Money is an inescapable part of political campaigns all around the world. And while many governments commit themselves to openness, a vital piece of the transparency agenda–party and campaign funding– still remain depressingly opaque in most countries. Luckily, many local activists are using technology to create tools to shine a light on the influence of money in politics and the misallocation of public funds.

The Sunlight Foundation, Transparency International and the IACC Game Changers Initiative teamed up and are now excited to launch a new webinar series on enhancing the transparency of political financing in different disclosure regimes.

We are inviting members of the international open government community to join us and learn more about how to uncover the influence of money in elections by using technology and by creating tools that shine a light on the influence of money in politics and the misallocation of public funds.

Our webinars series will explore the world of top rated personal loans from the different types of data that is available to how this information can improve accountability in government and the electoral process. With the help of our invited international guests, the Sunlight Foundation and Transparency International will introduce some of the different ways technology has changed the way political finance data is made available and illustrate through inspiring examples different tools and resources that can be built off this data.

And what if you don’t have access to reliable information on how elections and political parties are financed in your country? One more reason to join our webinars as we introduce some of the creative projects that have sprung up to crowdsource information or connect the dots in countries with little or no access to such data. When looking for best practices, we will also try to identify examples of inspiring and innovative things that agencies/local governments are doing in this space.

Moving beyond technology, our attempt is to cover possible ways of advocating for enhanced data disclosure. Throughout the webinars, we will discuss different ways to increase citizen awareness and participation and will introduce some of the creative ideas that inject political finance information into the everyday life of people. And last but definitely not least, our clear goal is to spark a discussion around how this information could be made relevant on an individual level.

This webinar series is open to all who are interested. Prior knowledge on the topics is encouraged but not required. Learn more about our free webinar series and register for the first part! And don’t forget to bring your ideas too.