“Building a new muscle in democracy” with SpeakUp Nepal’s Prince Shah Chaudhary

Within days, protests in Nepal reshaped the country’s politics. A government social media ban was the spark, but years of frustration with systemic corruption drove thousands into the streets. People were killed, many more injured, curfews were imposed, leaders resigned, parliament was dissolved, and Nepal appointed its first female interim Prime Minister. Elections are now planned for March 2026, with a reformist cabinet promising change. This interview was conducted with our Civic Charge fellow, Prince Shah Chaudhary, CEO of SpeakUp Nepal, about his vision for youth-driven accountability. The events in Nepal over the past few days have been seismic. What [...]

2025-09-17T12:04:05+00:0015th September 2025|

Donors must hold the line on anti-corruption: Perspectives from a former USAID senior advisor

As the US Agency for International Development's (USAID) Senior Anti-Corruption Advisor – and later Deputy of its Anti-Corruption Task Force – Accountability Lab Non-Resident Senior Fellow Jennifer Anderson Lewis had the privilege of helped shape and witnessed firsthand what happens when a major donor makes anti-corruption a strategic priority. It began with a frank admission: like all donors, USAID was not truly prepared to meet the scale and complexity of modern corruption—a transnational, systemic threat undermining development outcomes, democratic institutions, and global stability. As a bilateral Agency primarily structured to work at the country level, we had limited tools to [...]

2025-09-12T13:18:27+00:0012th September 2025|

The Invisible Weaver’s Wisdom: Re-Stitching Philanthropy’s Approach for Enduring Resilience

All over the world, the civic infrastructure hasn’t collapsed completely. It’s being re-stitched together, not only by organizations and movements scrambling to adapt, but by people who have relational capital and are already adapting. Accountability Lab Senior Fellow Florencia Guerzovich calls them invisible weavers. Invisible weavers aren’t a new category on your grantee list. They’re the ones making your existing investments work better — and go further. They’re the ones connecting the dots when formal systems falter and when frameworks show cracks. They move between sectors, roles and vocabularies: donor to NGO, movement to ministry, global north to rural community. [...]

2025-09-12T12:55:17+00:0012th September 2025|

How co-leadership helps us navigate a sector-wide crisis

Accountability Lab's co-CEO Chief Innovation and Operations Officer, Jean Scrimgeour shared her first-learnings about how co-leadership helps position nonprofit organizations to better navigate today’s sector-wide challenges. In January, executive orders to freeze all U.S. international development aid upended an already resource-strapped sector. Overnight, organizations that had spent decades building programs and partnerships found themselves facing existential questions and extremely difficult leadership challenges. At Accountability Lab, we found our co-leadership model gave us an unexpected advantage. Eighteen months earlier, when Blair Glencorse, Cheri-Leigh Erasmus, and I decided to transition from a traditional CEO structure to shared leadership, we couldn’t have predicted how profoundly [...]

2025-09-12T08:56:57+00:0012th September 2025|

Tackling Illicit Finance: AL shaping the agenda at Wilton Park

Our co-CEO Blair Glencorse was invited by the UK Government to contribute to the Wilton Park discussions, helping to shape the agenda for the upcoming Foreign Secretary's Countering Illicit Finance Summit. Over two days, he worked alongside leading experts in anti-corruption and finance, as well as key UK decision-makers, to address one of the most pervasive threats to the global political system. The challenge is immense. Despite decades of anti-money laundering reforms, less than 1% of criminal proceeds laundered through the financial system are seized. The human impact is devastating, with illicit financial flows draining over $90 billion annually from [...]

2025-09-17T09:54:08+00:0012th September 2025|

Rethinking climate action at the community level

Climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is felt, visible and personal in many ways. From unpredictable rainfall patterns leading to flash floods destroying lives and livelihoods, to infrastructure damage and unbearable heat, climate change is reshaping our lives in ways that make it difficult to ignore. Nepal’s September 2024 flash flood on the Roshi river left a lasting impact. The Government of Nepal reported at least 224 deaths, 158 injuries, 28 missing persons. Around 13,300 people required rescue, while at least 1,200 houses were destroyed or damaged. These victims lost not only life and property this time [...]

2025-08-07T10:06:44+00:007th August 2025|

Job opportunity for Junior Communications Specialist

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa (Hybrid/Remote flexibility) Contract Type: Full-time Start Date: As soon as possible Accountability Lab is a global nonprofit that supports change-makers to build accountable, transparent institutions and a more equitable world. With teams across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, we empower citizens to engage in governance and support leaders who act with integrity. We are a dynamic, fast-paced organization driven by values, creativity, and a passion for positive change. Learn more at www.accountabilitylab.org. About the Role We are looking for a Junior Communications Specialist with a particular interest in social media and website maintenance to join our [...]

2025-08-05T09:03:49+00:0029th July 2025|

Communications Consultant Opportunity

Civic Strength Partners (CSP) is a partnership-matching service and professional support infrastructure aimed at assisting organizations navigating transitions. From partnerships to mergers and legacy planning, we help demystify the processes and guide organizations as they prepare for the next steps. CSP is a partnership among three organizations: Accountability Lab, Development Gateway: An IREX Venture, and Digital Public. Together, we help social change organizations plan strategically for succession, mergers, partnerships, and protection of assets. Our goal is to preserve the lessons, tools, and relationships that sustain the mission and impact of development organizations globally. The Elevator Pitch The Communications Consultant will [...]

2025-08-05T09:05:52+00:0029th July 2025|

Introducing Civic Strength Partners

It feels both embarrassingly obvious and profoundly necessary to start by acknowledging what a year it’s been – not just for international development or civil society or the social sector writ large, but for the people whose collective hopes, work, and sacrifice have found ways to do good in the world. Each of us were, long before we were professionals, people who cared about contributing to something bigger than ourselves, and the last six months have brutally (and often, illegally) threatened to undo so much of what we’ve achieved, learned, and built.  The work we do now to build a [...]

2025-07-22T17:15:16+00:0022nd July 2025|

The World Justice Forum 2025: Why the rule of law is ours to protect

As the World Justice Forum 2025 drew to a close in Warsaw, Poland, Blair Glencorse, Co-CEO of Accountability Lab, delivered the Forum’s final plenary remarks. The Forum, hosted by the World Justice Project, convened a global network of justice advocates, civil society leaders, policymakers, and reformers to reflect on how civic space, institutional integrity, and citizen participation can be protected at a time when democratic backsliding is accelerating around the world. Speaking on behalf of the Lab’s translocal network and partners, Glencorse reflected on what made this year’s gathering so urgent, and shared how the Lab is putting the newly [...]

2025-07-01T08:33:36+00:001st July 2025|
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