Yuguelito y el Presupuesto Participativo: Cuando las reglas no están a la vista

¿Te imaginas tener una idea para mejorar tu colonia y que exista dinero público destinado para hacerla realidad?. En la comunidad del Yuguelito no solo lo imaginaron, lo están haciendo. Tras un mapeo y priorización colectiva de necesidades junto a Accountability Lab, nació un proyecto: Todos juntos por un Yuguelito seguro. Se trataba de un Sendero Seguro que combinaba pavimentación, luminarias, cámaras de vigilancia y alarmas vecinales. Este proyecto fue una propuesta muy completa y con un respaldo comunitario innegable. En la exploración de vías para hacerlo realidad, nos encontramos con el Presupuesto Participativo como una posibilidad para lograrlo. Este [...]

2026-04-23T15:37:40+00:0023rd April 2026|

Yuguelito and participatory budgeting: When the rules are kept out of sight

Can you imagine having an idea to improve your neighborhood and having public funds available to make it happen? In the Yuguelito community, they didn't just imagine it; they pursued it. After a collective mapping and needs prioritization process facilitated by Accountability Lab, a project was born: Todos juntos por un Yuguelito seguro. It was a Sendero Seguro combining paving, streetlights, security cameras, and neighborhood alarms. This project was a thorough proposal with undeniable community support. While exploring ways to bring it to life, we came across Participatory Budgeting as a potential avenue. This mechanism is meant to give everyone [...]

2026-04-23T15:37:16+00:0023rd April 2026|

Who governs the watchers? Nigeria’s independence problem is structural, not constitutional

This commentary piece, originally published by Sahara Reporters, features insights from Odeh Friday, Country Director of Accountability Lab Nigeria, on the deeper challenges affecting institutional independence in Nigeria. The article argues that questions of accountability are not only constitutional, but also structural, requiring attention to how oversight institutions are designed, resourced, and protected in practice. Drawing on Nigeria’s current context, the piece explores the gap that can emerge between formal mandates and real operational autonomy. It highlights how institutions established to provide oversight may be constrained by political pressure, limited capacity, patronage systems, and inconsistent enforcement, even where constitutional protections [...]

2026-04-22T15:59:02+00:0022nd April 2026|

Lo que la comunidad pidió, y lo que el sistema (no) respondió

[Lee la primera parte de esta historia: Yuguelito: Vivienda, Autogestión y Rendición de Cuentas] La primera parte de esta historia terminó con una promesa implícita: más de 250 encuestas completadas, un equipo de once Agentes Comunitarios de Campo, con el Yuguelito en el centro de todo, y la certeza de que lo que vendría después tendría que estar a la altura de lo que la comunidad se había tomado el tiempo de decir. Este es el relato de lo que pasó después. Lo que la comunidad dijo 255 voces. Una respuesta al proceso de recolección de datos que representa más [...]

2026-04-16T21:42:03+00:0016th April 2026|

What a community asked for, what the system rejected – and everything in between

[Read the first part of this story: Yuguelito: Housing, Self-Governance & Accountability] The first part of this story ended with an implicit promise: over 250 completed surveys, a team of eleven Community Frontline Agents with Yuguelito at the center, and the certainty that what came next would have to live up to what the community had taken the time to say. This is the story of what happened after. What the community said A total of 255 voices were captured—representing over 12% of the settlement’s population, or, put another way, roughly half of the ~500 families who call Yuguelito home. [...]

2026-04-16T10:59:42+00:0016th April 2026|

From curiosity to facility: how responsive action built an institution

When ~$50 billion was wiped from global development ledgers last year, the existing gap between powerholders and doers yawned open. People, organizations, institutional memory, and hard-fought civic gains were at risk of falling into the maw. It was also proving difficult to find up-to-date information in what became a fast-changing situation. Stronger together: #SharedStrengthCollective Accountability Lab responded with #SharedStrengthCollective – an initiative first launched by Accountability Lab Nepal, which opened its doors to CSOs and NGOs in Kathmandu to  jointly navigate challenges as a result of US government aid cuts. In Washington DC, #SharedStrengthCollective meant gathering partners and friends for [...]

2026-04-16T08:57:44+00:008th April 2026|

Network as institution: Why ending projects well is crucial to sustaining democracy, rights and governance work

When funding shrinks, and the civic space it had pushed open strains and threatens to snap shut, it is the lattice of enduring networks that keeps it propped open.  Longer term democracy, rights and governance funding is a rare thing. Five-year long, uninterrupted funding is rarer still. The long duration of the funding creates the space to design programs with intention and even allows for experimentation, failure and redirection from lessons learned. It provides the time to build the deep, trust-based relationships required for real behavioral and systems change.  Originally funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), [...]

2026-04-16T08:58:48+00:0030th March 2026|

What Accountability Lab’s Co-CEO model teaches us about shared leadership

As organizations confront increasing complexity and global collaboration, leadership models are evolving. At Accountability Lab, our three Co-CEOs reflect on what it takes to build a shared leadership structure. Leadership in a changing sector Leadership in the world of civil society is changing. Today’s leaders face increasing funding uncertainty, political polarization, growing operational demands, and increasingly global teams – while working hard to remain closely connected to the communities they serve. As teams become more global, partnerships grow more complex, and expectations around accountability and transparency continue to rise,  social impact sector organizations are questioning whether traditional leadership structures still [...]

2026-04-22T15:25:04+00:0026th March 2026|

When elections test democracy: Youth, digital space, and accountability across Africa

Elections across Africa are moments of both democratic possibility and democratic pressure. In a recent webinar ahead of the Global Democracy Coalition Africa Regional Forum 2026, civic leaders explored how young people are responding to these tensions – mobilizing communities, confronting digital repression, and defending democratic accountability across the continent. Elections at a critical democratic moment Across Africa, elections remain a cornerstone of democratic governance. There are moments when citizens exercise political rights, shape leadership, and hold institutions accountable. Yet they are also moments when democratic systems face heightened pressure. During electoral periods, civic space can narrow, political tensions intensify, [...]

2026-03-16T15:17:25+00:0016th March 2026|

Interview with Josh Lerner, Co-Executive Director, People Powered

In my consultations on global democracy over the past year, people repeatedly pointed to mistrust in institutions, a disconnect between elites and citizens, and the sense that democracy doesn’t deliver as key drivers of democratic erosion. Participation is often presented as the magic bullet on the assumption that more participation naturally builds trust. To dig into when participation actually builds trust and when it fails to do so, I sat down with Josh Lerner, co-director of People Powered, who is the natural person to ask about participatory democracy. How do you define participation? There are lots of definitions, and they [...]

2026-03-16T15:16:59+00:0012th March 2026|
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