The Transparency and Accountability Program (TAP) will officially launch its most recent book, From the Ground Up: Improving Government Performance with Independent Monitoring Organizations, today in London.

From the Ground Up argues that the international community’s efforts to improve public expenditure and budget execution decisions would be more effective if done in collaboration with local independent monitoring organizations. The book highlights several examples of local groups making an impact, including a Guatemala organization that persuaded the government to change the school calendar so that students would not sit for months without books and supplies; a Ghana organization that identified reasons behind high teacher absenteeism on Fridays and then started work with the government to correct the problem; and a Paraguay group that documented a troubling lack of transparency among public school budgets and effectively made the case that parent organizations were the only independent group capable of being an outside monitor of the funds.

Click here to learn more about From the Ground Up and how you can purchase a copy of the book.