The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment’s Finance for Zero report takes a deep look at financial sector climate commitments and strategies. Among the recommendations, is the need to strengthen accountability and oversight significantly.
Franziska Mager and Sergio Chapparo-Hernandex explore ways for the climate justice and tax justice movements to work together.
New York is poised to implement the nation’s first state-level public beneficial ownership registry in the United States after both the State Assembly and Senate passed the LLC Transparency Act this month.
The US State Department’s Economic and Business Affairs Bureau has issued this year’s Fiscal Transparency Report, a significant undertaking. More background on related United States government efforts in this article.
Some key organizations are celebrating major anniversaries - the Global Investigative Journalism Network celebrates its 20th anniversary, while International Budget Partnership offers a timeline of 25 years of field building.
SPECIAL RECOMMENDATION!
Publish What You Pay – United States is urging fossil fuel companies to publish energy transition plans and its new handbook details the key categories of information to be disclosed.
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS:
Mark Malloch-Brown, president of the Open Society Foundations, reflects on the poly-crisis era, the rise of conflict, and the challenges facing democracies at the Royal College of Defence Studies.
CHANDLER FOUNDATION:
The Chandler Sessions on Integrity and Corruption at Oxford University develop and test a new generation of strategies to strengthen public integrity and counter entrenched corruption.
LUMINATE:
A majority of Latin American voters support a greater LGBT+ presence in politics. But less than half agree that representation is key to promoting LGBT rights. This is one of the results of Luminate´s latest survey.
FORD FOUNDATION:
Is proud to support The Alliance for Social Transformation's call for Solutions with Extraordinary Value. This innovative financial model will help organizations in Colombia working on issues including education, economic development, and civic participation.
ESSENTIAL WATCHING!
Watch the launch of the Philanthropy Transformation Initiative Report produced by WINGS in partnership with the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy (CSP) at Cambridge University.
Cathy Rogers makes a strong case for funding social movements internationally.
UK aid coalition Bond is calling on funders to move beyond talk and change donor policy and practice towards locally-led development. They are collecting progressive funding practices. If you’ve got an example to share, join the group.
Sally Paxton and Gary Foster from Publish What You Fund commend USAID for taking steps towards greater localization and highlight challenges, such as the poor definition of what ‘local’ means and the lack of clarity on the size of the budget that goes to local funding.
ESSENTIAL LISTENING!
An anti-corruption candidate confounds expectations to make it to Nicaragua’s runoff election - suggesting a popular desire for change amid a corrupt system.
“It’s the citizens who change things”
Involving citizens in government decision-making can significantly improve outcomes, but what factors determine how things play out? Guy Grossman and Tara Slough review the evidence on government responsiveness to citizens and the interplay of bureaucrats, citizens and politicians.
Sadly, we seem not to be applying the lessons for one of today’s greatest global challenges - managing the energy transition. Too often top-down processes persist. For example, Dean Bhehe asks why the African Development Bank is overlooking the oversight and advisory role of civil society in the continent’s affairs and future? Does the bank believe in the spirit of accountability and participatory governance?
A similar dynamic is playing out in Europe. Huge amounts of EU funding have recently become available through the EU budget, the NextGenerationEU recovery package and the REPowerEU investment programs. However, as the Citizens’ Observatory for Green Deal Financing details, by excluding citizens from this transformative process, the Union risks compromising collective efforts toward a green transformation.
Switching continents again, in Colombia, community consultation is also lacking. Wind farms are set to generate electricity to bring to other parts of the country, but transmission must pass through the territory of hundreds of ethnic communities. The lack of state presence, the indifference of authorities and disputes over who makes decisions exacerbate tensions. (Article in Spanish)
LEAKS AGAINST THE DARK NIGHT
Remember the Pandora Papers? Their ripple effects continue to be felt - in this case to an investigation and new book exposing the dark world of smuggled antiquities.
The Rotenberg Files, an investigative series based on a new leak of over 50,000 emails and documents shows how Russian oligarchs Boris and Arkady Rotenberg hid their assets and those of Vladimir Putin.
With the Wagner group so in the news given events in Russia and Ukraine, The Sentry offers a timely exposé in their latest report, "Architects of Terror: The Wagner Group's Blueprint for State Capture in the Central African Republic"
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
OPPORTUNITIES
Debt focused Program Officer role, Development Policy & Finance - Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Consultant on beneficial ownership transparency in Canadian government processes- TI Canada
Mining Advocacy Coordinator, -Transparency International’s Accountable Mining Programme.
Local Media for Democracy offers grants in Europe. Deadline September 28, 2023
Nominations for the WINGS 2023 board are open. Deadline August 4, 2023
World Bank and IMF Civil Society Policy Forum Call for Proposals for the next Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Deadline July 31, 2023.
CALENDAR
Launch of “Misplaced Trust: why development banks should not rely on their clients to address reprisal risks”- July 5, 2023
Lifting the Southern Voice with Hispanics in Philanthropy - July 27, 11AM PT / 2PM ET
2023 SDG Summit, 18-19 September, 2023 in New York.
2023 global Investigative Journalism Conference- 19-22 September, 2023, Gothenburg, Sweden
WINGS Forum 2023, October 3-5, 2023, Nairobi
EDGE Funders Annual Conference “Funding Boldly: Systemic Change and Alternatives,” 18-20 October 2023
Festival de Datos, 7–9 November, 2023 | Punta del Este, Uruguay
2023 #ShiftThePower Summit, Bogota, Colombia, December 2023
SEE PREVIOUS WEEKLIES HERE