TAI Weekly

TAI Weekly | The True Costs of Corruption

By TAI (Role at TAI)
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TAI Weekly

Dear readers,

This week’s round up ranges from the role of labor in safeguarding democracy to the links between climate and debt community participation around mining to aligning philanthropy to local realities. Plus, we dive into some of the latest research on countering corruption.

But, we start with a reminder from Diana Coyle on the dangers of corrupt statistics. Drawing on a variety of international examples, she reminds us of the threat data manipulation poses to long term government effectiveness.  

Happy reading!

TAI team

WHAT'S NEW?

South Africa's G20 Presidency has launched a groundbreaking "Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts," commissioned by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The panel, featuring familiar luminaries, is tasked with delivering the first-ever report on global inequality to G20, hopefully a step toward addressing extreme wealth disparity.

Kristina Biyad notes that labor movements have long safeguarded democracy, from Brazil to the U.S., yet policy debates often sideline workers as mere economic actors. She argues that labor should be recognized as core democracy infrastructure.

Research from Angola challenges assumptions about transparency: decision makers often avoid accountability for withholding information, which can reduce fair payoffs — and sometimes even prove profitable for them.

The National Democratic Institute has launched a new resource for local leaders: the Feedback Loops Guide, an online platform designed to strengthen constituent engagement. Drawing on more than a decade of work with mayors and city councilors in Moldova, Mexico, El Salvador, and Slovakia.

Tax policy research reveals massive untapped potential in health taxes. Sanjeev Gupta and Joao Jalles demonstrate that smarter policies for taxing tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks could raise trillions for essential spending while preventing millions of premature deaths.

Access to information (ATI) frameworks across Europe face scrutiny in a comprehensive new study. Access Info Europe compares ATI frameworks in 15 European countries with public request platforms and measures how well national laws align with international standards.

Open Secret launches an ambitious new investigative series, "Who Owns South Africa," with the first profile now revealing how money, power, and politics fuel inequality in the country. This investigation promises to shed light on the complex networks that perpetuate economic disparities.

Chile takes a significant step toward transparency by submitting its application to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and demonstrates a growing commitment to extractive governance accountability across Latin America.

Mathilde Bouyé and Carole Excell investigate how climate assemblies can effectively enhance government and societal climate action, providing decision-makers with guidance on political and design considerations for achieving meaningful climate outcomes through citizen participation.

Senegal is taking welcome steps to adopt its first access to information law, but the Rule of Law Lab at NYU School of Law and Article 19 Senegal also hope there is time for improvements to align with international legal standards.

Bjorn-Soren Gigler argues that technology must serve people, not the other way around. He points out that digital tools can drive inclusion, innovation, and empowerment only when they reflect communities’ real needs and contexts. 

Daniel Bradlow believes that the recent International Court of Justice decision on climate change obligations is relevant to debtor and creditor responsibilities in addressing African debt burdens. This connects with emerging evidence that climate change is making Africa's debt burden worse, suggesting new debt contracts could provide solutions.

The Center for Economic and Social Rights offers a snapshot from the latest negotiations of the UN Convention on International Tax Cooperation: states debating how to ensure the super-rich pay their fair share, how to boost effective taxation, and strengthening international cooperation.

ESSENTIAL READING

Two important studies examine mining company engagement in South Africa's platinum-rich Limpopo Province and political accountability in Africa's resource economies, and offer views into how extractive industries influence community participation and democratic governance.

FROM OUR MEMBERS

FORD FOUNDATION: Has promoted Ximena Andión Ibañez to be Regional Director for Mexico and Central America. 

LUMINATE: Supports documentary storytelling through Catapult Film Fund. Since 2010, Catapult has awarded over $5.5 million to more than 300 films. Applications are now open for 15 development grants of up to $25,000. With Luminate’s backing, Catapult is also launching a new Project Accelerator on technology’s impact on society, offering four grants of up to $50,000 alongside strategic advising.

HUMANITY UNITED: Mahendra Pandey, Director of Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, shares reflections on wellbeing rooted in purpose, community, and impact. Drawing from the Global Migrant Workers Network's inaugural forum and reflections from the 2025 Global Hearth Summit, he demonstrates how safe, supportive spaces enable migrant workers to find dignity, connection, and hope for transformation.

TOOLS AND TRENDS FOR FUNDERS

A WINGS case study of Focus Central America demonstrates that trust is not a fixed model but an ongoing practice of learning, listening, and evolving with communities. Trust-based philanthropy needs to align with local realities.

A groundbreaking report by the Rights and Resources Initiative and the Women in Global South Alliance reveals that Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women's organizations possess the experience and capacity to manage funds with long-term impact, yet remain systematically overlooked by funders. 40% of WiGSA organizations identify institutional strengthening as their most challenging fundraising activity, followed by research advocacy.

African-led financing models gained prominence at the 6th African Philanthropy Conference held in Cairo from July 27-31. Amid global instability, the conference charted a bold path toward sustainable, locally-driven financing approaches that prioritize African leadership and ownership.

Organizational survival strategies emerge as more organizations eye restructuring, mergers, and partnerships following aid cuts. Elissa Miolene examines how groups are adapting to survive funding reductions, including reflections from TAI's own Michael Jarvis on navigating these challenging transitions.

ESSENTIAL READING

The Global South is transforming philanthropic practices through innovative approaches to socio-environmental funding. A new publication marks the third anniversary of the Socio-Environmental Funds of the Global South, gathering inspiring stories from 16 local funds across the Global South that channel resources to communities in 50 countries. (Read alongside TAI’s own past study on such funds in South America.)

FOCUS TOPIC OF THE WEEK:

Countering the all too real costs of corruption

This week TAI is part of discussions as to how the UK can champion more action to counter illicit financial flows (IFF). So, reminders of the all too human costs of IFFs and corruption are timely and important. Responses are likely to include investment in investigative journalism, institutional reform, and more aligned international efforts - all covered in this week’s Focus Topic.  

Writing for Just Security’s “When Guardrails Erode” series, Abigail Bellows illustrates how elite corruption directly endangers lives and livelihoods from Turkey’s earthquake devastation to unsafe food, unaffordable housing, and weakened pandemic responses. Her piece is a stark reminder that corruption is never abstract: when state institutions are captured, ordinary people pay the highest price.

For their part, Benedict Clements, Sanjeev Gupta, and João Tovar Jalles explain how corruption undermines essential services, weakens tax systems, fuels inequality, and limits inclusive growth, threatening progress toward eradicating extreme poverty by 2030. Their asks include stronger transparency, rigorous enforcement of anticorruption laws, improved fiscal management, better use of digital tools, and expanded international cooperation.

Turning to national level, new research from Kenya shows how politicians systematically co-opt public resources for electoral campaigns, with political financing undermining democratic processes, diverting funds from essential services, creating unfair advantages, and weakening governance.

Often it takes brave independent media to uncover what is happening and expose corruption networks, so it is encouraging to see Stanford Social Innovation Review profile the pioneering work of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a longtime partner of many TAI members.

ESSENTIAL READING

Recent electoral outcomes in Canada and Australia demonstrate that authoritarian politics can be defeated when democratic movements stay authentic, grounded, and united, as showcased in D-Hub’s The Fight for Democracy Chronicles Volume 5.

JOBS

CALLS

  • The UK Government’s Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund supports projects that help people access and use digital tools, overcome barriers, and widen inclusion. Open to charities, community groups, and social enterprises. Deadline: September 10, 2025.

  • International Civil Society Week Journalist Fellowship - Open to journalists worldwide for ICSW in Bangkok, Thailand (November 1-5, 2025). Two categories: general Journalist Fellowship and Young Journalist Fellowship (under 30). Deadline: September 14, 2025.

  • RightsCon 2026 Call for Proposals is now open for the conference taking place May 5-8, 2026 in Lusaka, Zambia and online. Deadline: September 12, 2025.

  • LION Publishers, supported by the MacArthur Foundation’s Local News Big Bet, is offering $100,000 grants. Deadline: September 26, 2025.

  • 2026 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Indigenous Fellowship Programme: A 4-week training in Geneva (June/July 2026) for Indigenous advocates to strengthen their knowledge of the UN system and human rights. Open to Indigenous persons from all backgrounds; travel, living costs, and health insurance covered. Deadline: September 31, 2025.

  • Evidence in Governance and Politics Innovation Grants: Up to five grants (~$10,000 each) for projects that strengthen research quality and integrity in governance and politics. Open to all applicants (membership not required). Deadline: October 31, 2025.

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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