fbpx

Niger’s Civic Action Teams (CivActs) Campaign

The COVID-19 pandemic presents humanity with one of the greatest major challenges it has faced in a century. The disease has caused enormous and devastating crises, from social and economic to political and environmental. In these difficult times, the community faces rumours, misinformation and false news that circulate via social networks and mass media to a point where it is not how it is. In Niger, the government has taken important measures to reduce the spread of the virus, such as declaring a state of emergency, closing land and air borders, strengthening health protection measures, etc. The government has also [...]

2020-12-18T09:49:56+00:0026th November 2020|

Accountability in the time of Covid-19

It’s been a challenging but productive year as the Lab adapts to the effects of working under the new normal of the Covid-19 pandemic, along with the rest of the world. A key part of our work this year was launching a Virtual Accountability Incubator and also supporting our existing accountability entrepreneurs in our network on projects aimed at strengthening Covid-19 response and recovery efforts. Earlier this year we created a fund for our accountapreneurs who pitched ideas for these mini-grants on a competitive basis. We've been excited by the quality of projects that have come out of this initiative. [...]

2020-10-06T08:46:31+00:005th October 2020|

Elevating Local Knowledge for Sustainable Impact

By Sheena Adams and Nyema Richards Walking around Monrovia, Liberia it’s hard to escape Hipco music. From supermarkets and dress shops to small, battered radios attached to motorcycle taxis, the music floats all over the city. The genre combines Liberian Pidgin-English, called kolokwa, with high-BPM dance rhythms and also touches of reggae, hip hop and RnB. Dating back to the Liberian Civil War, it’s also a genre that tackles socio-political issues in the country, and is a means for young people to express themselves in a relatable, viral way. As a campaign tool, Hipco has proven to be a powerful vehicle for change. Arguably [...]

2020-08-14T11:16:39+00:0014th August 2020|

Government Accountability Explains Differing Pandemic Responses

The coronavirus health crisis has brought about deep challenges related to misinformation, governance and trust. In a webinar sponsored by the Center for Strategic International Studies on Wednesday, Accountability Lab panelists on the ground in South Africa, Mali and Nepal detailed how the pandemic is affecting government accountability and corruption. The Accountability Lab is a non-profit international project, which works to engage citizens in conversations surrounding civil service in nine countries. Citizens, civil society groups and public sector reformers across several countries are finding creative ways to rebuild trusted communication between states and their people, in the absence of effective [...]

2020-07-23T12:22:47+00:0023rd July 2020|

Open government & Covid-19 response – Stories from the Open Gov podcast

The Lab took part in an episode of the “Stories from the Open Gov” podcast hosted by Richard Pietro of Re:OpenGov, highlighting what governments need to do to hold their government accountable as countries navigate the Covid-19 pandemic. AL Director Blair Glencorse, AL Mexico Director Eva Sander, AL Nepal Director Narayan Adhikari and & AL Mali MEL Officer DoussoubaKonate shared their thoughts on how well their respective countries are doing when it comes to open government, inclusion and fact-checking. Listen to it here - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ep32-international-roundtable-accountability-lab-part/id1486351232?i=1000485593426

2020-07-23T11:36:02+00:0023rd July 2020|

Accountability Lab Liberia Awards Winners of the Rap2Rep Coronavirus Music

Monrovia – Accountability Lab Liberia has awarded Hellen Smith, an emerging gospel musical artist, as the winner of this year's Rap2Rep musical campaign – a special feature that places high emphasis on coronavirus awareness messaging. By J. H. Webster Clayeh Rap2Rep is a musical campaign organized by the Accountability Lab Liberia that began 2015. It is a campaign that gives local artists an opportunity to use music as a tool for social change. The campaign has built a network of Hipco (Liberian style of music) artists that includes musicians who produce socially conscious music and are passionate about using their voices [...]

2020-07-21T10:40:04+00:0021st July 2020|

Corruption is rife in the COVID-19 era. Here’s how to fight back

The pandemic has created conditions in which corruption can flourish; This can exacerbate and prolong the negative effects of this crisis; Here are three ways to start tackling this issue today. By Tim Hanstad. The global pandemic has public health experts and medical providers around the world working overtime. And so, it seems, are profiteers. Even before the pandemic, an estimated $455 billion of the $7.35 trillion spent annually on healthcare worldwide was lost to fraud and corruption. Today, as governments are ramping up pandemic response spending to unprecedented levels and shovelling it out of the door with understandable urgency and desperation, [...]

2020-07-16T10:43:17+00:0016th July 2020|

Grant Makers Can Improve Government Effectiveness in the Covid-19 Era

Philanthropy has committed billions of dollars in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While certainly generous, that’s a fraction of the trillions committed so far by governments worldwide. And therein lies a largely untapped opportunity. By Leslie Lang Tsai Grant makers can have an outsized impact by supporting efforts to improve government efficiency, accountability, and effectiveness in responding to the pandemic. Philanthropies should start by asking themselves some critical questions: How much of this massive tranche of government resources will be lost through corruption? Who is even monitoring what may be governments’ largest non-wartime spending in history? And what can grant [...]

2020-07-14T22:27:59+00:0014th July 2020|

Who’s Your Philly Hero?

Philly has some serious challenges. Let’s celebrate those public servants rising to meet them. By Blair Glencorse & Sara Hoenes t’s tough in Philadelphia right now. Covid-19 is spreading, with well over 20,000 cases in the city and with effects that are exacerbating existing inequalities: Racial injustices continue while free speech in response seems to be under threat, and even professional sports remains on hold. Meanwhile, President Trump’s re-election campaign and the Republican Party are suing Pennsylvania to force changes in how the state collects and counts mail-in ballots ahead of the presidential election in November. But amid the chaos, there are some incredible individuals who are doing [...]

2020-07-08T13:37:52+00:008th July 2020|

Governments need to build trust

The Country Director of Accountability Lab, Lawrence Yealue has observed that the Government of Liberia is not building trust among the population, something he said is responsible for violation of health protocols announced. “One of the reasons why we see Relight, and Duala market dwellers continue to don’t care for health measures and mandate to observe social distance is due to lack of trust from their government”, he noted. Speaking recently in Monrovia during a one day forum, Mr. Yealue wondered how government was coordination its information, saying, is the government using relevant facts to dispel rumors? He said Accountability [...]

2020-07-08T13:40:57+00:008th July 2020|
Privacy Policy
Go to Top