AII Round 9 launched
After months of research, we are pleased to present the ninth edition of the Africa Integrity Indicators (AII) designed in easy visualizations for you to explore. Focusing on governance, the newest data covers 54 in-practice indicators evaluating the period from September 2019 till September 2020, part of a larger dataset of 114 indicators. The indicators provide entry points for journalists, CSOs, and governments to understand priorities and where best to effect change, and also feed into the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WWGI), and through the WWGI into the Millenium Challenge Corporation’s decision-making about country impacts.
This data is provisional and we are asking CSOs, government officials, and non-profit activists to tell us what we are missing by email (aii@globalintegrity.org) or by filling out this form before May 31st to help us improve before we publish the data in June. Data is only useful if people can use it, so please tell us how you are using it – and what we can do to make it more valuable. All your comments will help us make our research stronger and better aligned with your needs to address practical challenges.
What is hindering progress in the use of data for accountability in Nigeria?
As part of our joint work with the Transparency and Accountability Initiative around the use of data for accountability and anti-corruption in Nigeria we are providing insights that could inform future efforts to address challenging system dynamics such as shifting incentives for data publication and navigating informal practices. Some of our findings include: incentives for data production are mixed and do not take into account informal practices and relationships; civil society has gained capacity and diversified their approaches; and there is a risk of replicating the dynamics that have created mixed progress at the subnational level. We provide our recommendations for local and global stakeholders to address these challenges in this report.
Tailoring our work – CTAP Database
We have updated our COVID-19 fiscal governance and anti-corruption database – which now is 800+ resources strong – to be more useful to our partners in the COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability Project (CTAP). We are tailoring our work to include even more resources and cases specific to African countries to inspire reformers who are building local coalitions and testing different communication approaches to demand improved transparency and accountability around the use of COVID-19 funds. Our seven country partners finished their launches in the last few weeks and we look forward to revealing our full new website this month.
Updates
GI-ACE
GI-ACE held a conversation on COVID, small-scale trade & border corruption in East Africa as a Knowledge Partner for OECD, sharing voices of women who trade on the Kenyan-Ugandan border. ACE also held a programme event with sister programme SOAS on What’s in a Design? Mainstreaming Gender in Anti-Corruption research, featuring work from researchers Claudia Baez Camargo, Jacqueline Klopp, Pallavi Roy, and Sohela Nazneen from the Institute of Development Studies.
Catch up with research updates from this month: John Heathershaw’s team shared revealing insights from their recent private event on whether the United Kingdom’s failure to enforce AML legislation has enabled financial institutions to be influenced by kleptocrats and illicit foreign funds. Jan Meyer Sahling’s project warns against the blanket implementation of civil servant reform and managerial practices in OECD and developing countries due to the differential impact these reforms have on corruption.
Open Gov Hub Move
We have officially moved into our new space! Now the Open Gov Hub is located at 1100 13th Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20005. As our community continues to grow, we are happy to welcome back the Open Contracting Partnership this April. We are currently open for members only. If you’re looking for a flexible office and meaningful connections, there is still time to join — here’s how.
ICRN Partnership
Global Integrity is proud to be partnering with Interdisciplinary Corruption Research Network on their annual forum this June. We look forward to an insightful, innovative conference and won’t let virtual limits stop it from being a memorable experience to drive multi-disciplinary research to better understand and fight corruption.
Save the Date! In collaboration with Open Data Charter, Open Data for Development Network, African Open Data Network, and Iniciativa Latinoamericana de Datos Abiertos we are launching a tool to support the co-creation of effective OGP commitments focused on the use of data to fight corruption. Developed and tested in collaboration with national and local reformers in Africa and Latin America, learn more about this tool on April 28th at 8 am EDT. Follow our social media for updates in the coming week.
Con Open Data Charter, African Open Data Network, Iniciativa Latinoamericana de Datos Abiertos y Open Data for Development Network, estamos lanzando una herramienta para apoyar la creación conjunta de compromisos efectivos de OGP enfocados en el uso de datos para combatir la corrupción.Esta herramienta ha sido desarrollada y probada en colaboración con reformadores nacionales y locales en África y América Latina, obtenga más información sobre esta herramienta el 28 de abril a las 12 am EDT en nuestra presentación en vivo.
Noted
Your next book: The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi, a 2021 International Booker Prize Longlisted novel about the founding of the Gĩkũyũ people of Kenya. Author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o says “The epic came to me one night as a revelation of ideals of quest, courage, perseverance, unity, family; and the sense of the divine, in human struggles with nature and nurture.”
ICYMI: The Data for Better Lives – World Development Report 2021 was released last month, the first report to come from the World Bank focusing solely on the role of data for development. It calls for a new social contract that enables the use and reuse of data to create economic and social value.
Call To Action: The Open Government Partnership has launched a campaign to move beyond open and effective response, and towards thinking about how to leverage open governance in efforts to rebuild and create the conditions for inclusive development.