TAI Weekly

TAI Weekly|The Decade of Fiscal Transformation

By TAI (Role at TAI)
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TAI Weekly

WHAT'S NEW? 

Publish What You Fund highlight the challenge of tracking donor funding to local organizations. Despite global commitments to increase funding for local initiatives, most leading bilateral donors have failed to match their pledges with transparent tracking and reporting. We face a situation of commitments without accountability.

Access to land data is essential for effective governance. The newly launched SOLIndex assesses the completeness and openness of public sector land data at the country level, offering a tool to evaluate the transparency of land information systems globally.

Reflecting on over three decades of activism for public accountability in India, Nikhil Dey, Sowmya Kidambi, and Suchi Pande explore the impact of bottom-up accountability campaigns. They show how these initiatives have democratized and institutionalized participatory monitoring, making public audits more inclusive and effective.

Research by Daron Acemoglu and colleagues explores how providing accurate information to voters in Türkiye addressed misperceptions about democracy and led to increased demand for democratic reforms.

Spaces for Change examines the risks posed by dual-use surveillance technologies in Nigeria. The report highlights the lack of safeguards and the potential misuse of these technologies, raising concerns about privacy and accountability in both military and civilian contexts.

This discussion paper by the UNCAC Coalition’s Working Group on Environmental Crime and Corruption lays the foundation for discussions on the intersection of corruption, environmental crime, and climate degradation, highlighting the need for integrated approaches.

The Land Portal Foundation explores the intersection of climate change mitigation and land tenure in Africa. It examines case studies from East and West Africa, emphasizing the importance of inclusive, people-centered land governance in managing the challenges posed by carbon offset projects.

ICYMI, David Barnard recently spotlighted the great work of 24 Africa-based NGOs tackling corruption in innovative and impactful ways.

The Institute for Human Rights and Business outlines the top ten business and human rights issues to watch for in 2025.

In a new partnership, Meta and the World Resources Institute are working to build a high-resolution map of global forest cover. This open-source AI model aims to support restoration and conservation efforts in areas previously difficult to map.

Bright Simons reflects on the Ghanaian government's demand to recover “looted” assets. He proposes empowering civil society organizations to play a more dynamic role in policy execution and governance, suggesting that they could help expose and counteract corruption more effectively.

The latest trends and stories from the 2024 Ibrahim Index of African Governance offer insights into the state of governance in Africa, with a particular focus on the context of elections in the region.

A study by Jonah Rexer reveals how indigenization in Nigeria's oil sector has led to reduced oil theft, with political connections aligning with law enforcement incentives. This local advantage has helped increase oil output despite corruption challenges.

ESSENTIAL READING

Looking to enhance your investigative skills? Journalism Through RTI: Information, Investigation, Impact by Shyamlal Yadav is an essential guide for using right-to-information laws effectively. The book includes a global history of transparency laws and inspiring stories of their impact on journalism.

FROM OUR MEMBERS 

MACARTHUR FOUNDATION: The Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education is helping Abuja's Original Inhabitants secure government representation after decades of displacement and marginalization. This work is part of the MacArthur Foundation’s On Nigeria Program, which promotes social justice and accountability in Nigeria.

HEWLETT FOUNDATION: In the latest installment of the reforming international development series, Andrew Milner talks with Tendisai Chigwedere of the Hewlett Foundation to discuss the challenges and future direction of international development.

FORD FOUNDATION: Hilary Pennington and Kathy Reich reflect on their careers in philanthropy and their time at the Ford Foundation, with Hilary's impactful tenure concluding at the end of 2024.

ESSENTIAL READING

If you need fresh perspectives on collective thriving, Jessica Horn’s African Feminist Praxis: Cartographies of Liberatory Worldmaking offers decades of insight into African feminist organizing. Explore the principles of kinship, courage, pleasure, care, and memory to reimagine a liberatory world.

TOOLS AND TRENDS FOR FUNDERS 

Sohini Bhattacharya & Crystal Echo Hawk explore the power of storytelling in driving engagement, education, and systems transformation. They highlight how dominant narratives shape our world and emphasize the need for a shift in who controls and disseminates them.

Alexander Beiner offers a critique of unaccountability, calling for a fresh approach to civil resistance. He explores technofeudalism, accountability porn, and new tactics that are reshaping the counterculture's fight for systemic change.

Jeroo Billimoria advocates for a shift toward collaborative development in 2025. This shift includes rethinking resource allocation and fostering a collaborative ecosystem to tackle global challenges more effectively.

During the "Future Design for Governance in the Global South" training, through a collaborative training process, participants co-created seven speculative narratives that reflect the aspirations of the Global South. These stories promote inclusive governance by connecting short-term actions to long-term, sustainable futures.

 FOCUSED TOPIC OF THE WEEK:

The Urgent Call for Fiscal Reform: Shaping Development Finance for the Next Decade

2025 will be a big year for development finance, with the once in a decade International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) set to be the focal point (read our brief on why it matters.) The decisions made at FfD4 will fundamentally shape countries' capacities to invest in development and respond to climate challenges for years to come, but the challenge run deep. As Alexandra Readhead argues, we need to fundamentally rethink how we integrate financing for development, climate action, and nature conservation.

FfD will consider the intersections of all forms of finance – notably taxes, debt, aid. Creative approaches will be needed, and Kalpana Kochhar sees 2025 as a potential turning point for the Global South. 

Keeping publics on board with reforms will be critical. On that front, a comprehensive study from the International Federation of Accountants, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the OECD makes for interesting reading. Having surveyed 26 countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, the study sheds light on the state of the fiscal contract and attitudes toward tax competition, offering insights for improving tax morale and trust in public financial systems.

Reform will also be needed at global level and Sol Piccioto restates the case for unitary taxation of multinational enterprises, which would ensure fair taxation of global profits and strengthen the century-old principle of single taxation.

Given the importance of the moment, TAI’s Fund Fiscal project seeks to expand philanthropic engagement in fiscal issues. As Savior Mwambwa of Open Society Foundations and Michael Jarvis of TAI have long noted, philanthropy has long maintained a blind spot regarding tax policy – a critical oversight given that fiscal policy underpins progress across sectors from climate and education to health and poverty reduction. We need to address this fiscal blind spot head-on and scale up support for more sustainable public finance. Stay tuned for our Fiscal Space resource that will make the case in more detail.

ESSENTIAL LISTENING 

Listen to Where To Be A Woman to hear from Mónica Tapia, founder of Aúna in Mexico, and Barbara Brookes, a historian from New Zealand. They share insights on women and politics during a landmark year for global elections.

JOBS

CALLS

  • WJP released EUROVOICES, a survey of 72,000+ people across EU Member States on their perceptions and experiences with rule of law at the subnational level.

  • The On Think Tanks' School for Thinktankers is a one-week programme for leaders, professionals, and funders to build impactful organisations. Join expert-led sessions, tours, and a global network. Apply by 17 January!

  • The Sidney Hillman Foundation is accepting entries for its Hillman Prizes, which recognize investigative journalism and commentary that advance the common good globally. Deadline January 31st.

  • Media grants for coverage of environmental crimes in the Amazon. Deadline 6 February 2025.

  • In 2025, the Rockefeller Foundation will open applications for its Big Bets Climate Fellowship, available in the Asia Pacific Region and the United States.

  • The Amazonia+ call seeks a managing organization for local forest governance projects led by women and youth in the Amazon. Grants up to 400,000 Euros for 10 projects. Deadline 19 March 2025

  •  USAID Global Accountability Program. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until 31 March 2025

  • Working on the political economy of aid and development? Join PEADS2025, April 23-24, 2025 in Pitlochry, Scotland. 

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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