Accountability structures in NGO’s
and CSO’s
A self instructive PowerPoint presentation useful
for CSO and NGO practitioners
Picture from accountability workshop in India,
March 2010
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Accountability structures in NGO’s
and CSO’s
 Take note that this presentation also exist in a
version without text-explanation useful for the
facilitator
 Find it here www.prngo.dk/kjdskla
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Why Accountability?
 A Civil Society Organisation without proper
accountability systems is fragile and open to
rumours about mismanagement and abuse of
power.
Picture from accountability workshop in India,
March 2010
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Why Accountability
 Worst of all, it will prevent it from enjoying
respect and full legitimacy in the eyes of its
stakeholders including those duty bearers
whom they intend to engage with advocacy.
Picture from accountability workshop in India,
March 2010
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Why Accountability
 Further more, sound accountability structures
is the most important aspect of prevention and
detection of corruption.
Picture from accountability workshop in India,
March 2010
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Accountability Structures – a definition
 Accountability is the ability to account for your
actions and performance to your stakeholders
 Accountability includes that someone (your
stakeholders) are willing and able to hold you
accountable
With the willing and able aspect of the definition
we have an operational understanding of
accountability which can guide us in asking
questions to accountability structures in our
organisation
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The sport club or a Community Based Organisation
The simplest accountability structure:
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The sport club or a Community Based Organisation
The simplest accountability structure:
Football entusiasts from a small town
come together – they form their own
small club or association – and they
become members
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The sport club or a Community Based Organisation
Members
Football enthusiasts – or poor market
venders - from a small town come
together – they form their own small
club or association – and they
become members
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The sport club or a Community Based Organisation
Members
Among themselves they elect a
board and they develop the
necessary rules of the organisation
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The sport club or a Community Based Organisation
Members
Board
Resources from members – e.g.
membership fees are channeled
through the board
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The sport club or a Community Based Organisation
Members
Resources
Board
Resources from members – e.g.
membership fees are channeled
through the board to....
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The sport club or a Community Based
Organisation
Members
Resources
Board
Resources
Activities
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The sport club or a Community Based Organisation
Members
Resources
Board
Resources
Activities
-Hiring a coach, renting a playing field.
-Organising a market cleaning
mechanism
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The sport club or a Community Based Organisation
Members
Resources
Board
Accountability - feed back
Resources
Activities
It is easy for members to hold the Board
accountable – did the training take place? Did
the market become clean? Have they spent the
resources in an efficient way? Etc.
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The sport club or a Community Based Organisation
Members
Resources
Board
Accountability - feed back
Resources
Activities
It is easy for members to hold the Board
accountable – did the training take place? Have
they spent the resources in an efficient way?
Etc.
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The sport club or a Community Based Organisation
Members
Resources
Board
Accountability - feed back
Resources
Activities
…and they are very willing to hold the Board
accountable since the resources invested is
their own.
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
The typical NGO or
CSO has a similar
structure
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The typical NGO or CSO
The owners, the patronages
Executive committee,
steering group, management group,
board of directors
Administration, direction,
Members
Board
Management
daily leader,
The levels might be
called different
names… but still…
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
Most often the organisation has a member base
consisting of appointed prominent persons from the
area of operation or influential in other ways.
The number of members often is limited to 10-50
members
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
Maybe the organsations was started by some
of these members as in the football club /
CBO case
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
Or maybe it was rather founded by a specific
person who is still central at Board or
management level?
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
Anyway, strong
accountability
structures between
these levels are
important
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
Anyway, strong
accountability
structures between
these levels are
important
And we can ask: ”Is there
ability and willingness to
fulfill accountability
functions?”
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The typical NGO or CSO
We can ask questions
like:
Members
•How often does the
Board meet?
Board
•Is the Board elected
by the member base
through General
Meetings?
•Do management
report properly to the
Board?
Management
* Are members of the board
capable of understanding
financial and narrative
reports?
etc.
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
activities, operations, staff,
Management leads
activities with the
help from staff or
volunteers
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
activities, operations, staff,
Management leads
activities with the
help from staff or
volunteers
Also here accountability
matters…
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The typical NGO or CSO
•Does our
management
promote open,
inclusive and
respectful behaviour
within the staff
team?
•Is staff capable of
reporting back to
management ?
Members
Board
Management
activities, operations, staff,
Also here accountability
matters…
•Etc etc
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
activities, operations, staff,
Staff or volunteers
work directly with
the communities
Community
Participants
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The typical NGO or CSO
And we can ask:
•Is the community
ready and capable of
holding the
organisation
accountable?
•What can staff and
management do to
secure this?
Members
Board
Management
activities, operations, staff,
Community
Participants
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
activities, operations, staff,
Sometimes a CBO is
between the
organisation and the
community
CBO
Community
Participants
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
Activities, operations, staff,
Producing a even
longer
accountability chain
CBO
Community
Participants
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
When funds for
activities come from
outside the
organisation the
accountability chain
becomes longer
again
activities, operations, staff,
CBO
Community
Participants
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The typical NGO or CSO
Members
Board
Management
Sometimes funds
come through an
international partner
activities, operations, staff,
CBO
Community
Participants
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The typical NGO or CSO
Government
Private
donations
Members
Board
Management
Who has got the
funds either from
private sources or
public sources
activities, operations, staff,
CBO
Community
Participants
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The typical NGO or CSO
Government
Private
donations
Members
Board
Management
The accountability
structures are:
activities, operations, staff,
CBO
Community
Participants
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The typical NGO or CSO
Government
Private
donations
Members
Board
Management
The accountability
structures are:
COMPLEX!
activities, operations, staff,
CBO
Community
Participants
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The typical NGO or CSO
Government
Private
donations
Members
Board
Management
And if we only look
at the money flow
chain
activities, operations, staff,
CBO
Community
Participants
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The typical NGO or CSO
Government
Private
donations
Members
Board
Management
And if we only look
at the money flow
chain –
We see how LONG
it is!
activities, operations, staff,
CBO
Community
Participants
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The typical NGO or CSO
Government
Private
donations
Members
Board
Management
…but hold on! What
happened to these
two levels – are they
still in the loop? Or
have they become
disconnected?
activities, operations, staff,
CBO
Community
Participants
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Comparing the two models we find at
least three things:
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Comparing the two models we find at
least three things:
 The money chain in the NGO / CSO model with
international funding is very long – and
accountability is complex
 In many NGO’s the members are not equal to
the end users as is the case with the football
club (or the Peoples Organisations and many
CBO’s)
 In the football club model there is an obvious
owner to the resources, namely the members.
The other model lacks such obvious owner!
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The ”Aid Chain” invites to
corruption!!


Dramatically speaking we can conclude that
the ”Aid Chain” actually invites to corruption!!
The fact that corruption is NOT everyday
matter is probably due to:
1. High moral standards of people involved
2. Good accountability structures with proper
checks and balances put in place in spite of
the challenges
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