Why Accountability Lab is Moving to a Co-Leadership Model

Written by Blair Glencorse I am more and more convinced every day that the traditional, single Executive Director structure in the non-profit sector is a relic of the past. The future of organizational leadership is collective. For an organization like Accountability Lab - that is growing rapidly, adapting constantly and in which our values serve as the basis for our decision-making - it now seems essential. That is why we have recently moved to a three-person co-leadership model, through which I now lead the organization with my colleagues Cheri and Jean (read more about their thoughts on this transition here [...]

2025-01-28T08:27:23+00:0012th June 2023|

Gov-Her-nance: Five ways to foster collaboration between local governments and communities

By Soni Khanal and Sanjeeta Pant Nepal is a largely patriarchal society with a hierarchical caste system. But fixing old problems and creating equitable government structures does not have to be an uphill battle. Initiatives such as Gov-HER-nance, a pioneering campaign initiated by Accountability Lab Nepal (ALN) in collaboration with female local government representatives in Nepal’s Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city, brings in new voices and finds solutions to issues of gender equity, local development, and open government. Contrary to what citizens commonly believe, we have found that government representatives can be eager to collaborate with community members to drive change, and to [...]

2021-05-18T10:46:47+00:0018th May 2021|

Getting students debating solutions to gender-based violence

By Samina Anwary It’s not often we get to explore “out there” solutions to entrenched socio-cultural problems to the extent that it becomes a formal debate with well researched arguments and rebuttals. But this is exactly what happens when young people are given the platform to find creative solutions to seemingly intractable challenges. "The government is required to provide protection and safety under our constitutional framework. Therefore, they are complicit in perpetuating GBV. This is why a class action law-suit is needed." This was the strong statement made by Rhodes University debater Khanyisa Mqotyana during a debate on whether the [...]

2020-10-22T19:12:40+00:0022nd October 2020|

“We Have the Power” to Reform Our Electoral Laws

“We can all say there is a need to have more women in the electoral process; we want to have more women in leadership; we think women can do better,” said iCampus Manager Luther Jeke. But the question is, how do you get more people to hear what you say? That’s where Rap2Rep, a music competition run in partnership with Accountability Lab and iLab Liberia, comes in. Rap2Rep is a one of a kind competition that provides a platform for performers “to shape the future of the country through song.” It began on a small scale in 2016, and has [...]

2019-09-25T00:00:00+00:0025th September 2019|

The Struggle for Gender Accountability in Pakistan

Naeema Butt is a social entrepreneur from Pakistan, who has been working for the past 11 years to improve gender equity in Pakistan. In particular, her work in the arts is trying to portray how difficult it can be for women to break into certain industries in the country. Naeema’s journey began when she faced harassment and discrimination in her personal and professional life as a young woman from a conservative family, and also as a female soccer player. It was an uphill battle of finding herself and pursuing her dreams. These painful experiences are what fuelled her struggle and [...]

2025-03-24T08:01:18+00:009th August 2019|

Remaining Accountable

By Ashmita Sharma, Stephanie Bandyk, and Soni Khanal, Accountability Lab Nepal In 2015, historic twin earthquakes struck Nepal and affected 14 districts with more than 8,790 casualties and 22,300 injuries. The Accountability Lab responded to an apparent gap between government bodies, civil society, and citizens by facilitating feedback loops that cycled information among community stakeholders through its mobile Citizen Helpdesks Platform. The model of mobile Citizen Helpdesks provides a framework to listen, collect, and interpret the concerns of communities, question, and validate these concerns with relevant stakeholders, and then disseminate the information back to the community. Over time, our community agents known as Community Frontline Associates [...]

2018-07-16T00:00:00+00:0016th July 2018|

How we’re working to advance gender equity at the Accountability Lab

A little over a year ago,  as we were developing our latest strategic plan, our team identified a  significant gap in our strategy and operations vis-a-vis gender equity and justice. Gender equity is not a new concept within the field of accountability, transparency and governance. There have been a number of studies (here and here for example) that look at the way policymakers and NGOs think about the impact of corruption on women and the role of women in promoting ethical leadership and transparent government. At the Accountability Lab, we noticed a gap in both our operations as well as [...]

2018-05-17T00:00:00+00:0017th May 2018|
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