January 10, 2023
WHAT´S NEW?
HEADING INTO 2023: INFORMATION, INCLUSION AND FISCAL EQUITY
Read how an online magazine in Mozambique is a guardian of citizens’ rights.
Want to identify the actors who perpetuate disinformation? See how to track and stop “digital mercenaries” behind false facts.
The US government offers responses to ideas to make government more inclusive and responsive - a basis for the next (overdue) Open Government Partnership national action plan.
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative is engaging the private sector to help investors direct capital flows more ethically. Give your feedback on their proposals here.
Taxing the richest individuals is a priority goal for tax administrations in Africa, where current tax revenues aren't enough to fund development. This research investigates evidence of tax enforcement inUganda.
Staying on local taxes, new WIEGO sponsored research on the informal economy in Ghanaian capital Accra challenges assumptions. Informal workers are not well covered by social protection, yet can end up paying a higher ratio of taxes to earnings than formal workers. Informal tax burdens are highly regressive.
TAI RECOMMENDS!
Want a sense of the state of philanthropy? Check out the Inside Philanthropy awards for 2022 - everything from philanthropist of the year to most toxic funder to biggest funding oversight.
FROM OUR MEMBERS
HEWLETT FOUNDATION:
Hewlett’s Racial Justice strategy includes the establishment of an advisory council to help Hewlett to make connections with others in the racial justice field, strengthen learning, and to hold the Foundation accountable to making progress.
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS:
President Mark Malloch-Brown reiterates calls for accountability two years on from the January 6th insurgency in the US. He notes, "The greatest threat we can offer autocrats and dictators are stronger and more inclusive democracies."
CHANDLER FOUNDATION:
The UNDP estimates that funds lost to corruption are ten times the amount of official development assistance. More about how philanthropy can support local anti-corruption actors in this op-ed for The Hill by Tim Hanstad, CEO.
FORD FOUNDATION:
Ford Foundation’s top moments of 2022: From protecting reproductive freedoms to increasing worker power, Ford Foundation’s global community came together as never before to fight for justice, including on climate and civic space.
LUMINATE:
Luminate Foundation brings to our attention this incredible report on the State of Digital Media around the world. Check out the deepest and broadest research ever done into the state of digital native media in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
MACARTHUR FOUNDATION:
MacArthur Foundation is reminding funders about Claire Poelking’s article on Foundation partnerships that work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
ESSENTIAL WATCHING!
In case you missed the launch of the OECD’s report on the protection and promotion of civic space in December, you can now watch the recording (or read the highlights)
TOOLS & TRENDS FOR FUNDERS
Image by Elsevier
Is one of your New Year resolutions working in a a more inclusive organization? Are you a funder encouraging partners to be inclusive? Start by reading this list form Accountability Lab of easy, practical changes you can make.
Vince Chadwick asks Carsten Staur, the new head of the OECD Development Assistance Committee about the prevalent secrecy across OECD committees, including over his own appointment. Can it become more transparent?
The Urgent Action Sister Funds are four autonomous feminist funds operating all across the globe with a shared herstory. In a series published by Alliance Magazine, read how they developed shared feminist principles of philanthropy.
FOCUSED TOPIC OF THE WEEK
TIME TO READ: FOUR FRESH BOOKS TO START THE YEAR
Raymond Baker reflects on the damage caused by illicit financial flows in Invisible Trillions: How Financial Secrecy Is Imperiling Capitalism and Democracy (available from January 31st)
The Power of Partnership in Open Government: Reconsidering Multistakeholder Governance Reform shares lessons from the experience of the Open Government Partnership on how international initiatives can and do shape domestic public sector reform. (Available in open access format from MIT Press).
In dozens of countries, the defense of human rights exposes activists to severe personal risks, resulting in psychological suffering. This has led rights organizations to develop mitigating strategies to support their staff. The World Organisation Against Torture has published this guidebook highlighting emergent good practices.
Lastly, if looking for literature on how to decolonize development, shift power and reimagine civil society collaborations, read a refreshing take on the crucial role of local civil society organizations as the drivers of development in the Global South.
THE LATEST ON THE MIX OF CLIMATE, RIGHTS AND POLICY
Brazil´s new government could reassert its global climate credentials by selling a bond where the interest it pays creditors hinges on whether the country protects the Amazon rainforest.
The Guyanese President argues that green economies are unfair to Guyana’s oil explorations and development plans that offer a path out of poverty.
Indigenous leader Levi Sucre Romero lays out what indigenous people want from carbon credits.
Euren Cuevas Medina argues that the application of the Escazu Agreement strengthens the environmental governance of any state, drawing on the experience of application in the Dominican Republic.
There is a paradox in Nigeria: lower oil production, higher fuel subsidies, and underlying macro-structural challenges. Olumuyiwa Adedeji argues the country is facing significant fiscal-macroeconomic challenges on top of governance concerns, with implications for both current and future administrations.
JOBS AT TAI MEMBERS
Job postings at Hewlett Foundation - ONGOING
Job postings at MacArthur Foundation - ONGOING
Job postings at Open Society Foundations - ONGOING
Job postings at Luminate - ONGOING
Job postings at Ford Foundation - ONGOING
Job postings at FCDO - ONGOING
Job postings at Skoll - ONGOING
JOBS LISTINGS
Team of communication experts, Power Shift Africa
Development Director, Center for Justice and International Law
Head of Programmes, Oxfam GB
Supervisory Board Member - Finance, Mama Cash
Supervisory Board Member - Legal, Mama Cash
Data Manager, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
CALLS / OPPORTUNITIES
Tactical Tech – Open Call for Partnerships – Digital and Media Literacy Interventions, Apply by Jan 31
CS Fund's Just Transition grantmaking program, Apply by March 1
Request for proposals re greater transparency and accountability on urban land ownership, Apply by January 25.”
CALENDAR
January 20, 2023, Kleptocratic Adaptation: Next Steps in the Battle Against Kleptocracy
Michael Jarvis,
TAI's Executive Director
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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