Accountability Framework Talking Points (draft ver. March 25, 2011)
Why is an Accountability Framework needed?
Internal demands from CARE staff – how do we achieve our vision and mission,
notably our commitment to “…to be held accountable to poor and marginalized
people…” when this mapping study and a similar study conducted in 2007 to guide
the development of CARE’s Humanitarian Accountability Framework have found
that staff feel that:
 CARE has too many standards, principles and guidelines, leaving people
confused. Which of these international and external standards are optional and
which is mandatory?
 How do current performance management systems and donor incentives reward
application of relevant standards? Is there actually any penalty if standards aren’t
applied?
 CARE is not sufficiently accountable to communities where we are working, our
partners, or even within the CARE International membership.
Increasing criticism of NGOs for a perceived lack of transparency and
accountability:
 Governments, both bilateral donors and national governments in countries where
CARE works, increasingly question the value-added of international NGOs, lack
of transparency and absence of evidence that NGOs are having any impact.
 A recent Google search for “NGO Watchdog” returned over 1½ million hits and
clicking on any of these links bring up articles and blogs questioning NGO
effectiveness, lack of transparency and why NGOs should have access to public
funds.
 One World Trust placed CARE in last place for transparency in a 2008
comparative study1 with 29 intergovernmental organisations, transnational
corporations and other large INGOs.
Is the Accountability Framework yet another new initiative?
 Definitely not! CARE managers are mostly asking for something simple that
pulls together CARE’s existing accountability commitments into one place.
 CARE managers would like a framework that can help them and their teams to be
more accountable, especially towards less powerful stakeholders and those – like
the environment – who are unable to speak.
What questions did the Accountability Framework mapping study ask?
 What internal and external standards, principles, etc. is CARE signed up to?
 What ongoing processes in CARE can the development of the AF complement?
1
One World Trust 2008 GAP Report
http://www.oneworldtrust.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=226&tmpl=comp
onent&format=raw&Itemid=55
 Who has key accountability roles within CARE and how do they define them?
 What can we learn from our experience with applying CARE’s Humanitarian
Accountability Framework (HAF)?
 What can we learn from our peers?
 What might a CARE Accountability Framework look like?
How was the mapping study done?
 The consultant hired to lead this work is a former CARE staff who was involved
in developing CARE’s Humanitarian Accountability Framework and she was
joined by CARE USA’s Director for Donor Compliance. The team was guided by
a Task Force drawn from the three Lead Members and other CARE staff from HQ
and Country Office level. CARE International’s Deputy Secretary General led the
Task Force in her role as convener of CARE’s Program & Operations Committee.
 There were 148 responses to an online survey from CARE staff, 24 individual
interviews with CARE and peer agency staff, review of relevant documents and a
field visit hosted by CARE Tanzania.
What were the main findings from this study?
 Accountability is important to most staff and there is a readiness to incorporate
this more fully in CARE’s work;
 CARE is not sufficiently accountable to communities, our partners, our advocacy
target or the environment;
 A major challenge will be to reconcile donor compliance commitments while
increasing our accountability to communities;
 There is a desire for more accountability internally between and within different
CARE members.
 CARE staff want a robust compliance mechanism for an Accountability
Framework so that it is actually applied – there is no appetite for another
repackaging exercise which in reality is no more than “business as usual”.
 There are many examples of existing good practice which CARE can build upon,
including:

CARE Ethiopia’s Voluntary Advisory Boards, which provide feedback and an
external perspective on decision-making by Country Office leadership;

CARE UK and CARE USA took part in the Keystone Partner Survey to rate
their performance as a partner.

CARE Malawi’s and CARE Tanzania’s use of the Community Scorecards to
monitor the quality of services and make government service providers more
accountable.

CARE Nepal social audit processes

CARE Peru’s accountability system they developed using learning from
applying the HAF following the earthquake.
2
What might an Accountability Framework look like?
CARE staff should strive to be accountable both for our contribution to achieving
lasting change in people’s lives and for the way that we work, including how we:
•
Uphold our values, principles and standards
•
Fulfil our agreed goals and commitments
•
Wisely use the funds entrusted to us and respect statutory requirements in the
countries where we work.
•
Ensure the welfare and support of our staff
•
Manage and reduce our environmental footprint
How could an Accountability Framework be put into practice?
Accountability processes
•
Give stakeholders a voice in our decision making
•
Communicate in an open and honest way
•
Actively seek feedback and complaint from others
•
Demonstrate the impact, quality and effectiveness of our work
•
Learn with and from others
Accountability enablers
•
Demonstrate attitudes and behaviours that reflect our principles and values
•
Develop appropriate systems to support accountability
•
Encourage leadership in accountability at all levels
What were the main recommendations from the mapping study?
 Communicate and discuss the AF development process across CARE more
broadly, including with Board members;
 Pilot the AF in a selected number of different CARE organisational units,
 Develop draft guidance on how to put the AF into practice, including how to adapt
it to local contexts.
 Agree a high-level statement, alongside CARE’s Vision & Mission, of what
CARE will hold itself accountable for
 Plan for the adoption of the AF as a change management process across the
organisation
 Consider setting up an external reference group to support CARE
What are some key questions we will need to think about when moving forward?
 How can we rationalize and prioritize all our commitments (including operations
and environmental impact) to produce a useful AF? What will we have to leave
out? How will we need to change ourselves?
3
 Can we change our systems so that we always consider the potential impact on
communities during our decision-making processes both in the field and at HQ?
 How do we ensure that CARE has the necessary motivation, capacity & resources
to put the AF into practice?
 How do we ensure we still fulfill our accountability commitments when working
via partners?
4