The Accountability Challenge: To Whom and for What?

Abstract

The accountability of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has come into significant focus over the last decade. Various actors have questioned the accountability and legitimacy of NGOs. At the same time, the organizations themselves have struggled to determine and deliver on their accountability obligations. From the NGOs’ perspectives, a significant part of the challenge lies in identifying the stakeholders to whom the NGOs are accountable. For some organizations, the list seems endless and requires a sophisticated process of prioritization. Despite the difficulties, it is essential that NGOs focus carefully on accountability questions. A failure to do so will directly impact on the legitimacy and credibility of the organization. Questions of accountability and transparency are interlinked and complex. The question of accountability is relevant in two senses: firstly, there is practical accountability to donors, contributors and members; and secondly, there is mission accountability to those impacted by the work of the NGO. Practical accountability is comparable to that experienced by companies. For companies, accountability is generally limited to accounting to shareholders for the financial performance of the organization. NGOs are, similarly, most directly and obviously accountable to their donors and members who are able to hold the board and CEO to account and function in much the same way as shareholders in a corporation. The more challenging issues arise in relation to mission accountability, where NGO accountability is much broader and extends beyond donors and members. In particular, NGOs need to ensure that they are accountable at all stages of their work to the people with whom and for whom they work. While practical accountability is obvious, mission accountability should actually be the primary accountability of the organiszation.