owners, and rural residents led demonstrations even as authorities moved aggressively to suppress online evidence of unrest.

A new report from Cepei examines how financial leverage, informal negotiations, and unequal access to decision-making are reshaping power dynamics within the UN development system at a critical juncture for UN reform. “The Triple Disconnect: Power, Money, and Voice in the UN Development System” is a valuable read for those engaged in multilateral governance.

CSO Meter, led by the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law Stichting and partners, continues to track civic freedoms across the Eastern Partnership region, and helps turn early warnings into action. Recognized by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency as a best practice, the tool was also included in the EU Strategy for Civil Society in 2025.

The latest Foreign Affairs features a provocative piece by Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon arguing that the Trump Administration is best understood not as a realist power or a sphere-of-influence actor, but as a kleptocratic one, with personal enrichment driving foreign policy far more than national interest.

Mumbai hosted its first Climate Week last week, and centered voices from the Global South in conversations that have long been dominated by New York and London. Disha Shetty details how organizers brought key climate discussions to one of the world's most climate-vulnerable regions.

ESSENTIAL READING:

Accountability Lab and the Corporate Professionals Governance Association have released a new report based on a survey of over 100 Ukrainian businesses, showing how integrity is becoming a competitive advantage and highlighting key challenges. Read the report to explore their findings and donor recommendations for supporting ethical business practices during Ukraine’s reconstruction.

From Our Members

FORD FOUNDATION: President Heather K. Gerken marks her first 100 days in office with a reflection on the foundation's legacy and its renewed commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and its global partners. She writes of the determination she has encountered in the foundation's teams and grantees worldwide, and the urgency she feels at this historical moment.

MACARTHUR FOUNDATION: Has articulated a values-based approach to artificial intelligence through its Technology in the Public Interest program and a new Big Bet on AI Opportunity. The foundation is investing in research, policy, and partnerships, including the Humanity AI coalition, while internally encouraging thoughtful experimentation with clear guardrails around security and human judgment.

OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS: “Rights are not just given. They are always fought for. In this moment, we’re being called on to fight for them.” Watch foundation President Binaifer Nowrojee speaking at the Munich Security Conference.

PACKARD FOUNDATION: Has appointed Ruth Levine to an expanded leadership role as Vice President of Families and Communities, in addition to her current positions as Vice President of Just Societies and Chief Learning Officer. 

TOOLS AND TRENDS FOR FUNDERS

The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy has released a new report assessing the philanthropic sector's response to attacks on democratic norms and offering practical guidance on how funders can build a playbook to defend democracy. The lessons will resonate well beyond a U.S. context.

The Segal Family Foundation reflects on the ripple effects of new U.S. visa bonds and bans targeting 75 countries, many in Africa. The piece points out that philanthropy cannot afford to ignore these restrictions, nor the risk that other countries may follow suit, and calls on funders to rethink where they convene and how.

A piece from the Center for Effective Philanthropy makes the case for collaborative funds as a fast-growing and increasingly vital model in philanthropy. At their best, they allow donors to pool resources while investing equally in relationships, governance, and learning.

Grants Plus founder and CEO,  Lauren Steiner, offers practical advice for nonprofits seeking to tap intermediary funding. She emphasizes that visibility in shared spaces and a relationship-first approach are key to success.

ESSENTIAL READING:

A sobering Devex piece documents the gap between the ambitions of major climate and biodiversity funds, including the Cali Fund and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, and the funds they have actually raised. While targets run into the billions, contributions remain a fraction of what was promised, with billions more sitting idle in so-called zombie funds.

Focused Topic of the Week

When the Information Environment Breaks Down

The information environment is undergoing a structural crisis that piecemeal responses are no longer equipped to address. Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins has made this point sharply, arguing in Prospect Magazine that reactive approaches to disinformation are fundamentally inadequate for the pace and scale of the challenge. The field requires not just better tools, but a different strategic posture: one that anticipates how influence operations evolve rather than scrambling to counter them after the fact. This call for systemic rethinking comes at a moment when the broader architecture supporting open information flows is itself under serious strain.

On the civic side, activists and organizers are responding to increasingly hostile political environments by turning toward what is being called "Freedom Tech" — a growing suite of communication and mobilization tools designed to operate under pressure. As Steve Feldstein and Shreya Joshi observe, this turn reflects both ingenuity and necessity: when formal channels are restricted or surveilled, decentralized and resilient technologies become lifelines for political organizing.

Yet the durability of these tools depends heavily on the broader ecosystem of support around them, which makes recent developments in U.S. foreign policy particularly alarming. For example, the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for Global Media's internet freedom program, a consequence of sweeping aid cuts, has removed one of the more consequential institutional pillars behind efforts to counter digital authoritarianism. The Guardian's reporting underscores the irony: this rollback is happening precisely as censorship technology becomes cheaper and more widely available to repressive regimes. The asymmetry between the tools of control and the resources available to those resisting them is widening.

ESSENTIAL READING:

“Solidarity, Not Charity”, a new report from the One Project, explores what it looks like when grantmaking is shaped by the movements it is meant to serve. Take a look at the piece for insightful lessons on how to fund systems change responsibly.

JOBS

CALLS

  • 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 Creative Organising Lab is a one-day online workshop co-led by creative agencies across West Africa, Europe, India, and South America, designed to help organizations working in shrinking civic space turn ideas into action.

  • People Powered Rising Stars Mentorship Program – a free, online mentorship program for people working to strengthen participatory and inclusive democracy. Apply by February 27, 2026.

  • RightsCon 2026 (May 5–8, Lusaka, Zambia and online) is offering early bird tickets through February 27, 2026.

  • The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) invites NGOs to complete an online survey informing recommendations on creating and maintaining a safe and enabling environment for civil society. Available in English, French, and Spanish. Deadline: 6 March 2026, 18:00 CET.

  • Two ScaleDem open calls are now live through 31 March 2026, offering eligible organizations across Europe and beyond funding, mentorship and peer learning to scale democratic innovations. The Piloting Programme supports bold new ideas with up to €100,000, and the Twinning Programme offers up to €65,500 for mentor–mentee communities adapting proven approaches.

  • The National Endowment for Democracy offers grants to advance democratic goals and strengthen democratic institutions. Deadline: June 6, 2026.

  • Thousand Currents will host its first Academy in the Global South this August in Brazil, focused on internationalism and global solidarity, including immersive engagement with social movements shaping transformative change. August 2-7, 2026 | São Paulo, Brazil.

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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