When the first systematic writings on NGO (nongovernmental organization) accountability became available in the mid1990s, NGOs still occupied a relative backwater in politics, international affairs and academic research. Ten years on, both NGOs in general and the accountability question in particular have moved to centre stage, for some good reasons and some not so good, and this book represents the new cutting edge of thinking and practice in this increasingly important and contentious arena. Commendably, the editors of this volume have made no attempt to enforce a consensus on the contributors, who disagree with each other on definitions, approaches and priorities, and especially on the degree of external (govern ment or supragovernmental) regulation that may be appropriate for the NGO sector. Context is vital, and there are no universal answers to the dilemmas of NGO accountability, or even universally applicable standards and methodologies. Protecting sufficient ‘safe space’ for innovation, iteration and experimentation is therefore essential, a theme to which I will return in a moment.
[...]... are now adopting new accountability mechanisms to apply to NGOs Jem Bendell and Phyllida Cox explore the different types of donor agencies that fund NGOs and offer a concept of democratic accountability to be applied to donors themselves and to the relationship between donors and NGOs Bendell and Cox argue that if democratic accountability is realized, the relationship between NGOs and donors could be... about NGO accountability in relation to international law and universal human rights and standards, and the dire need to apply them carefully across different political realities In the next chapter, Professor Jassy Kwesiga and Harriet Namisi also support Charnovitz’s observations They depict the damage a new restrictive law and NGO Registration Board could inflict on NGOs in Uganda In the Ugandan... of enhancing NGO performance and accountability in the global arena I will contend that accountability is needed and feasible where tasks are delegated to NGOs, but that accountability is an ill-conceived goal when the NGO acts autonomously to pursue its own interest In general, NGO advocacy does not trigger a need for external accountability to the community and, in any event, no clear accountability. .. Key Questions and Concepts in the Current Global Debate and NGOs (Ebrahim, 2003) They can be helpful in upholding standards in particular fields, but they do not address the rights and responsibilities of NGOs The discussion on accountability of NGOs rarely links responsibilities with the rights to associate freely, assemble and articulate a voice The failure to review the question of NGO accountability. .. discourse took place NGOs as a phenomenon and the role of NGOs in globalization and development began to be debated 12 Key Questions and Concepts in the Current Global Debate among social scientists, advocates of economic liberalization and globalization and Southern governments NGOs became fashionable foils for globalization This period marked a more heated discourse on NGO accountability NGOs responded... Bank to support the production of a Handbook on Good Practices for Laws Relating to NGOs The Handbook never made it beyond the status of a draft When summarizing the discussion on the substance of the draft Handbook, Armstrong teaches us Introduction and Overview 15 much about NGO accountability in relation to international law and universal human rights and standards, and the dire need to apply them carefully... against NGOs suggesting that they are undermining national sovereignty and democracy, and have no relationship to any real public As NGOs increasingly exercise their voice in public policy debates, and assert a pivotal role in defining both the problems (global warming) and the solutions (global treaty), the demand for NGO accountability is growing The bottom line in the discussion on NGO accountability. .. engaging accountability issues Even though most NGO efforts to address accountability have emerged just in the last decade, they have begun to consolidate, within individual organizations and across national, global and regional networks An additional aim of this book is to present these innovations in NGO accountability Our ultimate goal is to help NGO practitioners further develop the panorama of NGO accountability. .. accountability for Indonesian NGOs Donors have started to become impatient with some of their NGO counterparts, who have difficulties accepting that they now have to fulfill much greater demands for transparency and accountability A number of organizational innovations and efforts indicate that Indonesian NGOs are beginning to respond to these challenges Section IV: Innovations: Expanding the accountability frontier... Approaches and Initiatives, www.worldbank.org/civilsociety) For useful discussions on the definition of an NGO see Cohen and Arato (1992); Keck and Sikkink (1998); and Edwards and Fowler (2002) For discussions on civil society see Scholte (2000); Keane (2003); Edwards (2004) To view contested definitions of NGO accountability see Edwards and Hulme (1995); Jordan and van Tuijl (2000); Chapman and Wameyo . Laws Relating to NGOs 61 Patricia Armstrong 5 Issues in Legislation for NGOs in Uganda 81 Jassy B. Kwesiga and Harriet Namisi 6 NGO Accountability and the Philippine Council for NGO Certification:. 243 Contributors 245 Index 249 vi NGO Accountability Foreword When the first systematic writings on NGO (non-governmental organization) accountability became available in the mid-1990s, NGOs still occupied. politics of NGO accountability turn out to be the most engaging theme of this book. Why is this? In 1995, the first key text on NGO accountability concluded that: the developmental impact of NGOs,