Preparing for a power-shift towards people and communities we work for and with: exploring new ways of working in the donor-grantee relationship

Published: March 2, 2020

Event Details

At this year’s Annual Workshop on November 20 and 21, 2019, Accountable Now brought together over 30 participants from local civil society organisations (CSOs), international NGOs and donors for a two-day workshop in London, UK. The purpose of this workshop was to have an open dialogue on the current barriers that prevent the sector from shifting power to the communities that we serve.

Our aim was to assess the context as participants currently experience it and begin to fnd solutions for the challenges that the sector is facing in shifting the power in donor-grantee relations. Working collaboratively, participants transformed the issues that they identifed into actionable solutions that they can start implementing in their own organisations and sectors.

About the Event:

Increasingly local as well as international CSOs and their donors recognize the importance of implementing methods like “community engagement”, “beneficiary feedback” or “advisory committees” to be accountable to the people they work for and with (i.e. downward accountability). And as the rhetoric gradually acknowledges the need for a power-shift that gives power to communities and local partners, donors are moving away from restrictive log frames and compliance exercises towards piloting more innovative and flexible ways of working with their grantees. This is not just because it is the right thing to do but also because it is the most reasonable if they are to ensure sustainability and effectiveness.

In our 2019 Annual Workshop we gave our participants the opportunity to discuss:

the importance of accountability in our sector especially in recent years
how the Global Standard is being used in countries such as Uganda, India, Cambodia, USA, and others. Some of our partner organisations will be sharing insights and experiences in engaging with the Global Standard.
relevance of the power shift for CSOs and donors working locally or in other countries.

Resources:

Read the outcome document for highlights and takeaways from this year’s workshop.

View the Outcome Document

Ways to Stay Involved:

We would like to continue conversations on the themes that were discussed during the workshop. If you have a comment or suggestion on the workshop, or if you would like to share an idea of how we can support initiatives to advance dynamic accountability in the CSO sector, please contact us at [email protected].