Eco-Leaders: Fostering Youth Leadership in Climate Change Mitigation Through Capacity Building and Collective Action

Safdar Hussain came to IDSP 22 years ago with a degree in computer science and a vision to uplift the local communities, looking for support and guidance to realize his vision. Recognizing the potential of Safdar's vision, a symbiotic alliance was forged. It was not merely about providing resources but fostering an ecosystem where ideas could germinate and flourish. The result of this collaboration stands tall today in the shape of the University of Community Development (UCD), sprawled across eight acres, a testament to the boundless possibilities that emerge when vision gets the required support and appreciation. The story of [...]

2024-04-19T16:38:34+00:008th January 2024|

Building Sustainable Cities: The Role of Accountability in Socio-Ecological Systems

Cities are made up of intricate systems with many interconnected elements such as transportation, housing, water, waste, politics, and health. The interaction of these elements can yield transformative outcomes, like establishing health centers fostering job opportunities and educational growth. Conversely, it can also introduce challenges, such as industrial activities adversely impacting the water supply. Despite the seemingly boundless complexities inherent in cities, sustainability is essential. Therefore, it is vital to cultivate accountable cities where decision-makers are aware of their impact and answerable to the citizens they affect. This accountability, rooted in transparency and responsiveness, becomes the linchpin for building trust [...]

2024-04-19T16:37:39+00:002nd January 2024|

Mobilizing Civic Voter Education in Liberia

According to the National Elections Commission (NEC), Liberia’s current number of first-time voters is just over 20 percent. This figure demonstrates the need to prioritize civic voter education, especially for first-time voters in rural communities. On 21-22 June, Accountability Lab Liberia hosted a training session to build the civic and voter education capacity of 30 journalists and leaders of youth-led organizations from Counties including Bong, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Margibi Montserrado, and Nimba. The training session aimed to equip the participants with skills to lead creative civic engagement campaigns and build working relationships for cross-collaboration, learning, and advocacy. The training focused [...]

2023-10-02T19:03:44+00:0017th August 2023|

Cultivating a resilient mindset in Nepal’s civil service

In his best-selling book, “On The Origin of  Species”, English naturalist Charles Darwin said that it’s not the strongest or the most intelligent species that survives, but rather the one that’s most responsive to change. This theory, formulated in 1859, remains relevant in every sector to this day. In this blog, we’ll explore the connection between Darwin’s insight and the importance of resilience in Nepal’s civil service. It is undeniable that the civil service holds the key to the government's success and must be resilient and responsive to changing circumstances. This blog is based on an in-depth discussion that took [...]

2023-08-14T12:13:51+00:0015th July 2023|

Combating violence against the transgender community in Pakistan

Written by Fouzia Khan Bhittani We live in a world encompassing different beliefs and cultures that generate specific attitudes and stances toward gender diversity. However, these attitudes define the marginalization of a particular community or people, like the transgender community in Pakistan, commonly referred to as the Khawaja Sira—a group of people that includes various forms of gender deviance. Khawaja Sira covers anyone that bends the societal construction of gender, including people who identify as transsexual, choose to cross-dress, identify as true hermaphrodites, are genderqueer youth, intersex people, and eunuchs. The transgender community has gained little visibility in Pakistan, as [...]

2023-06-14T11:53:25+00:0014th June 2023|

Global #tech4good lessons from HackCorruption

Accountability Lab is running HackCorruption, a hybrid tech-for-good project, with support from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at the U.S. Department of State, in partnership with the Center for International Private Enterprise. The project identifies and supports talented individuals from the civic tech, CSO, and activist arenas, to build innovative solutions to combat corruption. Our first HackCorruption event brought 100 participants from six Southern and East African countries to Johannesburg, South Africa, for a three-day event.  The program has also been rolled out by Accountability Lab Nigeria, with support from NORAD, SIDA, UNDP Nigeria, and in partnership [...]

2023-01-27T06:25:10+00:0020th January 2023|

Accountability Lab Has a New Strategy! Here’s a Summary of Our Priorities for 2023-2026.

Written by Blair Glencorse   How Did We Develop The New Strategy? Accountability Lab began over a decade ago as an effort to support local change-makers within specific communities to develop creative ideas around governance issues. Our growth has been exciting- and we are now a global translocal network of Labs that is building an eco-system for accountability around the world. Despite all of the ups and downs of the past ten years, our vision remains the same as it has always been, because it is ever more important- a world in which resources are used wisely, decisions benefit everyone [...]

2023-01-18T06:53:13+00:0017th January 2023|

Making The Translocal Network Real: The Junior Staff Council

Written by Alawi Masud As a primarily youth focused organization, Accountability Lab understands that junior level staff bring critical perspectives on our work,  provide important support to projects, and fuel innovation and connectivity. But as with many organizations that have many staff working on a variety of issues across 11 geographies, there is always room to better engage our teams. In order to provide a more formal space for junior staff all around the world to to build interpersonal relationships, support each other’s work, learn from one another, and connect with senior Accountability Lab staff, AL developed the Junior Staff [...]

2023-01-16T12:44:01+00:0016th January 2023|

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|

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|
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