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Design thinking in the public service – can innovation fix the police services in Pakistan?

Design thinking is a flexible methodology but provides a set of tools based on a mindset. The mindset is geared towards creativity and problem-solving. How problem-solving can be used in organizational thinking is a challenge for leaders. Umar Riaz, Director of the National Police Academy in Islamabad, takes a closer look.   While leaders in the corporate world have long embraced this concept to remain competitive and ahead of the curve, public sector adoption was long overdue. The private sector has been instrumental in using design thinking for its survival and having an edge over its competitors. But the public [...]

2022-12-07T14:36:05+00:008th September 2022|

Rebuilding Accountability Chains in Zimbabwe

By Alois Nyamazana Broken accountability chains lie at the heart of Zimbabwe’s governance problems. Lack of accountability in Zimbabwe has led to the squandering of precious public resources, and a collapse in the systems that are meant to fulfill citizens’ social and economic rights such as access to clean water, health, education, and adequate food. Citizens, particularly the vulnerable, bear the burden of failed accountability mechanisms, in the face of a deteriorating economy. Compounding this burden is corruption with recent events such as the COVID-gate scandal, in which government officials abused COVID-19 resources by flouting procurement and procedural regulations. A [...]

2022-09-05T09:37:34+00:005th September 2022|

10 years on – Accountability Lab takes stock

During the second quarter of 2022, Accountability Lab engaged The Better Org to conduct an organizational assessment of our work over the past ten years since we launched in Nepal in 2012. The objective was to assess the Lab’s strategic positioning within the accountability field and interrogate the impact of our programming in the 11 targeted countries to which we have since expanded.  This report noted that Accountability Lab is viewed in a very positive light by staff, board, partners, funders, and programme participants. This is particularly in relation to our strategic approach to programme design and delivery, as well [...]

2022-09-02T18:22:05+00:002nd September 2022|

Making the police in Pakistan citizen-centric 

Written by Umar Riaz, Director of the National Police Academy, Islamabad    Whether we're talking about democracies or dictatorships, there isn't a government department with more bearing on the public than the police. In Pakistan, however, no other department (barring a few exceptions) is considered more disconnected from the public than the police. The police department is also a unique public service for having dual roles. It has to ensure the safety of citizens while curbing the liberty of those considered a threat to public safety. They have therefore been given vast powers under national laws. They can search, seize [...]

2022-12-12T07:59:48+00:0017th August 2022|

HackCorruption announces 5 winning ideas to combat corruption through emerging technologies

WASHINGTON D.C., DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES, August 8, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- HackCorruption, a people-powered hackathon to unearth anti-corruption solutions, is proud to announce the winners from the inaugural event in Johannesburg, South Africa. Accountability Lab (AL) and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) hosted 100 virtual and in-person participants for the innovative Tech4Good event between July 22 and 24. After a competitive judging process, five teams have been named as overall winners with solutions that addressed a lack of transparency in public procurement processes and established creative whistleblowing platforms and open data dashboards. The winning teams include Angaza, TransProcure, [...]

2022-08-23T09:02:25+00:005th August 2022|

Leveraging community feedback for stronger ecosystems

Written by Sanjeeta Pant   This is the third in a series of reflective blogs that will look at how the agile nature of Accountability Lab’s Civic Action Teams campaign has strengthened our ability to work in diverse communities and expanded our networks and resolution channels. Read the first blog here and the second here. From building the capacity of 150 Community Frontline Associates (CFAs) to collecting data from more than 200,000 people across 17 districts, the Civic Action Teams (CivActs) program has expanded in Nepal to close the feedback loop on a range of issues. These include earthquake response, [...]

2022-08-05T08:27:08+00:001st August 2022|

The value of iteration and innovation

Written by Sanjeeta Pant   This is the second in a series of reflective blogs that will look at how the dynamic nature of Accountability Lab’s Civic Action Teams campaign has facilitated a network of local stakeholders to respond to diverse community needs. Read the first blog here.   “The Civic Action Teams model is a result of incorporating different learnings over a number of years. We did not start out with the intention of solving big problems. We did not even make any promises. We simply wanted to listen to what people had to say and to connect them [...]

2022-08-05T08:26:06+00:0029th July 2022|

Using citizen feedback to solve local challenges

Written by Sanjeeta Pant   Maya Lama, a woman from Mangaltar village in Nepal, was one of the survivors of the 2015 earthquake which completely destroyed her house. The government- with donor support- set up a process for citizens to receive funds for reconstruction, but Maya was unable to receive these funds as she was not registered on the list of earthquake victims. Her husband was working abroad, and the property she lost was not in her name. But, thanks to the power of local advocacy and democracy, she joined a town hall meeting at which she spoke directly to [...]

2022-08-05T08:25:23+00:0028th July 2022|

#HackCorruption – improving data protection and protecting civic spaces

Written by Sara Hoenes   On July 5, Accountability Lab and the Center for International and Private Enterprise (CIPE) hosted the second #HackCorruption virtual roundtable event. Accountability Lab South Africa’s Country Director, Sekoetlane Phamodi, was joined by Richard Gevers, founder of Open Cities Lab, Meshack Masibo of Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet), and Edrine Wanyama, human rights lawyer and Legal Officer at the Collaboration of International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA). The panel discussed the importance of open data and data protection in accountable governance as well as specific trends in open data in East and Southern [...]

2022-07-19T15:53:27+00:0019th July 2022|

#HackCorruption – using emerging tech to mitigate corruption risks in public procurement

Written by Sara Hoenes   Accountability Lab and the Center for Private Enterprise kicked off the #HackCorruption roundtable speaker series on June 27, hosting a conversation with Gabriella Razzano, Executive Director of OpenUp, and Dr. Allison Anthony of the African Procurement Law Unit. The discussion covered how Southern African countries can use new and emerging technologies to mitigate corruption risks and increase citizen participation in the public procurement process.  Foreign investment in African infrastructure to meet the Sustainable Development Goals is estimated to be nearly $93 billion a year. Across Africa, it is estimated that nearly half of all government [...]

2022-07-08T06:24:34+00:008th July 2022|
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