Inclusive, transparent and accountable governance is an essential foundation for long-term development. Societies with more effective governing institutions have been shown to do better in economic growth, human development, social cohesion and more. Yet around the world, civic space is narrowing and democratic ideals are under threat.

Working in more than a dozen countries across the globe, Pact's governance programming is both empowering civic change agents and strengthening public sector actors so that government institutions from the local to national level are ready to respond to citizens’ needs, deliver quality services and effectively manage public resources.

Our strategies and approaches focus at the point of engagement between communities and local authorities. All of our governance interventions are fundamentally aimed at connecting citizens to public decision-making processes that have a deep effect on their lives and well-being. To operate in challenging contexts, often marked by political closure, fragility or conflict, we have built a toolkit for ensuring flexible, adaptive programming. Recognizing that development outcomes are circumscribed by local power dynamics and incentive structures, we mainstream approaches such as Applied Political Economy Analysis (APEA) across our programming in to understand, respond to and positively affect local systems.

Our expertise includes:
*Civil society strengthening and civic engagement, especially in closing civic spaces
*Addressing conflict and promoting peace
*Strengthening local governance and social accountability
*Strengthening actors and institutions at a systems level
*Promoting adaptive, “politically-smart” programming, including through the use of APEA

Pact’s emphasis on partnership cultivates grassroots support for reform by encouraging cooperation among governments, communities, civil society and business.

Unless citizens take an active role in their own governance, adminstrations become out-of-touch and nonresponsive or, worse, wasteful and corrupt.

In 2021, along with IREX and our consortium partners, Pact was chosen to lead two new regional programs entitled Civil Society and Media – Strengthened Together and Advancing in New Directions (CSM-STAND). With one award focused on Africa and the Middle East and North Africa, and the other covering Asia, Europe and Eurasia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, these programs are achieving a global reach and partner with civic and media actors around the world. They are fostering innovative design and implementation of civil society and media programming, while partnering with local change agents to foster global learning. Learn more about CSM-STAND.