TALearn is a community of practice involving donors, academics, and actors from international and local civil society organizations, all working on different aspects of promoting transparency and accountability.
Back in September, T/AI organized a roundtable in Delhi with members of the TALEARN and COPASAH communities of practice and activists from several notable Indian social movements, such as Right to Food, Right to Information, Right to Health, Dalit rights, etc. Over the two days of the ‘Mobilizing Accountability’ meeting, we reflected on the experiences…
Learning is no silver bullet, and not all learning is created equal, but it is vital if efforts to promote more open and accountable governance are to be more effective.
How do citizens ensure that their governments are more accountable to them? This question is at the center of many pro-accountability efforts across diverse contexts. External actors have invested significant resources in supporting citizen and civil society-led accountability approaches, often under the labels of ‘civil society advocacy’ and ‘social accountability’, with mixed results (see here…
Last week T/AI hosted a short virtual case clinic featuring the Transparency and Accountability Program from Soros Foundation Kazakhstan. We had a really interesting conversation about the evolution of their work on transparency and accountability, and their strategy in this area. Albert van Zyl (IBP) and I wrote a brief summary of this discussion and…
The Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) recently published a series of notes looking back on its two rounds of calls for proposals and the over 600 applications it received by civil society organizations proposing social accountability interventions. The notes seek to provide insights into how the GPSA applications demonstrate elements of ‘strategic’ social accountability,…
It’s hard to believe, but already 3 months have passed since the TALEARN annual workshop in Jakarta. Yet the key questions, challenges, and ideas that were raised by participants in that meeting still reverberate in my mind, and shape my thinking. Many of those issues are reflected in my recent Think Piece on Thinking and…
I recently put together a short piece drawing on the evolving notion of ‘thinking politically’ and applying in in the context of transparency and accountability work. What does ‘politically informed’ practice do differently? I suggest that it involves strategy, thinking about change, and adaptive learning. Read more here.
Last night I watched the Oscar-nominated documentary “The Square” chronicling 3 tumultuous years of citizen mobilization in Egypt, centering around the now-famous Tahrir square. The movie vividly depicted the struggles and sacrifices made by thousands of ordinary citizens as they toppled a long-standing dictator, an unaccountable military government, and a narrowly elected president from an…
Last week, the Transparency and Accountability Initiative (T/AI) hosted the second TALEARN Annual Workshop in Jakarta, Indonesia. The event was a space where donors, researchers and practitioners working on transparency and accountability (T/A) issues could gather to discuss key questions and challenges in the field. In addition, the workshop served as an invitation for participants to…
So today we hosted the first day of the TALEARN annual workshop. TALEARN is a community of practice comprised of individuals from diverse organizations (including donors, researchers, INGOs and CSOs) from across the globe who are working to promote transparency and accountability (T/A). TALEARN seeks to provide support and opportunities for collaboration to drive forward…
Tools and musings from an evaluation enthusiast
Professor of Politics and Public Policy, University of Stirling
Musings on the politics of governance and development
Activists and Scholars Debate Social Movements and Social Change
critical reflections on how we measure and assess civic tech
Forum for thinking and action in international development
Musings on the politics of governance and development
Musings on the politics of governance and development
Musings on the politics of governance and development
Musings on the politics of governance and development
Musings on the politics of governance and development
Musings on the politics of governance and development
Musings on the politics of governance and development
Musings on the politics of governance and development
Musings on the politics of governance and development
Ruminations on systemic economic and social change
Worthy of respect in a democratic society
Musings on the politics of governance and development
Politics, Governance and Development 