Shrinking development funding has revealed the structural weaknesses of a top-down funding framework. It has also created an opportunity to reorganise models around frontline actors for long-term resilience. In her piece, Building Resilience through Transitions: A New Model for Democracy Support, Accountability Lab Co-CEO Jean Scrimgeour encourages more flexible, people-centred approaches that are grounded in political reality rather than idealised assumptions. 📰 Read the latest edition: bit.ly/3Uaj7fY 📮 Subscribe here: bit.ly/4sG6YdM

People affected by disasters know the challenges of recovery firsthand. How can their experiences help shape the decisions that follow? @@accountlabnp has collaborated with Dr Nimesh Dhungana, Senior Lecturer in Disasters and Global Health at @OfficialUoM, alongside communities and activists, to explore this question. Drawing on experiences of Nepal’s 2015 earthquakes, COVID-19 and the 2024 floods, the research helped develop the Just Recovery framework, putting human rights, social justice and community participation at the heart of rebuilding. Through public hearings, community discussions and policy dialogues, people are sharing their concerns and helping shape recovery decisions. Lessons are also being shared across our network in Liberia, Pakistan and South Africa. 👓 Read more: bit.ly/4BnyAKw

How can a funder's exit be responsible and help build a resilient civil society? Our Co-CEO, Cheri-Leigh Erasmus and Eszter Filippinyi of @TAICollab, explore this question in “Leaving with Care: Responsible Funder Exits.” When a funder exits, the consequences can extend beyond the loss of funding. But a funder’s departure does not have to be an unavoidable crisis. The authors highlight practical ways to make exits more responsible: 📌 Give organizations time to plan. 📌 Support a collective approach. 📌 Build a resilient civil society. Read more about some promising practices that can help organizations navigate funding transitions: bit.ly/47n1ooB

What does shifting power look like in practice? Carolyn Dallmann and Lior Ipp join Cheri-Leigh Erasmus on AccountabiliTea to explore innovative approaches to grantmaking. 🎧 Watch, listen or read: bit.ly/4d5BYyU

"When money can buy influence and technology can multiply it, how can we protect elections from these forces?" At the 3rd Electoral Integrity in Africa Summit in Accra, Ghana, participants highlighted the urgent need to equip citizens to assess and question online content, find ways to position young people as co-creators of democratic innovation, and build solidarity to protect citizen election observers’ independence and facilitate transparent and fair accreditation procedures. We’re proud that Accountability Lab East and Southern Africa (ALESA) was among the Summit’s partners and that Habibou Diaou, Executive Director of Accountability Lab Mali, was among the speakers.

Transparency and accountability depend on a civil society that can act independently. @accountlabng is among 31 civil society organizations calling for the withdrawal of Nigeria’s proposed Foreign Aid (Regulation, Transparency and Disclosure) Bill, 2026, which seeks to regulate foreign aid and funding. The coalition warns that requirements to align projects with government priorities, alongside severe penalties for non-compliance, could restrict independent civic action – including work that challenges government decisions and holds public institutions accountable. Its joint statement calls for strengthening existing transparency mechanisms while protecting freedom of association and communities’ ability to organize and support one another. 👓 Read more on Accountability Lab Nigeria’s website: bit.ly/4zgZYYx 📄 View the statement: bit.ly/47F9d95

🎙️ What if shifting power made partnerships stronger? Carolyn Dallmann of @humanityunited makes a point we keep coming back to: funders can create more room for others to lead and remain strategic partners. Hear her explore the possibilities with Lior Ipp of Proximate Futures Fund and host @cherileighe in our AccountabiliTea episode on innovative approaches to grantmaking. 🎧 Watch, listen, or read via the link in our bio.

💭 Should every new initiative become its own organization? Should every organization be built to last indefinitely? In 'Beyond the Heroic NonProfit', Jacob Harold and Archie Kindon explore how mission-driven organizations can rethink their structures as circumstances change – from legal form and independence to what they might share or distribute. 🔎 Read the new report from Civic Strength Partners: bit.ly/4xHgXlF Learn more about CSP: civicstrengthpartners.org/

🎙️ A grant is a starting point. What happens after it’s made? In this AccountabiliTea conversation, Lior Ipp and Carolyn Dallmann explore how funders can work alongside organizations, value the knowledge they bring, and stay engaged with the problems they’re trying to solve. 🎧 Watch, listen, or read: bit.ly/4d5BYyU

Who says civic learning belongs in a meeting room? 🏢 In western Liberia, @accountlablb and local women-led partners took conversations about participation and leadership to the markets where women gather. In Bomi, women described how a lack of information had made it harder to get involved in leadership. The market lectures created space to ask questions, talk about the power of their votes, and consider how they could support one another to lead. This International Day for Universal Access to Information, their story asks us to think beyond whether information is available: who is it reaching, and where are the conversations happening? 🔗 Read the full story by Parnneh T. Mallobe: bit.ly/4yjPIyL

📢 Opportunity alert! Local Works Global is recruiting its first-ever cohort of interns across four areas: → Storytelling and community engagement → Policy and research → Network engagement and community support → Fundraising and business development These remote roles offer interns the opportunity to take ownership of meaningful work, learn alongside an experienced global team, and receive support from a dedicated coordinator and mentor. The internships are open to applicants worldwide, with a flexible commitment of about 5 – 10 hours per week. Please note that the roles are currently unpaid. Local Works Global acknowledges the barriers this can create and encourages those who are interested but unable to take on unpaid work to reach out and stay connected for future paid opportunities. 📅 Applications close on October 5. 🔗 Learn more and apply: localworksglobal.org/interns…

What happens to peace when we can no longer agree on what is real? AI-generated content, manipulated media, and algorithm-driven narratives are changing how conflicts are understood – often allowing fear and outrage to travel faster than verified information. This International Day of Peace, we’re reflecting on why investing in peace must also mean investing in trustworthy information, media literacy, and digital accountability. Read “Battleground Algorithms” by Muhammad Abubakar of @accountlabpk: 🔗 bit.ly/4y6e6DH

🎙️ What changes when the people closest to a problem are trusted to help shape the solution? Our latest #AccountabiliTea episode explores lived experience, decision-making, and new approaches to risk in grantmaking. Listen, watch, or read the transcript: bit.ly/4d5BYyU

Democracy is about more than casting a vote. And participation is about more than being invited to speak. On this International Day of Democracy, we’re reflecting on what it really means for every voice to count – and what needs to happen for those voices to shape decisions. Across our network, teams and communities are putting this into practice: 🇳🇵 In Nepal, young people are examining electoral integrity and the barriers that can prevent people from participating fully – during elections and beyond. Read the story from @accountlabnp: bit.ly/4cHrohE 🇳🇬 In Nigeria, residents spoke up about an unmanaged dumpsite affecting their health and daily lives. Their experiences were documented and shared with the responsible institutions. The site was subsequently cleared and barricaded. Read the story from @accountlabng: bit.ly/46p78he 🇲🇱 In Mali, communities are learning to recognize and resist disinformation by questioning, verifying, and thinking carefully before sharing information. Explore the work of @accountlabmali: bit.ly/4AfBvEm These stories remind us that democracy delivers when people can participate meaningfully, see institutions respond, and access reliable information. #IDD2026

🎙️ Our new AccountabiliTea episode is out, asking what it takes to shift power in philanthropy. Cheri-Leigh Erasmus speaks with Carolyn Dallmann from @HumanityUnited and Lior Ipp from the Proximate Futures Fund about participatory grantmaking, proximate leadership, and rethinking trust, power, and risk in philanthropy. 🔗 Watch, listen, or read the transcript: bit.ly/4d5BYyU

Meet Masha Lisitsyna, our Senior Non-Resident Fellow! With 25+ years in human rights, accountability & democracy, she has worked to protect human rights defenders & marginalized communities, advance accountability & strengthen collaboration. We're excited to have her expertise shaping our work.

🌍 Who truly holds the reins in “country-led” development? In a new piece for @InDepthNews, AL Senior Non-Resident Fellow Soheila Comninos argues that civil society and communities – not governments alone – must help shape development priorities. 🔗 Read the full article: bit.ly/3UvZPS0

Pakistan’s digital transformation is moving fast – but who risks being left behind? Muhammad Abubakar, Program and Communications Manager at @accountlabpk, explores digital trust, online rights, information integrity, and AI – and what they mean for an inclusive digital democracy. Read more: bit.ly/4xDjnml #DigitalDemocracy #DigitalInclusion #ArtificialIntelligence #InformationIntegrity #Pakistan

Meet @Halloran_B, our Senior Non-Resident Fellow! Brendan supports organizations, coalitions and communities of practice to develop participatory, systems-oriented approaches to analysis, strategy, research and learning. His current work explores how locally rooted, participatory approaches can help democratic and accountability ecosystems move from isolated interventions towards collective, sustained change. Read more about his approach here: thepolicypractice.com/govern… We look forward to the perspective, energy, and insight he brings to our work.