Accountability Lab's 2023-2026 Strategy

In this episode, Marketing & Communications Officer, Kibo Ngowi, discusses the Lab's strategy for the 2020 to 2026 period with a cross-section of the Lab's leadership from across the world. The guests are Cheri-Leigh Erasmus, AL Global Director of Learning; Doussouba Konaté, the Country Director for AL Mali; McDonald Lewanika, the Country Director of AL Zimbabwe; and Fayyaz Yaseen, the Country Director of AL Pakistan. During the episode, they discussed the country directors retreat in Zimbabwe, which was a good opportunity for the Lab’s leadership to unpack how the translocal structure should work in practice. It allowed them to develop a shared understanding of what they meant by translocal and what kind of structure could carry the translocal network. The retreat operationalized the cross-pollination of ideas and dispersion of knowledge, enabling peers to learn from and with each other and feedback on each other's ideas. The discussion also highlighted the crises that have centered the importance of accountability and open governance in Pakistan. Fayyaz, the Country Director of AL Pakistan, noted that Pakistan is an example of governance failure among developing countries. The economic situation is precarious, and there are various political, religious, and ethnic divisions. The strategy document includes the promotion of civic engagement and inclusion as the central piece of any solution, and digitization of the government to minimize human interaction with public officials and openness of the government. Doussouba Konaté talks about the situation in Mali, including governance failure and rampant corruption, which has led to insecurity in the country and neighboring nations. Doussouba describes how Accountability Lab is engaging the population through innovative approaches like the Film Fellowship program, which gives a voice to women to tell their stories and address issues they face.  She also emphasizes the importance of training young civil society leaders to embody the values of integrity and accountability. Lastly, she shares an example of how Accountability Lab supports honest civil servants in their fight against corruption and impunity. Despite the challenges, Doussouba believes there is a willingness among the population to bring positive change and that they are on the right path. Cheri discusses the four priority strategic themes that the Accountability Lab has chosen to focus on over the next three years: Inclusion, Climate Justice, Digital Governance, and Civic Agency. She explains that these themes have emerged from the work the organization is already doing across different countries and are deeply embedded in what they do. Inclusion is crucial for accountability because it is impossible to have a conversation about accountability of power holders in a country without considering who is being represented and included in the decision-making process. Climate justice is also essential to ensure that marginalized people, who are often most affected by natural disasters, are included in policymaking processes. Digital governance and civic agency are also important areas that the Accountability Lab is working on, equipping reformers with a passion for creating a more equitable digital governance space and empowering communities to co-create solutions. These themes intersect with accountability and have underpinned the work of the Accountability Lab.