Accountability Lab | accountlab.bsky.social @AccountLab

🎙️ What if one of the biggest barriers to collaboration is the system itself? In the latest episode of the AccountabiliTea Podcast, Leah Shearman shares her reflections on how funding models have encouraged competition across the sector – and what that means for organizations being asked to work together in a rapidly changing environment. 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or via our website: bit.ly/3QD0X4s Cheri-Leigh Erasmus | Anabel Cruz | Fay Hodza

💭 Trust. Collaboration. Shared responsibility. Join Accountability Lab, @rightsmetrics, and Digital Action for a conversation on the opportunities, challenges, and lessons that emerge when leadership is shared. The conversation will also mark the launch of Accountability Lab's Co-Leadership Toolkit, a practical resource for organizations interested in exploring collaborative leadership structures. 📅 23 June 2026 ⏰ 6:00 AM ET | 12:00 PM CET | 10:00 PM NZT 🔗 Register: bit.ly/SharedLeadersh… We look forward to seeing you there!

As mission-driven organizations explore how to adapt to a changing sector, radical candor deserves a seat at the table. At the 2026 #SkollWF, Cheri-Leigh Erasmus of the Accountability Lab made the case for leaning into difficult topics early on in exploratory conversations about restructuring the work. That candor, she argued, is what allows organizations to move forward with clarity and kindness, both internally and with the communities they serve. Watch the full conversation from her session, “State of the Pivot: Adapting Organizational Models for a New Era”: youtube.com/watch?v=1hdw4m…

🎙️ What does meaningful change require in a time of uncertainty? In this episode of the AccountabiliTea Podcast, @HodzaFay reflects on the importance of collaboration in responding to today's challenges: "There was a realization that we cannot do this alone. You need to work in consortia, you need to work in coalitions, you need to work with others to drive the change that you want to do." As organizations navigate shifting realities, the conversation highlights the value of partnership, collective action, and working together to create lasting change. 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or via our website: bit.ly/3QD0X4s Cheri-Leigh Erasmus | Anabel Cruz | Leah Shearman

📣 Applications for 2026 Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders (ADEL) Program are now open! Are you a young leader (25-35) from Africa or the Atlantic Basin driving change in your field? Join an immersive leadership experience, connect with fellow changemakers, and take part in the Atlantic Dialogues Conference. 📍 Rabat, Morocco 📅 Dec 6-12, 2026 ⏳ Application Deadline: June 14 🔗 bit.ly/49TGlvF

"We can either rebuild the old system, with all its silos and competition, or build something more collaborative, more relational, and more honest about what civic work actually requires." AL Co-CEO Jean Scrimgeour sat down with @Alliancemag to talk about this moment as one of opportunity – to look at the ways in which we can work more effectively by prioritising those with proximity to the problems we want to solve and the crucial assets they bring. 👓 Read the full interview: bit.ly/4a2tl6K

Join us in welcoming Jed Miller, our Senior Non-Resident Fellow!🎉 With 20+ years at the intersection of accountability and digital transformation, Jed brings deep expertise on AI, and the role of culture and narrative in shaping effective governance of technology. We’re excited to have his expertise guiding our work.

🪧 From lowering the barrier to civic participation to creating emotional memory that drives the will to change, creativity can and does drive civic engagement and accountability. In an expansive conversation artivists Nishchhal Kharal, Rafid Ariyan, Amanda Chenai Makombe, and Leiden shared their experiences of how art has democratised access to governance issues for many. Most pointedly for youth who participated in uprisings across the globe, what could feel like inaccessible topics meant for elites to wrestle over, became theirs to challenge. These poignant takeaways were just some of the nuggets from a conversation that underscored the value of the artivism archive, institutions and governments using creative principles, and the democratisation of art.

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🎙️ How are civil society organizations responding to uncertainty? In our latest #AccountabiliTeaPodcast, Anabel Cruz reflects on disruption, solidarity, and how organizations are adapting to shifting realities. 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or via our website: bit.ly/3QD0X4s Cheri-Leigh Erasmus | @HodzaFay | Leah Shearman #GlobalDevelopment #CivilSociety

🌍 As civic space continues to shift across East and Southern Africa, what must civil society keep in focus? In this reflection from the @accountlabalesa Learning Lab, Dr. McDonald Lewanika unpacks 'Nine Things We Must Not Forget' – from the intersectional nature of civic space challenges, to the rise of digital activism, uneven access, the need for context-informed responses, and why people must remain at the center of innovation. The piece is a timely reminder that strengthening accountability requires more than tools or technical fixes. It calls for solidarity, sharper analysis, adaptive thinking, and a return to the fundamentals of organizing, trust, and collective action. 👓 Read more: bit.ly/4wG5pje

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Accountability Lab | accountlab.bsky.social @AccountLab

4 weeks ago

💡 When traditional pathways to participation fall short, young people find new ways to be heard. Join us for a virtual showcase featuring spoken word, music, and creative acts of protest and participation from around the world, followed by a panel on how young people are

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We're working with the Allard Prize to host a conversation among organizations that design prizes in the anti-corruption and #integrity space. This convening is a first step toward building a more connected and mutually supportive #ecosystem. Individually, prizes can spotlight and support integrity leaders. Collectively, they can significantly expand their influence, protection, and long-term impact. Register to join us on May 27 at 9am ET: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regist…

As we reflect on 2025, we’re reminded that #accountability begins with participation. Across our network, teams worked with communities, artists, youth leaders, and public institutions to strengthen civic engagement, counter disinformation, and expand inclusive participation in public life. From participatory budgeting in Mexico to judicial dialogues in Nigeria, media literacy initiatives in Mali, and digital democracy programming in Pakistan – these efforts reflect the many ways accountability is practiced across contexts. 👓 Read more in our annual reports: lnkd.in/gmMkDeWq #AnnualReport | Accountability Lab Mexico | @accountlabng | @accountlabML | @accountlabpk

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💡 When traditional pathways to participation fall short, young people find new ways to be heard. Join us for a virtual showcase featuring spoken word, music, and creative acts of protest and participation from around the world, followed by a panel on how young people are increasingly turning to music, spoken word, art, and storytelling as alternative pathways for civic engagement. 🗓️ Wednesday 20 May, 9am ET /1pm UTC 🔗 Register here: bit.ly/3P9L59h

🗳️ In the run up to Nepal’s most “youthful” elections in June, Accountability Lab Nepal answered the question “how do we funnel young people’s appetite for institutional change and proven movement building skills into existing processes?” As part of the Youth-Led Election Monitoring initiative, the Lab designed an approach with space enough for young people to observe and experience the electoral process firsthand, but also flexibility for it to be directed by the young people involved. 👓 Read the full piece in the The Diplomat Nepal: bit.ly/4uQs1Mk

What happens when the city you live in does not see you as part of it? Today, Accountability Lab Mexico premieres Del Papel al Territorio (From Paper to Territory) 🎬 The documentary follows Yuguelito in Iztapalapa, a self-organized community navigating the gap between participation as designed and participation as lived. A powerful story of accountability, transparency and participation. ▶️ Watch and join the conversation: bit.ly/4wy7DRV

Reflecting on our work in 2025, words like courage, solidarity, and agency have resonated deeply. In releasing our annual reports, we're excited to share some of the resilient pivots our teams implemented. We're also proud to have been able to provide information and support for peers and partners who navigated great changes. In response to January 2025's aid cuts – and funding contractions more generally – Accountability Lab's translocal network sprang into action to gather data that would inform donors and partners who were mobilizing resources, information, and tools to try to assist organizations and people in need. Accountability Lab Global, Accountability Lab Mali, Accountability Lab Pakistan, and Accountability Lab Nepal, deployed global and local surveys to inform actions to be taken to mitigate fallout. Through Open Co Hub in Kathmandu, affected groups engaged in critical discussions on the aid freeze, health rights, elections, and democracy. Rooted in #ShiftThePower principles, these efforts prioritized locally led engagement, amplified community voices, and fostered trust-based collaboration. 👓 For the full findings from these surveys read our annual reports: accountabilitylab.org/our-impact/

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📢 Excited to share that our Co-CEO Blair Glencorse has joined the Strategy Steering Committee of the Youth Democracy Cohort (YDC). As YDC evolves into a collaborative, member-driven network, its new governance structure puts members at the center, ensuring decision-making is more inclusive, representative, and grounded in their expertise. The Steering Committee will: 📌 Guide strategy 📌 Strengthen youth participation 📌 Drive collective advocacy & partnerships 📌 Support inclusive, effective governance 🔗 bit.ly/4d9XaDb

🩺 This International Nurses Day, we’re reflecting not only on the care nurses provide, but on the responsibility we all hold to support them. Because the future of care doesn’t rest on individuals alone. It depends on the systems we build, the support we enable, and the value we place on those who keep services going. Across our network, we’ve had the privilege of recognizing nurses through our Integrity Icon campaign – an initiative that celebrates public servants who lead with honesty, accountability, and a deep commitment to others. Hema Thapa, recognized by @accountlabnp in 2023, is one such example. 🎧 Watch her story – and explore more stories of integrity in action on our YouTube channel: bit.ly/3PkeTQl

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