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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
Strengthening local accountabilities in fragile contexts: Lessons from Nepal, Bangladesh and Mozambique
07 June 2013
IDS Working Paper 422 (April 2013) explores societal dynamics in fragile contexts and the role that external partners can play in strengthening domestic accountability through giving local project participants opportunities to "practise democracy."
MoreStrengthening local governance: Towards context-specific theories of change for citizen engagement and state accountability
14 January 2013
This project briefing paper from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), UK, uses a critical analysis of citizen voice and accountability (CV&A) cases to examine how CV&A happens in different governance contexts. According to the author, CV&A project interventions produce and reproduce diverse outcomes that are not amenable to linear models of theories of change (ToC), which are "starting to be viewed as...a key part of what constitutes 'rigour' in impact evaluations. The paper draws on the experiences of ODI's Mwananchi Programme, a 5-year programme initiative to strengthen ordinary citizens' voices and improve state accountability and responsiveness in six African countries.
MoreCapacity development toolkit for procurement practitioners
11 January 2013
This online toolkit provides guidance for procurement practitioners, policymakers and advisers on how to manage a procurement reform and/or capacity development process, whether at the national, sector or entity level. The guide was developed by the United Nations Procurement Development Centre (UNPCDC) and is based on the OECD/DAC publication A Practical Guide to Transforming Procurement Systems.
MoreIslands 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)
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.
How can donors best support the strengthening of domestic accountability in developing countries?
23 March 2011
Rather than encouraging the adoption of particular models of governance, donors should seek to
nurture the environment of transparency and accountability out of which appropriate solutions to
the challenges of development might emerge, led and owned by local stakeholders. This is one of the
key messages from a panel discussion on domestic accountability during the European Development
Days in Brussels, on 6th December 2010. It is also the focus of a new ECDPM discussion paper that
explores how emerging capacity development perspectives can help foster democratic ownership.
Other 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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