News
Crown Agents and Integrity Action merge to provide an ‘end-to-end’ approach to strengthening accountability and effectiveness in aid and development programmes /
10th March 2023
Integrity Action, a UK-based international NGO, has become a member of Crown Agents. The joint offer combines our in-depth expertise in working with governments to improve their operational effectiveness with Integrity Action’s complementary citizen-led approach to improving services and accountability.
The collaboration opens up many opportunities to achieve even greater impact for communities across the world. For example, in Ukraine, where we are currently rebuilding hospitals and securing supplies of essential medicines, the ability to bring in a strong citizen voice into reconstruction efforts will help minimize corruption and increase long term support. Or in work we do to bring solar power to rural health centres in Sierra Leone, the involvement of community monitors who track operation and maintenance issues will help to secure longer term sustainability. All of these programmes can help to build a foundation for open and democratic governance on which stable and prosperous societies can grow.
A recognised global player in the fields of social accountability, civic technology and open government, Integrity Action was established in 2003 and has helped citizens in more than 20 countries monitor more than US$1 billion worth of development projects and government services, solving over 65% of problems identified. Furthermore, the results are continually improving. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, citizen monitoring is solving more problems than ever as evidenced in Northern Ghana where 92% of problems identified in health and education infrastructure were solved, the majority of them within the first 8 weeks of monitoring.
Integrity Action will continue to be an independent registered charity whilst sitting alongside other members of the Crown Agents’ group.
“We are delighted that such an innovative and entrepreneurial organisation is joining the Crown Agents’ global platform. There is a significant need for digital solutions that enable citizens to hold their governments and donors to account for projects in their communities. Integrity Action are global leaders in this area and we are greatly looking forward to working closely together to increase our overall development impact”.
Fergus Drake OBE, CEO of Crown Agents
“We are thrilled to join forces with Crown Agents in this innovative partnership. I believe that our joint added value is greater than the sum of our individual expertise – it directly responds to the fact that the world needs greater impact from not-for-profits. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing volatility and the accelerating impacts of climate change, it is more important than ever that citizens have an active role in creating a better future, holding leaders and organisations to account for the promises made to them.”
Jasmina Haynes, CEO of Integrity Action
About Integrity Action:
Integrity Action is a non-profit organisation that helps citizens living in poverty to fix the essential services that are failing them – including schools, clean water and healthcare.
They do this by equipping citizens to “review” services where they live, report problems publicly, and work with those responsible to ensure the problems are fixed. Citizens across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East have now identified, and found solutions for, thousands of problems — from crumbling schools to dirty drinking water — and in so doing, have transformed hardships into real benefits for their communities.
For more information visit: https://integrityaction.org/