The International Budget Partnership (IBP) is seeking a highly qualified and experienced Senior Analyst for its Open Budget Initiative, a global research and advocacy program that works with civil society partners in nearly 100 countries to improve public access to government budget information…

During the British colonial era, Ghana was known as the “Gold Coast” for its prolific gold deposits. Now, as in many countries before it, Ghana’s recent discovery of a major offshore oil field has created a mixture of exuberance and trepidation.

In their day-to-day roles, MPs face a variety of formal and informal institutional pressures to supply public, collective, and private goods. The conventional wisdom is that in most African countries, informal pressures to provide private goods take precedence over public and collective goods provision.

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are an important link between government, mining companies and the communities within which mining operations take place. This was revealed when more than 50 participants from 20 CSOs met for the Alternative Mining Indaba, at the Fountains Hotel, Cape Town, a few…

The Bunge, Tanzania's Parliament, is one of the most important institutions in the country. Its importance is reflected in the resources allocated to it. For 2009/10, Tanzania's Parliament was allocated Tshs 62 billion. Since Parliament comprises of 320 members, this amount averages to Tshs 194 million…

Participants from the African Regional Conference on the Right of Access to Information today released the Regional Findings and Plan of Action to advance the right in Africa. The conference found that while access to information is a fundamental human right, political and institutional constraints…

Fifteen years ago, global leaders at the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen described poverty eradication as an ethical, political and economic imperative, and identified it as one of the three pillars of social development. Poverty eradication has since become the overarching objective…

Nous, représentants des coalitions africaines francophones de PCQVP réunis à Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) du 29 janvier au 2 février 2010 dans le cadre de l’Atelier Francophone de Publiez Ce Que Vous Payez Afrique (PCQVP) sur le “renforcement de la campagne PCQVP et le plaidoyer pour une gestion transparente…

We, representatives of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) francophone African coalitions meeting in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) from 29 January to 2 February 2010 at the PWYP Africa Francophone Workshop on the theme of "Strengthening the PWYP campaign and advocacy for greater transparency and accountability…

Governance indicators are now widely used as tools for conducting development dialogue, allocating external assistance, and influencing foreign direct investment. This paper argues that available governance indicators are not suitable for these purposes as they do not conceptualize governance and…

Political accountability is a central theme on the international donor agenda. It figures prominently in governance projects and research sponsored by donors like DFID, USAID and Sida, and it features as one of the priority areas in the African Power and Politics Programme (APPP).

In September 2000, world leaders adopted the UN Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and expand the choices of the poor. A set of timebound and measurable goals and targets for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental…

Following the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000, both African governments and their development partners entered into a series of mutual commitments designed to promote the achievement of the goals in Africa. These commitments were embodied…

Well-functioning institutions matter for economic development. In order to operate effectively, public institutions must also inspire confidence in those they serve. The authors use data from the Gallup World Poll, a unique and very large global household survey, to document a quantitatively large…

International development assistance is big business. Total global aid flows, from North to South, are probably over $150 billion annually, a third of which goes to Africa. Maintaining levels of aid after the financial crisis was an important part of the discussion of leaders of the G8 and G20. China…

A project entitled 'Promoting the Effectiveness of Democracy Protection Institutions (DPIs) in Southern Africa' was recently undertaken by the Governance Institutions & Processes Programme at EISA.  Empirical research was conducted in early 2009 on the performance of 12 human rights state institutions…

DFID is committed to demonstrating the impact of UK aid. A focus on clear objectives and measuring results will help to ensure that DFID’s development efforts achieve the impact that it wants to make on global poverty.

Suite a la flambee des prix des denrees alimentaires survenue en 2007/2008, l'acceleration des acquisitions et locations foncieres a grande echelle a atteint un rythme jamais egale. Cette tendance relayee de facon parfois frenetique par les medias, retient l'attention de la communaute internationale.

More than 190 countries are gathering in Copenhagen from December 7-18, 2009, to decide on the next significant steps to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change. To achieve this goal, one of the things that the international community must negotiate is targets for new, significant, predictable,…

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) is a subset of the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), and for some time NEITI has been regarded by many actors as the global EITI's flagship programme, or at least one of the two foremost national chapters…

The statement that the continuation of widespread global hunger is unacceptable and that individuals have a right not to suffer from hunger and malnutrition has been accepted and proclaimed in many international instruments and by several intergovernmental institutions, among them the Food and Agriculture…

Emerging economies are making a rapid entry into Africa. The speed and significance of this entry means that they provide many opportunities for African economies; but, at the same time, their growing presence poses risks to Africa’s future growth.

This short case study describes the experience of the Rwandan parliament's self-assessment exercise which took place in two stages, in December 2008 and March 2009. This paper does not go into the detail of the assessment itself, but seeks to provide some insights which other parliaments may find…

The extent to which parliaments and parliamentarians are able to carry out their legislative, oversight and representative functions in ways that engender good governance values of accountability, transparency and participation is of paramount importance. The budget process – preparation, approval,…

The Electricity Governance Initiative (EGI) is a collaborative global initiative of civil society, policymakers, regulators, and other electricity sector actors to promote the open, transparent, and accountable decision-making processes that are a necessary part of a socially and environmentally sustainable…

Effective and transparent government budgeting is vital to any democracy. In South Africa, where there is massive poverty, inequality and unemployment despite the successful political transformation, citizens and Parliament have a particularly important role to play in shaping budget policy and overseeing…

We, members of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Africa, thank the Catholic Church for its commitment to promote the equitable management of natural resource wealth in Africa.

On October 1-2 2009, the World Bank Institute (WBI), GTZ, and the Affiliated Networks for Social Accountability (ANSAs) convened 35 key proponents of the good governance and transparency agenda at GTZ headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany to develop a common vision for strengthening state – civil society…

The Index of African Governance is compiled and updated annually by a team of researchers at Harvard University and across Africa, under the leadership of Robert I. Rotberg and Rachel M. Gisselquist. The 2007 and 2008 editions of the Index were published as the Ibrahim Index of African Governance.

The Ibrahim Index provides a comprehensive ranking of African countries according to governance quality

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance is a comprehensive ranking of African countries according to governance quality. Funded and led by an African institution, the Ibrahim Index…

This mapping study is one of a series of five reports commissioned by the NGOs and Humanitarian Reform Project. It is written by an independent consultant and does not necessarily represent the individual views of the project consortium member. NGOs and Humanitarian Reform is a three year consortium…

The APNAC General Meeting (GM) is held biennially at a venue agreed upon by the Executive Committee. The 2009 GM was held in Lusaka, Zambia from 19^th to 20^th September, 2009.

The sense that democracy is in retreat worldwide has become widespread. But the emergence of citizen-centred, governance-focused and development-oriented approaches suggests that a more complex and hopeful shift is also taking place, say Nicholas Benequista & John Gaventa.

This report brings together a wealth of information on Whitehall's performance to create an overview of the state of the UK civil service.

In 2008, Africa was able to attract US$43 billion in private capital, US$40 billion in remittances and US$38 billion in aid. While this may look significant, Africa still aces a serious resource gap to complement its own efforts at mobilising domestic resources to bring about social and economic development.

Good forest governance is an increasingly important topic for stakeholders in many different settings around the world. Two international initiatives to improve forest governance are the regional Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) ministerial processes supported by the World Bank, and the…

The African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government Summit adopted the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in Lusaka, Zambia, in July 2001. NEPAD is a strategic policy framework for Africa’s renewal and rebirth. It aims “to eradicate poverty and to place countries, individually and collectively,…

Africans are among the most likely of the world's citizens to be forced to pay bribes - but they are also the most confident that their governments are trying to stop the practice, according to a new study.

Decentralization, - the devolution of increased responsibilities to lower levels of government - and empowerment of sub-national jurisdictions (or governments) have been central and significant features of Africa’s recent reform efforts. The fiscal system in many countries has been decentralized across…

Deliberative decision-making processes are becoming increasingly important around the world to make important decisions about public and private goods allocation, but there is very little empirical evidence about how they actually work.

The 2^nd dialogue between civil society organizations and the Pan African Parliament (PAP) brought together civil society leaders from across Africa to engage with members of PAP on issues related to state and citizens’ relations. Under the theme, "African Integration, Transformation &…

Le rapport Examen mutuel de l'efficacité du développement en Afrique constitue à la fois un exercice de « reddition mutuelle de comptes », qui évalue ce qui a été fait pour honorer les engagements souscrits, et un examen de « l'efficacité au regard du développement », qui mesure les résultats obtenus

The Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in Africa Report 2009 is both an exercise in 'mutual accountability'- assessing what has been done to deliver on commitments to Africa's development, and a review of 'development effectiveness'- assessing what results have been achieved.

Este ensaio considera Angola um Estado institucionalmente frágil; objectiva contribuir para o projecto de pesquisa Estados Institucionalmente Frágeis: Contextos, Responsabilidades e Respostas, levado a cabo pelo departamento de Paz, Segurança e Direitos Humanos da FRIDE.

This paper considers the case of Angola as an institutionally weak state. It is intended to contribute to the research project Institutionally Weak States: Context, Responsibilities and Responses, undertaken by the Peace, Security and Human Rights department of FRIDE.

Faire connaître le Mécanisme Africain d’Evaluation par les Pairs (MAEP), les familiariser avec ses diverses composantes en vue de leur appropriation et susciter ainsi leur apport en direction des dirigeants pour la mise en oeuvre du MAEP au Cameroun, tels sont les objectifs généraux du séminaire de…

Poor governance constrains development. States that are accountable to their citizens are a key element of governance that is good for development. Domestic accountability - in this context the ability of citizens to hold the state answerable for its actions, and ultimately to impose sanctions for…

As the financial crisis leads us into a deep recession at home, what impact is the economic downturn having on the world's poor, and in particular what might be the consequences for developing country debt?

December 2008 saw a ‘perfect storm’ hit international metals prices, bringing the five-year international metal price boom to an abrupt end. The combined collapse in demand for metals and sharp drop in the demand of institutional investors for commodity-based assets have slashed copper prices by up…

This study was carried out in 2008 by Oxfam Novib Pan Africa Program (PAF) as an explorative mapping of civil society in Africa. It is effort to understand the landscape of civil society participation, particularly in the face of new continental and regional institutions (African Union, ECOSOCC, RECs…

This initiative has its origins in an emerging partnership among the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the Learning Network on Capacity Development (LenCD) and the Southern led CD Alliance to support the implementation of the capacity priorities of the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) through…

At the World Summit in 2005, as in the Millennium declaration in 2000, Member States of the United Nations (UN) recommitted themselves to protecting and promoting human rights, the rule of law and democracy, recognizing that they are interlinked and mutually reinforcing and that they belong to the…

Are natural resource abundance and opaque budgets inextricably linked? The Open Budget Survey 2008-a comprehensive evaluation of budget transparency in 85 countries-finds that resource-dependent countries tend to be less transparent than countries that are not resource dependent.

A considerable number of developing countries, while endowed with large amounts of natural resources, are still trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and stagnation. Over the past decade and more recently due to the global boom in commodity prices this contradiction has become the focus of increasing…

L'atelier, organisé à l'initiative du Pôle Stratégies de développement et Finances publiques du Bureau sous-régional du PNUD à Dakar, visait quatre objectifs.

The assessment of Parliament by an Independent Panel was initially conceived as part of Parliament's engagement with South Africa's African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process. The section of the APRM questionnaire on democracy and good political governance required an assessment of Parliament. Parliament's…

Executive Summary
The Open Budget Survey 2008 finds that, overall, the state of budget transparency around the world is deplorable. In most of the countries surveyed the public does not have access to the comprehensive and timely information needed to participate meaningfully…

There is something decidedly new about Africa. After stagnating for much of the past 45 years, the continent is experiencing its strongest growth acceleration, with GDP growth rates gradually surpassing the global average and inflation below two-digit level - its lowest point in about 30 years. Many…

At present, about 3.5 billion people live in countries rich in extractive natural resources such as oil, gas, solid minerals and timber. With good governance, these resources can generate vast sums to foster growth and reduce poverty. However, many of these countries have weak governance and the revenues…

Responding to the disappointing results of the Good Governance agenda, the Africa Power and Politics Programme is exploring the scope for approaches which attempt to ‘work with the grain’ of African societies. This paper explores what this might mean. It identifies a core set of beliefs and values…

10th Meeting of the Africa Partnership Forum, 7-8 April 2008, Tokyo, Japan.

10ème Réunion du Forum pour le Partenariat avec l'Afrique, 7-8 avril 2008, Tokyo, Japon.

1. Africa is making significant progress in promoting good governance in all its dimensions. This progress is not limited to violent conflicts which are receding; but the continent’s economic growth rates in recent years have also surpassed the…

• institutions of countervailing power?
• overseeing the development and implementation of pro-poor public policy?
• pro-active in developing a democratic culture?
• central agents in the promotion and realisation of human…

In the evolution of the democratic process, the use of a scorecard and related measurement methodologies has proven very helpful. For example, scorecards are now regularly used to assess whether an election has been fully ‘free and fair’.