Upward Accountability Research Articles

Against new humanitarian management: Prefigurative accounting in the humanitarian field

This paper studies one large humanitarian NGO, Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières). We argue that its accounting practices can act as a ‘prefiguration’ of the organisational practices it wants to promote more widely. Precisely, the organisation is critical of what we call a ‘new humanitarian management’, which we characterise through three interconnected dimensions – a performance model that promotes efficiency and standardised projects, increasingly financial, upward accountability, and managerialised norms and values. We therefore detail how MSF responds to this trend with a performance model that rejects commensurability and disembeddedness, an alternative form of accountability framed around (self-)criticism, and strong normative controls aiming at encouraging humanitarian entrepreneurship. These alternative practices suggest that organisations promoting emancipation externally should start by shaping their internal processes and controls to offer ‘moments of prefiguration’. We therefore contribute to the literature on alternative accounts and emancipatory accounting by discussing the possibilities of what we call ‘prefigurative accounting’.

Transformational leadership style and holistic accountability mechanisms in not-for-profit organisations

This study examines: (i) the ability of the transformational leadership style of top management to effect holistic accountability in not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) through the use of downward (to clients), upward (to funders) and lateral (to employees) accountability mechanisms; and (ii) a mediating effects model of not-for-profit accountability practices wherein the use of lateral accountability mechanisms mediates the association between transformational leadership style and the use of downward and upward accountability mechanisms. Data from 236 NFPs in the residential aged care sector in Australia were gathered through survey questionnaire and analysed using Structural Equation Modelling. We find that transformational leadership style is significantly associated with the use of downward, upward and lateral accountability mechanisms. We also find that the use of lateral accountability mechanisms mediates the association between transformational leadership style and the use of both downward (full mediation) and upward (partial mediation) accountability mechanisms. The results have implications for the research literature seeking to understand the role of leadership in effecting holistic accountability in NFPs as well as for management and practice in those organisations.

How are accountability and organisational learning related? A study of German bilateral development cooperation

We analyse qualitative data collected from employees at Germany’s two main international development organisations, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) Development Bank, to study how upward accountability and organisational learning interact in the world’s second largest foreign aid system. Goffman’s ‘staging’ heuristic is applied to unpack social practices in these two organisations. We find that employees navigate two separate domains, a frontstage and a backstage. They consider the federal bureaucracy an audience expecting a coherent storyline despite the messy realities of foreign aid. In response, they engage in impression management on a frontstage while shielding their backstages from scrutiny to maximise autonomy. As a result, organisational learning at GIZ and KfW in Goffman’s terms focuses on collective efficacy at satisfying accountability expectations through staged performances. We relate these insights to the hierarchical structure of Germany’s foreign aid system, the role of organisational interests and prevailing professional norms.

How Street-Level Bureaucrats Collaborate for Policy Entrepreneurship: Insights From Anti-Poverty Policy Implementation in China

Despite increasing attention to street-level policy entrepreneurship, it remains unclear what strategies street-level bureaucrats employ during implementation or how their strategies impact policy outcomes. Using China’s Targeted Poverty Alleviation campaign, we argue that street-level policy entrepreneurs construct collaborative arrangements with various local networks to devise innovative solutions. They collaborate with administrative leaders vertically or with citizens horizontally by adopting three strategies: defining mutual interests, building trust, and leveraging resources. Vertical collaboration contributes to effective policy outcomes and formal upward accountability, while horizontal collaboration improves public responsiveness. This study provides insights into collaborative behaviors of frontline bureaucrats that alleviate rural poverty.

Social and moral accountability in action: the religious roots of corporate social responsibility in an Italian entrepreneurial family (1900–1950)

ABSTRACT A company’s most valuable asset is its employees. Since the 1970s, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been a topic of increasing interest in terms of performance and disclosure. However, little attention has been paid to the history of CSR practices, which should be studied within historical and cultural contexts. Based on archival material and secondary sources, and using arguments from moral economics and Catholic Social Theory, this study uniquely investigates the role of religious and ethical beliefs in influencing CSR actions and accountability. We focus on the case of Vaccari, an entrepreneurial Italian Catholic family in the early-twentieth century, which was clearly inspired by upward accountability (to God) and not just economic returns. The family took CSR actions to improve the welfare and living conditions of its workers (downward accountability). Vaccari’s religious value system was strongly based on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) contained in the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII, addressed to ‘all men of good will’. Our historical analysis informs modern CSR practices, revealing that management’s commitment to ethics and sound values is the correct starting point for developing good and sustainable business practices.

Local Government Vertical Upward Accountability, Oversight, and the Intervention Mechanism in South Africa

Since democratisation, South Africa has struggled to create a stable system of local governance. There are constant municipal failures. Higher levels of government have to intervene in municipalities regularly. This study, therefore, set out to assess the effect of intervention mechanisms, including preventative measures, as part of the broader accountability and oversight setting. Based on a qualitative research approach, this paper argues that both prospective and retrospective accountability forms are weak. Post-factum interventions yield only limited results. Overall, these mechanisms are not able to form stable local governments and prevent municipal failures. Ultimately, this paper infers that strengthening prospective accountability and oversight mechanisms has the capacity to increase the stability of the local governance system. This finding has important implications for developing new accountability and oversight practices in South Africa and elsewhere.

Policymaking in personalist dictatorships: a theory of outbidding

ABSTRACT This article offers a novel perspective on policymaking in personalist dictatorships based on outbidding theory. Originally developed with reference to ethnic conflict and terrorist organizations, outbidding suggests that individuals or organizations compete for support from their relevant audience, which produces predictable outcomes. I present a modified version of outbidding theory derived from the incentives faced by autocratic elites’ desire to avoid upward accountability and attract the favour of the dictator. I probe the theory’s plausibility for explaining policymaking in one prominent authoritarian legislature, the State Duma in Russia. Using two conditions “most likely” to reveal outbidding dynamics – the archetypal personalist regime of Putin’s Russia and the realm of electoral policy – I couple quantitative text analysis with rigorous study of legislative debates. The findings support the existence of outbidding behaviour in Russian policymaking, suggest that it may result in positive outcomes for Duma deputies, and substantiate outbidding’s effects on the repressiveness of public policy.

Digital postcolonialism and NGO accountability during COVID-19: Evidence from the Gaza Strip

Drawing from a digital postcolonialism perspective, this paper explores how the leftover technology available in the colonised space shapes the landscape of NGOs’ accountability to beneficiaries and funders during the COVID-19 lockdown. The context of the study is the Gaza Strip, a socially and politically vulnerable geographic location with heavy reliance on support from NGOs. We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with Palestinian and international NGOs during and after the lockdown to enhance our understanding of the challenges and opportunities they faced in adopting technology to discharge accountability during a major disruptive event. Three main themes emerged from our analysis. First, the biggest challenge is downward accountability to the most deprived and marginalised beneficiaries due to implications of the digital occupation which caused digital unaffordability and illiteracy, voluntary digital resistance to counter suspicion of surveillance, and female digital disempowerment. Second, upward accountability was less problematic as funders accepted ad hoc technology-based accountability practices, but some concerns remained over the efficacy and sustainability of digital adoption in the long run. Finally, the pandemic granted NGOs new opportunities in utilising technology, which successfully changed their process and practice of accountability.

NGO accountability to donors: better said than done?

The growing involvement of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in solving development problems has led to an increase in the number of NGOs around the world and therefore in their visibility and influence. Although concerns about the role and responsibility of NGOs have been raised from more than 20 years, there is still a need to ensure good practices in NGOs and to determine what measures will improve NGOs’ accountability to their stakeholders. Our study aims to contribute to this initiative from the donor accountability approach. To achieve this goal, we conducted a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis to analyze the constraints and needs that donor accountability pose to NGOs. Our findings suggest that donor accountability could interfere with NGOs’ activities, leading them to generate short-term results, focus more on financial results, and feel increased pressure on overhead costs. The most recent literature opens an opportunity, however, to make upward accountability more useful for NGOs. Following this trend, we propose that donor accountability be considered as a dimension to assess NGO quality so that it becomes a powerful marketing tool to attract and retain donors.

Country-led monitoring and evaluation systems through the lens of participatory governance and co-production: Implications for a Made in Africa Evaluation approach

Background: The history of evaluations on the African continent can be linked to the introduction of upward systems of accountability resulting from the rapid introduction of international aid programmes for the (re)building of African states during the post-independence era. Results-based management and monitoring and evaluation (ME) became commonplace, the features of which continue to imbue national ME systems across the continent. These systems, if not intentionally so designed and implemented, are not particularly focused on learning for course-correction and performance improvement from the perspective of citizens. Conducting evaluations, in particular, is often based on the need for accountability to funders or decision-makers, as opposed to downward accountability to the public and intended beneficiaries of the interventions.Objectives: This article explores how localised approaches to governance (merged with co-production) could ensure that evaluation systems are liberatory if they are endogenous and indigenous in their design and respond to the needs of citizens (rather than serving an upward accountability agenda).Method: Through the analytical framework of participatory governance and co-production, this article examines how participatory approaches to establishing national evaluation (and monitoring) systems may help the African continent liberate itself from the instrumental adoption of ME systems, defined by compliance and accountability, and instead design systems based on a citizen-owned, people-centred notion of downward accountability.Results: Participatory governance and co-production are well aligned to the principles of MAE (Made in Africa Evaluation) and may provide the means to arriving at more inclusive forms of ME systems development and, concomitantly, more inclusive ways of producing and using evidence for policy, governance and development on a national scale.Conclusion: Although desirable due its potential to transform systems of governance to become more citizen-centred, co-production must not be romanticised nor over-simplified. Increasing levels of citizen participation in governance must consider that there are significant changes that need to be made to institutional structures and processes, such as new forms of accountability, governance, systems and structures for citizen involvement. Therefore, a combination of practical, technical, ideological, relational and political factors must be considered in the adoption of more participatory approaches in establishing national ME systems.

How can NGO accountability practices be improved with technologies such as blockchain and triple-entry accounting?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how blockchain and triple-entry accounting technologies may improve non-governmental organisation (NGO) accountability by amplifying the social and economic outcomes of aid. It also provides a critique of these technologies from an accountability perspective.Design/methodology/approachAn in-depth case study of a large NGO, relying on semi-structured interviews, document analysis and non-participant observation, provides an understanding of current issues in existing NGO accountability and reporting systems. A novel case-conceptual critical analysis is then used to explore how blockchain and triple-entry accounting systems may potentially address some of the challenges identified with NGO accountability.FindingsAn empirical case study outlines the current processes which discharge accountability to a range of stakeholders, emphasising how “upward” accountability is privileged over other forms. This provides a foundation to illustrate how new technology can improve upward accountability to donors by enabling more efficient, accurate and auditable record-keeping and reporting, creating space for an NGO to focus on horizontal accountability to partner organisations and downward accountability to beneficiaries. Greater accountability exposes NGOs to diverse views from partner organisations and beneficiaries, potentially enhancing opportunities for learning and growth, i.e. greater impact. However, blockchain and triple-entry accounting can also create “over-accounting” and further entrench the power of upward stakeholders, such as donors, if not implemented carefully.Research limitations/implicationsA novel case-conceptual critical analysis furnishes new insights into how existing NGO accountability systems can be improved with technology. Despite the growing excitement about the possibilities of blockchain and triple-entry accounting systems, this paper offers a critical reflection on the limitations of these technologies and suggests avenues for future research.Practical implicationsExamples of how blockchain and triple-entry accounting systems can be integrated into NGO systems are presented. This research also raises the importance of creating a strong nexus between humans and technology, which ensures that “socialising” forms of accountability that empower vulnerable stakeholders, are embedded into international aid.Originality/valueThis research provides insight into present challenges with NGO accountability, using empirical evidence, furnishing potential solutions using novel blockchain and triple-entry accounting systems. Greater accountability to partner organisations and beneficiaries is important, as it potentially enables NGOs to learn how to be more impactful. Therefore, this paper introduces rich, contextually embedded perspectives on how NGO managers can exploit such technologies to enhance accountability and impact.

Effects of decentralization on ethnic conflict resolution in South Sudan: A case study of Juba county

The study examined decentralization's contribution to ethnic conflict resolution in Juba County, South Sudan, a gap that existing studies have not filled. The study administered a questionnaire to 349 representatives of households in Juba County's Rejaf and Luri payams and interviewed 41 key informants in these payams and within the Juba City Council. The survey respondents were selected using the multi-stage sampling technique, while the key informants were purposively selected based on their experience with the subject matter. The survey data were analysed using SPSS, while the qualitative data were analysed using narrative and content analysis techniques. The study reveals that decentralization's overall contribution to ethnic conflict resolution in Juba County is marginal because it has not been implemented as planned, making people associate it with reducing local autonomy, and exacerbating impunity of high-profile people, rampant land disputes, grand corruption, tribalism and nepotism, and unbalanced development. Nevertheless, decentralization has made local authorities more responsive to citizens' needs than central government officials, increased inter-ethnic unity, and enhanced citizens' participation in decision-making processes, among others. The study concludes that decentralization's effectiveness in ending ethnic conflicts in South Sudan requires complete devolution where the central government not only vests local governments with political and administrative powers but also fiscal and legal authority. Then, there must be a robust system of downward and upward accountability in the confines of rule of law, to make everyone abide by societal standards and norms, and end injustices that allegedly push people to pursue their rights violently.

Smart, Commodified and Encoded

We explore the implications of blockchain technology for conservation and environmental policy. Drawing on an analysis of 27 initiatives, we examine their goals, assumptions, visions and workings. We find that these initiatives do not yet form a coherent approach, there is too much variety in their environmental focus, and the role of blockchain technology in achieving their goals. However, they share a faith in environmental-commodity markets, a penchant for surveillance and upward accountability, and lack a critical analysis of the main causes of environmental problems. Blockchain initiatives are forming a growing community of praxis and deepen ongoing trends in neoliberal environmental governance, characterised by the increased commodification and global accounting, surveillance and marketisation of environmental goods, services and outcomes. We suggest these services and outcomes fail to challenge the actual root causes of environmental degradation. At the same time, they are not all necessarily flawed by these characteristics. They can render information held by communities financially valuable in ways those communities may find useful. Future research should focus on exploring whether blockchain initiatives may at least translate in concrete environmental outcomes and contribute to the well-being of natural resource managers.

The suitability and sustainability of governance structures in land consolidation under institutional change: A comparative case study

Land consolidation serves as a vital instrument for rural development worldwide. Various governance structures of land consolidation and their performance have been examined against diverse backgrounds; however, how institutional change affects different governance structures of land consolidation remains to be studied. A synthetic framework linking the institutional environment, governance structures and incentives of actors is proposed to examine the suitability and sustainability of different governance structures under changes in the institutional environment through the lens of land reallocation in land consolidation. The paper applies an embedded comparative case study using cases from China because the promotion of land consolidation in China is in parallel with rural land rights reform. The results have shown that both government-dominated land reallocation and self-organized land reallocation were suitable and individual exchanges was not suitable to solve the problem of large-scale fragmentation in China, while institutional environmental change characterized by the unimproved land consolidation legal framework and the enhanced private land right legal framework has undermined the suitability of government-dominated land reallocation. We conclude that whether initiation, land redistribution and conflict resolution match with the situation and align with each other determines the suitability of governance structures; Changing institutional environment may lead to mode fixing or mode shifting of governance structures in the long run, which depends on the incentives of actors. The government-dominated land reallocation is not sustainable because the behavior of the decision-makers in the mode, who are local government-officials, has a nature of upward accountability. The institutional environmental change has discouraged local government officials from conducting land reallocation. Based on this conclusion, we propose that land consolidation legal framework in China should be enhanced along with rural land rights reform, and in other developing countries that are undergoing similar reform, connections between related institutions should be carefully balanced rather than simply enhancing tenure security.

The influence of privatised agricultural extension on downward accountability to smallholder tea farmers

ABSTRACT Purpose To assess the extent to which privatised extension service, which is premised to be demand-driven, delivers downward accountability to smallholder farmers who are both owners and users of agricultural services. Design/methodology/approach The research collected data through focus group discussions with smallholder tea farmers and key informant interviews after which the information were corroborated with semi-structured interviews with 104 smallholder farmers. Findings Our findings show that KTDA (Kenya Tea Development Agency) extension service has in recent years embraced methodologies that allow two-way information exchange and farmers’ involvement in planning, implementing and evaluation of extension programmes. While this transition has provided opportunities for increased accountability and empowerment of smallholder farmers, downward accountability is limited by among others; presence of multiple accountabilities, a heavy top-down governance structure, higher incentives for upward accountability, limited resourcing of extension delivery, excessive workload and unrealistic targets on the part of extension staff and weak extension–research–farmer linkages. Practical implications The findings of this study may be used by policymakers, extension practitioners and organisations delivering extension services to improve downward accountability and quality of advisory services Theoretical implications The paper contributes to the debate on outcomes of privatisation on extension provision using the accountability lens in an area dominated by perceptions on costs and payment for the services. Originality/value The literature on downward accountability on privatised extension services is lacking. The paper also extends the framework for assessing the performance of pluralistic extension services to develop and apply a framework for assessing downward accountability in privatised extension.

An evolutionary analysis of corruption in the process of collecting environmental tax in China.

Considering the bargaining power of enterprises, this paper distinguishes between "Offering Bribes Voluntarily" (OBV) and "Offering Bribes under Pressure from Environmental Inspectors" (NOBV). An evolutionary game model between environmental inspectors and enterprises is constructed to study the corruption of environmental inspectors in the process of environmental tax collection under the system of upward accountability. At the same time, numerical simulations are carried out using China's pollution discharge data and pollution discharge fee collection standards in 2017. The results show that when enterprises have different bargaining powers, there are differences in the evolutionary stable strategy (ESS) in the process of environmental tax collection. Enterprises with weak bargaining power may adopt "OBV" strategy. Under the system of upward accountability, it is difficult for the public to form adequate supervision over polluting enterprises and environmental inspectors. Only with the power of the upper-level government can the public's supervisory role be brought into play. High audit costs and environmental tax rates may be objective incentives for environmental inspectors' corruption and enterprises' bribery.

Accountability Complexities in Non-governmental Organisation: A Reflection of Practical Mechanisms for Instilling Accountability in Selected Tanzania's Non-governmental Organisations

Non-governmental Organisations are key development partners who receive funds and other support from various stakeholders for supporting human development. Receiving funds and other supports require a well-established accountability framework to which most NGOs do not adhere. The downward and upward accountability phenomena seem overly complicated for NGOs to strike a balance as they have diverse and antagonistic interests. Given that scenario, it was imperative to examine how the existing mechanisms, influence the accountability of NGOs with the bias of ANSAF, UCS and HAWA. The study used Dar es Salaam as the case study employing the case study research design with a sample size of 30. Data were gathered through interviews and semi-structured questionnaires and analysed through content analysis for qualitative data. Quantitative data were analysed through simple descriptive statistics. This study aims to examine the mechanisms selected NGOs employ to instil accountability in Tanzania. The study found that the selected NGOs apply various accountability mechanisms, while the most used one is performance assessment based on a short-term basis, followed by disclosure of funding sources. The study concludes that upward and downward accountabilities are overly complex phenomena in actual practice. Thus, NGOs need a proper dedicated balance between the two.

Democratic decentralisation and promotion of accountability in urban development in Bangladesh

The success of decentralisation highly depends on improving local government accountability. Although a decentralisation process exists in Bangladesh, the issue of accountability is a major challenge for urban development planning in this country. This paper identifies whether there are impacts related to the arrangement of decentralisation in urban development planning and the promotion of accountability issues and practises in Bangladesh. Using a mixed-method research strategy, this study evaluates the performance of three municipal entities and how they ensure accountability in their urban development-planning activities. Findings show that local government organisations are more accountable than other entities that have been delegated to perform these activities and that have been devolved through decentralisation in Bangladesh. This study also identifies that pro-accountability arrangements cannot be expected to spontaneously take place as a result of the devolution of the decentralisation process, but they need to be intentionally structured. This paper concludes that where single form of decentralised organisation exists, there is no problem of upward accountability. However, where two different forms of decentralised organisations exist, the problem of upward and downward accountability prevails to a larger extent. Therefore, this study recommends active citizen participation and it also advocates for a better coordination mechanism in cases where a multi-layered organisational form of decentralisation in urban development exists in Bangladesh.

Decentralized Urban Governance and Water Supply Service Delivery in Ethiopia: The Case of Adama City

Through devolving political powers, financial resources and administrative responsibilities to urban local government level, municipal decentralization in Ethiopia is largely intended to improve public service delivery. In this perspective, the aim of this study is to analyze whether the decentralization process has empowered the urban local governments to meet the demands for potable water supply services. The study relies on a case study design with particular reference to the city of Adama. It uses an extensive data collection, including key informant interviews, administrative and fiscal data. The analysis makes effective use of all these materials to investigate the effect of decentralization policy on water supply service delivery and local governance processes in Adama. The study found out that decentralized urban governance has been ineffective in the delivery of water supply service in Adama. This is because; firstly, the city lacks legal and institutional security. This makes it politically dependent upon the upper level regional state government. Secondly, contrary to the logic of ‘Enterprise model’ of water supply, the hierarchical political culture and the upward accountability of the Enterprise’s Manager have reinforced the political control from above. Thirdly, the power to determine the structure, technical and financial sources of the city’s water-supply project has been granted to regional water Bureau, while Adama water supply enterprise is practically required to provide water supply service to the residents. Fourthly, the decentralized urban water-service delivery is incompatible with the rapid and mostly informal pace of urbanization of Adama; and the city’s horizontal physical expansion and demographic changes have already gone beyond the pressure zones for the water supply distribution system. Finally, the coordination and partnership among the multilevel water institutions -at federal, state and local governments- were mainly observed at times of water crises to moderate political and electoral contingencies. The implication is that for the urban local government to deliver effective water-supply service, this study contends, decentralization process needs to ensure adequate local capacity and effective coordination and partnership between the multilevel water institutions and stakeholders.

Navigating Governance Tensions to Enhance the Impact of Partnerships with the Private Sector for the SDGs

Partnering with the private sector is a key modality in development cooperation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite their increasing importance, such Public-Private Partnerships for Development (PPPD) experience major challenges in defining, assessing and reporting on their actual impact. This paper explores why, and how this can be improved. We engage in a qualitative synthesis review of academic, gray literature and evaluation reports of public-private programs of development agencies. We identify challenges, tensions and contradictions that affect a proper understanding and assessment of the impacts of such partnerships. The analysis shows that the main challenge in understanding and assessing impacts is the double governance logic that emerges in PPPD monitoring and evaluation (M&E). While M&E functions as an accountability and risk mitigation approach, it should also support collaborative characteristics of PPPDs such as trust and power-sharing, in order to enhance impactful PPPDs. Enhancing the impact of PPPDs for the SDGs requires bridging the divide between (a) result-based, upward accountability monitoring and evaluation approaches and (b) emerging learning, participatory and complexity-based approaches. The paper provides suggestions on how to navigate these governance tensions by using a paradoxical lens.