David Robins

@tobyharnden @BlairBarks @specialopsmag @SweetGaelicGirl What will your next book cover?

@BlairBarks @specialopsmag @SweetGaelicGirl Thank you! I think next March. This latest one has taken a long time…

Delta Force in the 1980's, when Tier 1 guys were indistinguishable from suburban dads. No tattoo sleeves or PED enhanced muscles. They could literally blend in anywhere.

It's live. 🎙️ The regional launch of the Open Budget Survey for the Western Balkans & Türkiye is underway in Tirana, Albania. Government officials and civil society are in conversation — because budget accountability matters. Follow along for updates. 👇 This event is supported by the @EU_Commission @institutiGAP @GLPSKosovo @CDT_CrnaGora @IA_Alternativa @CRPMmk @NKEUSrbija @TransparencySer

Brandon Scott is the best mayor in America and it isn’t close

It's worth remembering that DOGE is a failure at Every. Single. Possible. Level. At the micro level, they misread, misled and straight up lied about many of the 'savings'. They'd announce '500m saved!' and it would be some contract where the money was 98% already spent and already wasn't being renewed. At the macro level, they didn't impact spending at all. The government is spending more in 2025 than 2024, on basically the same trajectory but a little more. At the institutional level, they didn't even convince the GOP that deficits are a problem worth caring about. The GOP just passed a bill that explodes the deficit by trillions of dollars. At a personal level, Elon got run out of town with his tail between his legs and the most notable public facts about the Cracked Coders are that one of them was a mini Hitler, one was called 'big balls' and none of them bothered to learn how the government actually works before they lit it on fire. They gutted a bunch of important institutions, fired whole departments at random, decimated medical research funding, killed a bunch of people dependent on USAID, and still failed at every possible level.

📹 In the wake of #FfD4, our Executive Director @apmunozg reflects on a key challenge: achieving meaningful outcomes requires rethinking who gets to shape public finance decisions. "For too long, women and marginalized communities—those most impacted by budget choices—have been excluded. It's time to build coalitions that center their voices in how governments raise and spend public resources.” #publicfinance #publicparticipation

Join our #FfD4 side event on 'Democratizing Finance: Reimagining Fiscal Systems for Democratic Resilience' in collaboration with @CIVICUSalliance @FCDOGovUK and @OpenSociety. 🗓️ July 1, 2025 🕣 8:30am EST / 2:30pm CET Register to participate online: ibp.tiny.us/democratizing-… The event will provide a platform to reflect on global and national practices that integrate civic participation into fiscal decision-making and examine how such practices contribute to the equitable and effective use of public resources.

Key thread🔥- 🌍#FFD4 is happening June 30-July 3 in Seville, Spain—a crucial moment for global sustainable development financing. We're co-hosting 6 side events at the conference to push for an agenda that prioritizes public participation and accountability. Visit the event landing page for more: ibp.tiny.us/FfD-seville-20….

Great work by @CapriCaribbean and the @OpenBudgets team!

CAPRI appreciated the opportunity to engage with the Auditor General’s Department! We look forward to continued collaboration in advancing open, accountable, and participatory budgeting in Jamaica @OpenBudgets

Treasury is easing rules to allow for dark money to park in the US. Russian oligarchs, for one, will benefit. @ACGeoEcon

The Workshop on Open and Accountable Budget for Civil Society brought together members of various Rwandan CSOs and a delegation led by the @OpenBudgets, comprising members of international CSOs. This workshop provided a unique platform for civil society organizations to strengthen their capacity in budget analysis, social audits, and strategic advocacy. Participants explored key budget processes, tools, and techniques to engage effectively with fiscal governance actors. The training equipped them with the skills needed to influence budgetary decisions that foster accountability, inclusivity, and sustainable development. "Our collective work is more important than ever. Strengthening civil society’s ability to engage in the budget process fosters a culture of openness and dialogue between the government and its citizens. This engagement ensures that public resources are allocated effectively and equitably, ultimately enhancing service delivery and improving the lives of Rwandans," said TI-Rwanda Executive Director @amupiganyi in his remarks.

Today, @OpenBudgets, in collaboration with @TI_Rwanda, hosted a meeting of the Task Force on Open and Accountable Budget in Rwanda. Participants had the opportunity to discuss the findings from the Open Budget Survey (OBS) and its methodology, as well as provide concrete recommendations to help #Rwanda achieve even greater progress in future assessments. In the most recent research published in May 2024, Rwanda experienced an increase of 5 points in budget transparency, achieving its higher score since 2012 (50). This positive increase is credited to the concrete steps taken by the government to publish more timely budget information relevant to all citizens, and efforts from members of civil society to advocate for greater public transparency in budget documents.

Earlier today, @TI_Rwanda had the honor of hosting a delegation led by the International Budget Partnership (@OpenBudgets), comprising members of various international CSOs. The delegation was in #Kigali for the week-long Workshop on Open and Accountable Budgeting for Civil Society, which concluded today. Co-organized by @OpenBudgets and @TI_Rwanda, the workshop is part of our ongoing collaboration aiming at catalyzing better practices in Rwanda´s budget processes, to make the public budget more resilient, effective, and transparent. During the visit, @TI_Rwanda Executive Director, @amupiganyi, presented TI-Rwanda’s experience and contributions in the fight against corruption, highlighting our efforts to promote accountability in public finance management.

Imagine if there was a website — let’s call it USASpending.gov — where you could drill down into spending by each budget category, by each agency and federal account, by each class of items or services purchased, and even by individual contract and grant awards. That would be a real game changer, wouldn’t it?

[Join IBP at #OGPAsiaPacific] Attending @opengovpart's Regional Meeting in Manila? Join our session with @FiscalTrans and @DBMgovph on exploring how to make budget processes more inclusive through public participation. Learn how governments can transform traditional budgeting into collaborative platforms for citizen engagement. Register here: internationalbudget.org/events/the-fis…

Join the international event: *"Reaching New Heights: Strengthening Budget Transparency and Accountability in MENA"* 🌍💼 📅 Nov 19, 2024 ⏰ 3:00 PM Amman Time 💻 Online Speaker: Ali Fayyad,Executive Director of Partners Jordan, alongside prominent experts.

Austin Ndiokwelu, @OpenBudgets' Director of Policy and Global Advocacy, will be a panelist at @PEFASecretariat's Africa PFM Conference and PEFA Flagship Training. He will present key highlights from our #OBS2023 Africa Regional Report. 🗓️ Monday, November 11, 2024 🕘 9:55 AM (GMT+3)

The IPPR has published a new briefing paper, entitled Civil Society & The Budget: Perspectives on Priorities. The paper comes ahead of the 2024-25 Mid-Year Budget Review to be tabled in the National Assembly on 28 October 2024 ippr.org.na/publication/ci…

En el marco de las Reuniones Anuales 2024 del Banco Mundial y el FMI, FOSDEH participó activamente en el conversatorio "Transparencia no es suficiente", organizado por @openbudgets, @bajeti_hub y @latindadd. Como responsables de la Encuesta de Presupuesto Abierto 2023 para Honduras, desde FOSDEH dialogamos con @apmunozg, directora ejecutiva de la Iniciativa Internacional de Presupuesto @OpenBudgets , sobre la importancia de ir más allá de la transparencia. Nuestro compromiso es avanzar hacia evaluaciones que midan la calidad del gasto público, buscando así un mayor impacto en los sectores más vulnerables y promoviendo un gasto verdaderamente inclusivo y efectivo. La transparencia es un primer paso; la eficiencia y la equidad en el uso de los recursos son el objetivo. #FOSDEH #Transparencia #CalidadDelGasto #ReunionesAnuales2024 #BancoMundial #FMI

Attending an interesting discussion on #debt #transparency organised by @OpenBudgets teams, love what one of the speakers say about the need to connect debt with the realities of people's lives