After spending years advising various governments in developing countries in Africa, Rupert Simons last week officially took over the reins of leadership at Publish What You Fund.
From the outside, this role seems to be in an entirely new space for Simons. But while the campaign’s new CEO humbly admits “there’s a lot more that I have to know from them, than they could ever know from me,” he also offered some fresh insights that even veteran aid transparency advocates can learn from.
In his years working closely with heads of states of aid recipient countries like Liberia, he saw how lack of aid data and accountability — despite all the good will — has led to poor program management.