Accountable Now is a global membership platform that supports civil society organisations to be more transparent, responsive, impact-focused, and community-led.
For more than 15 years, we have been working to shift power, champion equity, and embed dynamic accountability into everyday practices.
We help organisations bridge the gap between commitments or values and action, when it comes to accountability.
We believe that accountability should be a dynamic and continuous process, not a ‘tick box’ exercise.
Following that ethos, we provide our members – and any other civil society organisations interested in becoming more accountable – with the tools and support they need to continuously reflect, learn, and adapt their work to achieve better impact. Our work focuses on supporting civil society organisations to strengthen or embed new ways of working grounded in processes of inclusive, participatory and meaningful engagement with all stakeholders. It goes beyond monitoring & evaluation, due-diligence and compliance, driving accountability as a process that centres communities’ voices, feedback, and preferences.
Here’s how:
What We Offer
1
Accountable Now Membership
Our members are a network of civil society organisations that differ in size, geography, and in the issues the work on, however are committed to advancing accountability and delivering better on their individual, and our collective, mission to improve the lives of people and the planet.
2
Reporting, Action Planning, and More
We provide civil society organisations, both our members and others, with the tools, resources, and support needed to adopt and champion tested practices and policies to support people-drive programming, intersectional equity, just climate action, and more.
3
Consulting & Tailored Training
From tailored thematic training sessions to support in revising and/or implementing new governance structures, policies, and organisational development strategies, our consulting and trainings can help ensure that organisation's work is efficient and effective so that more resources can be spent delivering better impact.
Dynamic Accountability
The work we do is defined by our dynamic approach to accountability.
What is dynamic accountability?
Dynamic accountability is a systemic, people-powered approach that goes beyond M&E, due-diligence and compliance. For us, dynamic accountability is both a process and practice about continuous learning and improvement around a shared set of values and commitments. The dynamic approach to accountability supports organisations to live out these values and build strong partnerships grounded in two-way feedback, trust, and equity.
It is about creating a transformational relationship between a CSO and its trusted counterparts, and it requires adapting a whole organisation’s ways of working to those counterpart’s needs. This includes redressing unequal power dynamics whereby through practicing dynamic accountability, CSOs move beyond the hierarchical accountability ladder to a more horizontal and mutual approach.
We believe this dynamic approach to accountability is necessary to truly achieve systemic change in the form of a power-shift with and outside the organisation. By centring the people and communities we work for and with in our work, they become recognised drivers of the CSO work that affects their own lives for better and more long-lasting positive change.
The 12 Accountability Commitments
Accountable Now is here to help its members and network embed dynamic accountability practices into their work. But where to begin?
Our 12 Accountability Commitments are the framework that underpins our reporting process and other tools and support for advancing dynamic accountability. They form a comprehensive set of standards upon which an organisation can assess their accountability, ensure they are living out their values and advancing towards their mission.
The 12 commitments are based on the Global Standard for CSO Accountability’s framework, which was co-created by Accountable Now along with 9 accountability initiatives and networks working around the world. In 2014, Accountable Now and eight other accountability initiatives from around the world joined forces to align our vision of accountability. Through a series of bottom up co-creation with over 1500 ICSOs, CSOs, networks and grassroots organisations worldwide, the Global Standard for CSO Accountability and the 12 Accountability Commitments were born.
These commitments are at the core of what we regard as good accountability practices, and ensure will help to build a more just, equitable, and accountable world where all people and the planet can thrive.
Designed to be actionable and adaptable, the 12 Commitments can be adopted by any organisation, big or small, to strengthen their accountability practices and get better, long lasting results – no matter their starting point.
Read more about the Global Standard
The Global Standard for CSO Accountability is a reference standard and tool for all civil society organisations. The standard comprises 12 Commitments, organised into three clusters: what CSOs aim to achieve, how to approach change, and how to shift internal practices.
What makes this standard truly powerful is its collaborative origin. It was developed together with over 1500 grassroots, national, and international civil society organisations worldwide. The intention is not to impose a rigid minimum requirement but to offer a useful starting point for organisations to further develop their accountability practices. Alongside our partners, we carried out interviews, consultations and surveyed how civil society organisations understand and practice accountability. The result is a framework that truly captures a shared and cross-cultural understanding of civil society accountability.
