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|

Restoring Public Trust Though Openness: Reflections From The OGP Regional Meeting And The GDC Africa Forum

Recently Nairobi hosted two pivotal events: The Open Government Partnership (OGP) Africa and Middle East Regional Meeting, and the Global Democracy Coalition (GDC) Africa Forum. These gatherings cemented the critical role of open governance and public participation in strengthening democratic innovations across the continent. Accountability Lab joined a host of governments and organisations in solidarity with Africa’s pursuit for more accountable and transparent governments.  The OGP Regional Meeting, themed "Rebuilding Trust through Open Government," convened government officials, civil society leaders, and private sector executives to deliberate on enhancing transparency and citizen engagement. Discussions spanned topics such as anti-corruption, digital governance, [...]

2025-04-11T11:26:54+00:0010th April 2025|

The Long Game: Changing narratives and building ecosystems in Southern Africa

It was on the crest of a wave of change Zimbabwe was experiencing in 2020 that Dr McDonald Lewanika found himself ready to change tack. Years of direct non-violent action had done the backbreaking work of earning Zimbabwe a new constitution, and  other democratic concessions, while a military assisted transition had led to leadership changes at the top of the state and ruling party ticket.  It seemed a good time to find a process that matched the guarded optimism in the air.  “Over years of introspection, I had come to the conclusion that a lot of what we were doing [...]

2025-01-22T09:18:14+00:0022nd January 2025|

Reflections, insights, and lessons from implementing New Narratives for Accountability in Zimbabwe 

In 2020, when Accountability Lab considered working in Zimbabwe, partners, experts, and friends remarked that accountability work required a fresh approach to re-energize the sector after over two decades of solid governance and accountability civil society work. With our partners at Magamba, Kubatana, and others, we heeded this advice and co-created a program bringing together communities, academics, creatives, and development orthodoxy to build an accountability ecosystem. This approach looked at old problems with fresh eyes, fostering unusual partnerships, and novel approaches.  Our value-driven approach allowed us to support and reinforce existing networks rather than re-form them and to improve rather [...]

2024-09-12T08:06:32+00:0010th September 2024|

Residents ramp up fight against drug abuse

The article discusses efforts in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, to combat drug and substance abuse by encouraging residents to form task forces and neighborhood watch groups to identify and address drug-related issues in collaboration with law enforcement. It also highlights challenges faced by the government, such as budgetary constraints and inadequate infrastructure, in effectively addressing rising drug abuse cases. Residents in Bulawayo have been challenged to form taskforces to search houses they suspect to be drug havens in the presence of the police as their contribution to the fight against drug abuse. Bulawayo United Residents Association chairperson Winos Dube made the call [...]

2024-04-19T17:28:05+00:0019th April 2024|
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