Open Society Foundation

The Transparency and Accountability Initiative (TAI), hosted by the Open Society Foundation, is a donor collaborative that coordinates research and exchange among transparency and accountability donors at the global level. In order to take best advantage of this effort, this grant would provide further support to the TAI's three-year work plan. The TAI would continue to pursue its three objectives: (1) sharing and promoting learning among donors, practitioners, and academics; (2) encouraging collective action and coordination among donors to advance transparency and accountability issues in international dialogues; and (3) catalyzing funding for proven transparency and accountability interventions globally.

The Publish What You Pay (PWYP) international secretariat, hosted by the Open Society Foundation, coordinates and strengthens the global network of more than 700 civil society organizations that advocate for more open, accountable management of oil, gas, and mineral wealth in their countries. PWYP network members share best practices for monitoring revenue flows from the sale of natural resources and for understanding the contracts that corporations negotiate with their governments. The coalition also aggregates national and regional level demands for more rigorous implementation of global standards such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. During this grant period, the PWYP secretariat would establish itself as an independent organization, hire additional regional coordinators for Francophone Africa and Eurasia, and help each national coalition develop a strategic plan aligned with the network’s goals and advances implementing global standards at the country level.

This supplemental grant to the Open Society Foundation for the Transparency and Accountability Initiative donor collaborative will support the extension of the project’s Phase 2 work plan. Current activities will continue to deepen learning about the efficacy of transparency and accountability interventions and to harness the potential of new technologies to enhance citizen feedback loops.