Tag Archives | Ambient accountability

Seeing is believing: looking through the walls

14 August 2013 in Civil society, Private sector

What do fast food restaurants in the US and Hong Kong, factories in Germany and police stations in Tbilisi, Georgia have in common and how does this relate to tackling corruption? The answer is glass: all these buildings use glass as a way to emphasise the transparency of what’s going on inside. They are experimenting […]

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History matters II – what stone carvings and magic lanterns have to do with fighting corruption

8 February 2013 in Accountability, Measurement and Research, Politics and government

Some time ago I argued on this blog that looking back into history provides a very promising source for inspiration and innovation in the fight against corruption. Many things we consider new to modern government, such as measures managing conflicts of interest and insulating decision-making from policy capture were foreshadowed by and startlingly resemble many […]

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Fighting corruption with bumper stickers and public toilets: ambient accountability

2 November 2012 in Access to information, Accountability, Technology

Anti-corruption activists try to make those in power answerable to people. We call this accountability. NGOs try to make “accountability” happen by training citizens to audit local government or monitor elections, often using social media to report and collaborate. But when the initial enthusiasm for what are often called social accountability instruments fails or issues […]

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