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Accountability
Improving accountability relationships is an effective strategy for developing capacity. Effective accountability mechanisms induce both governmental and non-governmental organizations to remain relevant and responsive to the needs and demands of the groups they serve.
Holding those in power accountable for tackling poverty and ensuring the well-being of all citizens is quite a challenge, especially in societies characterized by authoritarian styles of leadership. Furthermore, the concept of accountability is itself quite broad: ranging from macro-level financial systems to the interpersonal relationships that drive the most basic level of development action. Civil society organizations, in particular, are becoming more innovative in influencing policymaking and monitoring the use of public resources. Drawing from a wide variety of governance contexts, this section showcase innovative approaches and tools that can help empower individuals and groups seeking to make a greater contribution in this area.
Featured Article
SNV Practice Brief: Supporting domestic accountability
Accountability can be an abstract concept, but it comes alive for ordinary citizens if it
involves looking at whether (and how) funding for services is distributed and spent at the local
level. This Practice Brief is the first of a new series prepared by practitioners working with the
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation. It helps to shed some light on what support organisations
can do to amplify the voice of local stakeholders in demanding greater accountability from
governments and service providers.
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Recent Articles
Islands of integrity: Identifying positive outliers
16 March 2012
Why have some public organizations or sectors seen a reduction in corruption (or a greater
reduction than might be expected) while others have not? What explains the differences across or
within countries and sectors? What are the political processes that drive corruption reduction and
what policy lessons can be learned from studying cases where it has happened? This paper, the first
in a series on this topic, is part of a project that seeks to try to answer those questions, and is
being undertaken by the Developmental Leadership Program (DLP) in conjunction with Transparency
International (TI). The paper outlines the way in which a ‘long list’ of cases has been identified
by a careful statistical analysis of TI’s Global Corruption Barometer (GCB)
New multi-language tool for measuring development effectiveness
10 March 2012
The International Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC) has launched a learning tool meant to support trade unions worldwide in the
application of the effectiveness principles in their everyday development cooperation practice.
Known as the Trade Union Development Effectiveness Profile (TUDEP) the new
tool is based on a questionnaire that is automatically evaluated and analysed in an active excel
document. The aim is to contribute to the improvement of the quality and effectiveness of the
development cooperation work of trade unions by helping partners to reflect on their practice as
well as the principles and values that underpin their work. It also helps to facilitate the
monitoring and evaluation of the progress in the use of the principles and guidelines for trade
union development effectiveness.
How to write Terms of Reference for an evaluation
23 January 2012
Developing
an accurate and well-specified terms of reference (ToR) is a critical step in managing a
high-quality evaluation. The evaluation ToR document serves as the basis for a contractual
arrangement with one or more evaluators and sets the parameters against which the success of the
assignment can be measured. This practical guide from the World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group
sets out a few basic principles and guidelines to help in the development of an effective
evaluation.
Assessing decentralization and local governance in West Africa
12 January 2012
This document examines a number of
initiatives to build the capacity of local stakeholders to monitor and evaluate decentralisation
and local governance processes in a participatory way. It includes case studies from Benin,
Cameroon, Ghana, Mali and Niger.
SNV Practice Brief: Supporting domestic accountability
25 November 2011
Accountability can be an abstract concept, but it comes alive for ordinary citizens if it
involves looking at whether (and how) funding for services is distributed and spent at the local
level. This Practice Brief is the first of a new series prepared by practitioners working with the
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation. It helps to shed some light on what support organisations
can do to amplify the voice of local stakeholders in demanding greater accountability from
governments and service providers.
3ie launches online database on systematic reviews
16 November 2011
The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) has launched an online database of systematic reviews. This database provides policymakers and practitioners with easy access to systematic reviews that examine evidence on the effects of social and economic development interventions in low- and middle-income countries. It currently has over 100 reviews for many sectors, including agriculture, education, nutrition and health.
MoreOther Topics
Essential Readings
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Theisohn, T. (2007) Using accountability relationships to support capacity, in Capacity.org issue 31
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Rakesh Rajani (2010) "Capacity is Political, Not Technical: The Case of HakiElimu in Promoting Accountability in Education in Tanzania" in Ubels, J., N. Acquaye-Baddoo and A. Fowler (eds) Capacity Development in Practice, Earthscan, pp. 157-166
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Asian Development Bank (2007) Improving Local Governance and Service Delivery: Citizen Report Card Learning Tool Kit
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World Bank (2004) Making services work for poor people
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“Our Money, Our Responsibility: A Citizens’ Guide to Monitoring Government Expenditures” The International Budget Project (IBP) 2008
Featured Community
ALNAP
Active Learning Network on Accountability and
Performance in Humanitarian Assistance (ALNAP) is a unique, sector-wide network that brings
together the major actors involved in international responses to conflicts and natural disasters.
Established in 1997, following the multi-agency evaluation of the Rwanda genocide, ALNAP is a
collective response dedicated to improving humanitarian performance through increased learning and
accountability.
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