TAI Weekly

TAI Weekly | How Do Media and Elections Shape Us?

By TAI (Role at TAI)
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TAI Weekly

Dear readers,

The Financing for Development (FfD) conference wrapped up in Sevilla last week. The mood was positive in general, despite the blasting heat - countries glad to have an agreement even if the U.S. was absent. However, while the Sevilla Commitment makes ten references to inclusion, civil society had to battle for any meaningful voice in the plenary proceedings. 

TAI facilitated conversations spanning gender justice integration in the FfD agenda, public sector governance strengthening, and philanthropic coordination. Thanks to our many partners, including Global Policy Forum, UNDP, the Maldives, Norway, and Tax Justice Network Africa, ClimateWorks Foundation and the European Climate Foundation. As TAI’s Michael Jarvis emphasized at Casa Devex, “the hard work starts after” Sevilla—accountability and measurement will be key to turning FfD commitments into lasting change.

TAI team

WHAT'S NEW?

The Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) and Third World Network's new guide highlights why practical approaches and solutions are needed to center care, equity, and dignity and tackle gender injustice in economic systems. Using the Decoding Injustice framework, it provides a powerful tool for movements challenging economic inequality. 

Infrastructure transparency gained momentum as Cali, Colombia, joined the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST) and Zambia rejoined the initiative. These developments signal a growing commitment to accountable infrastructure development across diverse contexts.

New research initiatives are tackling state capture head-on. Caryn Peiffer, Nic Cheeseman, and Zenobia Ismail introduce innovative approaches to mobilizing grassroots resistance to state capture in South Africa, that employ cutting-edge methods to understand public attitudes and strengthen resolve for pushback. Plus, you can watch the video of the session on State Capture: Moving from Analysis to Strategies and Action that was held recently at the On Think Tanks Conference in Johannesburg.

Justin Moore makes the case for why UK support for governance reform abroad must go hand-in-hand with stronger action at home, such as tackling professional enablers of corruption and ensuring responsible investment. As aid strategies are reviewed, Moore argues that anti-corruption efforts are not just good development policy, they’re a long-term investment in global stability and sustainable growth.

OECD's Tax Transparency in Africa 2025 report, co-produced by the Global Forum and the African Tax Administration Forum, offers fresh insights into how 40 African countries are advancing international tax transparency standards, suggesting concrete progress in combating tax evasion and illicit financial flows. 

In the Global Governance Innovation Report 2025, Richard Ponzio, Nudhara Yusuf and William Durch outline creative approaches to revitalizing environmental governance amid planetary crisis. 

The Accountability Research Center's analysis of open parliament initiatives across Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa provides a learning framework that seeks to extend beyond dashboards and livestreams to meaningful civic engagement. Author Idah Knowles reminds us that “Openness must be more than a promise. It must meet people where they are: in their pain, their courage, and their call for meaningful change”.

Environmental crime has grown so extensive that it is now impacting the global policy agenda. A recent case in Brazil illustrates the stakes: in late 2024, federal police dismantled an illegal gold mining network operating in Indigenous territories, exposing a web of shell companies, fraudulent permits, and money laundering routes. Robert Muggah and Ilona Szabó de Carvalho demand a more harmonized and accountable global response.

Digital rights face challenges as governments worldwide increasingly control encryption tools and VPNs that enable free and open internet access. A new report co-authored by the European University Institute and Freedom House documents this troubling global trend.

The End the Debt Trap project addresses the unprecedented levels of developing country debt that trap nations in cycles undermining economic sovereignty and social development. This dossier explores how improved legislation across diverse countries can break these destructive patterns.

The intersection of conflict, corruption, and illicit financial flows threaten regional stability in Africa as illustrated in The Sentry's latest investigative report that details evidence of industrial-scale looting operations by Eritrean Defense Forces during the Tigray conflict.

ESSENTIAL LISTENING

The latest FARSIGHT podcast episode features author and existential risk researcher Luke Kemp discussing how to avoid global catastrophe and why techno-utopianist approaches may paradoxically increase risks. 

FROM OUR MEMBERS

FORD FOUNDATION: Welcomes Heather Gerken as its next president. As the current dean of Yale Law School, she brings extensive legal, philanthropic, and organizational management expertise to Ford. Her thoughtful leadership and passion for justice position her well to advance Ford's mission in these challenging times.

PACKARD FOUNDATION: Shares reflections from Jennifer J.R. Littlejohn, Vice President of Environment and Science, following her recent visit to West Papua, Indonesia. In a meeting with Moi tribal leaders, she celebrates their frontline efforts to protect forests and address the climate crisis, calling on others to follow their lead.

ESSENTIAL READING

Civitates' July newsletter provides an essential antidote to overwhelming negative news by highlighting stories of civil society organizations protecting democracy and freedom across Europe. These narratives demonstrate resilience and innovation in challenging times.

TOOLS AND TRENDS FOR FUNDERS

The Bridgespan report “At Common Cause: How Development Funders and Philanthropy Collaborate in Africa” is now out, featuring contributions from TAI members. Amid shrinking aid budgets and rising social needs, it explores how philanthropic and development actors can work together more effectively. Drawing on interviews with 29 organizations, including TAI, it highlights models for collaboration, shared learning, and strategic alignment. 

Ami Misra, and Prachi Pal argue that philanthropy in India now focuses on enabling systems rather than just individual giving. As wealth transitions across generations, families are investing in infrastructure that makes philanthropy more strategic, collaborative, and resilient.

Barry Knight's analysis in Alliance Magazine challenges philanthrocapitalism's promises while highlighting philanthropy's unique capacity to back visionary actors, create protected spaces for dissent and dialogue, and take risks that public institutions cannot.

Development philanthropy faces calls for transformation from patronage to genuine partnership. Karen Kardos and Alexandr Puutio argue that funders must embrace accountability measures and power-sharing approaches that center local leadership and community needs in development work. (Don’t forget the toolkit for transparency and accountability of philanthropy developed by TAI and WINGS).

FOCUSED TOPIC OF THE WEEK:

Evolving Democratic Practice: Media, Elections, and Civic Engagement

The fragmentation of information landscapes, the oversimplification of complex political dynamics, the limitations of existing participation models, and the under-resourcing of democratic defenders are contributing to a broader crisis of democratic effectiveness. 

The foundations of truth-telling and shared understanding are constantly tested by today's media landscapes. The 2025 Media Impact Forum brought these critical questions to the forefront, examining how our consumption patterns fundamentally shape not only journalism but also the very nature of democratic discourse itself. The forum sessions - now available online - reveal that the intersection of media and democracy requires urgent attention from those who recognize that information ecosystems directly influence the health of democratic institutions.

This concern becomes particularly evident when examining specific electoral contexts, such as the Philippines' 2025 midterm elections, where surface-level political narratives often obscure deeper systemic issues. D-Hub's comprehensive analysis demonstrates how electoral coverage frequently becomes trapped in the spectacle of family feuds, particularly between prominent political dynasties like the Marcoses and the Dutertes, while crucial democratic stakes remain largely unexplored. This pattern of coverage illustrates a broader problem in democratic discourse: the tendency to focus on political drama rather than the underlying mechanisms that determine democratic legitimacy and effectiveness.

The limitations of traditional electoral processes, not least in the US, are prompting democracy futurists to envision radical alternatives that could transform how citizens engage with governance. How do we move beyond conventional voting mechanisms to explore more inclusive and effective models of citizen participation? Debating such questions may lead us to a more fundamental reimagining rather than incremental reform. (Watch alongside the Gordon Lichfield video on evolving participation featured in the last TAI Weekly).

How do we resource these innovations? TAI joined a funder meeting last week where nearly all the bilateral donors attending confirmed significant cuts in their democratic governance funding. Hopes of many are pinned on the European Commission’s next seven year budget that will be negotiated later this year. The Civil Liberties Union for Europe is calling for a significant increase in funding for the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme from 0.13% to 0.5% of the total EU budget. Civil society groups defending human rights, equality, democracy, and the rule of law require substantial resources to effectively counter threats to democratic governance. 

ESSENTIAL WATCHING

Experts from Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico explore how social organizations continue their human rights work despite growing adversity in Latin America. Watch the conversation to learn how civil society is operating under pressure.

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