Developing Systems that Protect Individual
Rights & Promote Economic Growth
IRIS works with scholars, civil society groups,
and government officials to develop governance
systems that protect individual rights and promote
economic growth.
IRIS’s activities
in this area include research, design, and implementation
of efforts related to
-
Measuring governance — IRIS has
developed a range of measurement tools that
provide more precision to discussions of governance.
-
Understanding and facilitating
decentralization —
IRIS research has clarified how decentralization can improve service delivery
and reduce corruption. Our technical assistance focuses on the institutional
arrangements of decentralized government.
-
Analyzing corruption and prioritizing reform efforts —
IRIS tools facilitate the examination of corruption in individual economic sectors,
and the IRIS framework helps civil society and government officials set priorities
in local and national reform efforts.
-
Empowering civil society —
IRIS works with partner organizations to identify key institutions of civil society,
and to encourage their participation and strengthen their capacity.
-
Transparency and accountability —
IRIS promotes legal and constitutional changes to make government decisionmaking
both more transparent and accountable.
-
Democratic and participatory
institutions —
IRIS supports transitional and emerging democratic institutions.
Governance Measures
Understanding how different governance institutions
may contribute to development outcomes requires
both a theory and data to test it.
IRIS has developed a range of measurement tools
that provide more precision to discussions of
governance. We also work with donors and partner
to test and improve on measures of governance,
contributing to more focused and effective reform
efforts.
More
on Governance Measures.
Decentralization
IRIS has conducted research that clarifies the
circumstances under which decentralization can
improve service delivery and reduce corruption.
Building
its research findings, IRIS can work with central,
regional, and local governments — as
well as with civil society organizations — to
help formalize and improve the relationships
between the different levels of government.
More
on Decentralization.
Anti-Corruption
Solutions to corruption appear to be straightforward — either
strengthen enforcement or deregulate. In truth,
these problems are more deeply embedded in
societies than is often imagined. IRIS’s strategies
for reducing the drag of corruption come from
our insights of its underlying political and
economic mechanisms.
IRIS tools facilitate the examination of corruption
in individual economic sectors, and the IRIS
framework helps civil society and government
officials set priorities in local and national
reform efforts.
More
on Anti-Corruption.
Empowering Civil Society
IRIS works with partner civil society organizations
on both research and reform initiatives that
examine and promote the contribution of civil
society and social groups to development. These
efforts address the role of think tanks, human
rights organizations, advocacy groups, and mutual
support organizations.
Research by IRIS and others increasingly points
to the importance of a range of formal and informal
institutions and networks in sustaining economic
growth and social well-being. An important aspect
of this sector is the accumulation of social
capital, with its associated information-sharing
effects.
More
on Empowering Civil Society.
Transparency & Accountability
IRIS promotes legal and constitutional changes
to make government decisionmaking both more transparent
and accountable.
We work directly with government and non-governmental
oversight entities, such as media or legislatures,
as well as organizations of affected firms and
citizens. IRIS develops strategic public information
campaigns and innovative watchdog efforts that
stimulate public discussion and improve awareness
of and demand for government transparency and
accountability.
More
on Transparency & Accountability.
Democratic & Participatory
Institutions
IRIS supports transitional and emerging democratic
institutions at several levels:
-
Rule of law projects help to frame legislation
as well as the legislative process
to allow greater public voice
-
Administrative
reforms enhance the rights of citizens in
day-to-day interaction with government agencies
- Capacity-building
activities support the analytic work of
civil society organizations as well as of representative
governing bodies
More
on Democratic & Participatory Institutions.
|