Anti-corruption projects lack funds, AIS asks for help, OpenSpendingAlbania is in danger of being closed

The AIS organization known as OpenDataAlbania wants to share with you the concern and the need for help regarding the raising of funds and grant support in order not to risk closing a database with an impact on transparency, accountability, activism and Anticorruption.

Through Open Spending Albania, citizens understand how taxpayers' money is spent. OpenSpending disambiguates and makes accessible every payment from Budget Institutions to customers from 2012 onwards. The most courageous Journalists and Activists in the country use Treasury data to denounce cases of misuse, corruption, cronyism and conflict of interest.

Many cases of public abuse even during election periods have been revealed through the transparency made possible by this well-structured database. In one case, transparency with treasury payments led to the initiation of a process to remove the mandate of the Deputy in the Constitutional Court due to conflict of interest and incompatibility.

The Supreme Audit Institution also uses the database to design risk assessment and audit plans.

By empowering the public, activists and anti-corruption agencies with transparent data on ugly abusive cases, AIS/OpenDataAlbania has so far often received resentment from people in power and businesses close to them or attempted failed cyber attacks.

Since February, AIS has been struggling for funds for maintenance, updating, development and paying for server space. AIS, the owner of Open Spending Albania, finds that calls for financial support for Watchdog and Anticorruption projects are missing, and asks for the help of potential donors for financial support and grant application opportunities.

Spending Data Albania is an instrument created by the programming team, economists and Anticorruption activists at AIS/OpenDataAlbania.

In 2016 - 2018 this important instrument was supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as part of the activities and instruments of the Money, Government and Politics Project, while in the period 2021 - 2023 it was supported by the Swedish Embassy through the Open Data Access and Transparency over Sectors Program exposed to Risk of Corruption.

For the following 2024, even though the AIS Organization has applied, it has not been able to secure re-financing to continue the work in aid of activists and journalists.

We ask for your help through announcements for open calls, or the possibility of grant funding, with the desire not to close one of the most important instruments in strengthening Transparency, Accountability and the Watchdog culture in Albania.

The Anticorruption War, Activism and the empowerment of Watchdog actors remain important moments for post-transition countries like Albania. The Reform of Justice and the new Institutions still have work to do to consolidate results against Maladministration and Impunity.

We remain open for your help and cooperation with the good will to secure a new grant to keep ON and not to close the database OpenSpendingAlbania.