Institute for State Effectiveness

What it reported doing in 2025

Insight and analysis - ise's analysis is informed by years of studying and working with civic actors, public sector and firms on governance and market building across a wide range of contexts. Ise conducts research and provides input on policy through several programs and research areas including:- "state of the state" dialogue and research to identify gains, lessons learned and emerging trends relating to the social compact and public trust in institutions.- democracy & government: state, market, citizenship - this work focuses onstrengthening democratic governance, rule of law and inclusive market building. Ise works to refine concepts and frameworks for governance, promote economic and civic engagement, and strengthen international relationships. Ise also develops tools and frameworks for building integrated markets and identifying assets to support inclusive growth and development; and - successful transitions to map pathways from poverty to prosperity and from autocracy to democracy in the developing world over the course of the past century to extract relevant lessons for today's challenges. This allows for comparison across time and context.-global order & international partnerships - ise is committed to generating new ideas and perspectives to strengthen the international system and better serve citizens worldwide. Through workshops, roundtables and targeted research, including ise's "state of the state" process, the initiative aims to contribute ideas on how to regenerate and reform institutions for the 21st century. Specific focus topics include international partnerships; global supply chains and localized participation in the global order;-responding to open moments - ise has built tools, techniques and analytical approaches to identify "open moments" - critical opportunities for transformation and reform in countries. Ise supports countries to navigate these open moments by learning from past experiences and improving on conventional international approaches. Areas of focus include reconstruction and recovery, support to new governments and reform sequencing;-economic competitiveness - ise is undertaking a systemic analysis on supply chain shifts and how they might advance positive economic, security and development objectives. This work forms part of ise's practice supporting country strategies for growth and innovation. This practice partners with countries to map potential sources of growth and priorities for innovation and align investments, including skills, infrastructure and institutional capacity for these priorities;-future of development: development 3.0 - ise's "future of development" initiative provides cutting-edge research and options for how countries and their international partners can modernize their approaches to development and governance. This effort aims to update the toolkit used by leading development institutions, ensuring they remain relevant in a rapidly changing world;-ai, technology & citizen-centered governance - addresses critical questions at the nexus of ai advancements, governance and development. It investigates the impact of ai on core governance functions; ethically integrates ai to improve existing analytical tools and to develop new ones where appropriate; and disseminates findings to help key stakeholders understand both the risks and opportunities of ai for governance, ensuring its potential is fully leveraged to strengthen the state-citizen compact;-accountability & anticorruption - ise's national accountability diagnostics tool assesses a country's fiscal, budgetary, and anti-corruption systems. This diagnostic tool helps governments address fiduciary and economic development risks and opportunities; and-community-driven development & the social compact - ise works with governments and their international partners to design, operationalize and scale cdd programs, supporting new social compacts for accountable governments, fair economies and empowered communities and citiz

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 88.3%; rating input score 88
• Program expense ratio: 80.5%; rating input score 80
• Fundraising efficiency: $11.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
• Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 62
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Fail
  • Other executive compensation review process: Limited
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Fail
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -9.3%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.21; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 30%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings