Ensure transparency
Strengthen partnerships
Encourage learning
Bringing together our staff, Board, Members and network for conversations and peer-to-peer learning on accountability.
Learning is at the heart of our Annual General Meetings. Every year we bring together our Members for several days of workshops and sessions to showcase the latest work and innovations in CSO accountability as well as give insight into the great projects and initiatives of our Members and partners.
Our Annual General Meetings provide us with the opportunity to update our Members on financial and governance issues as well as catch up with those who are interested in and support our work.
Our 2022 AGM ‘Dynamic Accountability Dialogue: From Rhetoric to Action’ took place virtually from May 23 – 26.
The aim of the conversations was to collectively learn and reflect on how accountability can help tackle the different issues facing civil society – such as structural power imbalances. We believe that to be truly accountable and to redress power imbalances in order to work in truly equitable partnerships, CSOs should be driven by their values, led by promoting and fighting for the protection of human rights, ensure that principles of do-no-harm guide their program and project work, and prioritise activities by sustainability values – but more radically by constantly questioning their ways of working and approach (how) and by becoming actively anti-racist.
We brought organisations, practitioners, and donors to discuss and exchange their experiences and ideas on how to continue advancing their organisational accountability and to achieve a collective and continuous growth. See learnings from the sessions in this blog post. Following up from a session on Diversity & Inclusion, we organised a webinar ‘Being Accountable: Our Different Journeys Towards Inclusiveness, Diversity, and Shifting Power‘, with Jean Scrimgeour (Accountability Lab), Oriana Castillo (CIVICUS), Andres Gomez de la Torre (CARE International), Jay Goulden (CARE International) and facilitation by Tina Ajuonuma (the Better Org).
Over the past two years, Accountable Now has addressed the topic of Powershift in our yearly Annual Workshops. In our 2019 ‘Preparing for a Powershift’ workshop, we identified the underlying structural and systemic causes of power imbalances in the civil society sector. Colonialism, elitism and capitalism were among the many causes discussed and dissected.
Throughout the following year, as we continued to work with our members and partners, we pushed forward the conversation within our membership. Our 2020 workshop, ‘Rethinking and Rebuilding’ saw us pinpoint a key underlying cause of power imbalance in the civil society sector: institutional racism and colonialism.
As we approached our AGM, we wanted to go deeper into these underlying causes. We brought together our members to have discussions on how their organisations are understanding, reflecting, changing or struggling to adapt. Dynamic accountability can play a key role in the Powershift, decolonisation and anti-racism efforts. Find out how in our Outcome Document.
Our 2020 AGM was a little different. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we hosted our first-ever virtual AGM. Find out what we discussed and what our participants thought of the virtual format in our Outcome document.
Should we consider hosting a virtual AGM again? We think there is reason to look into it. Find out more in our follow-up blog.
In 2019 we explored the topic of Dynamic Accountability, feedback and complaints, digital accountability, environmental accountability and much more!
Read our Outcome document to see in-depth summaries of the presentations and topics discussed and our evaluation summary to see what participants thought of our 2019 AGM.
This year’s agenda was heavily influenced by the context of the increased scrutiny and opposition that CSOs are facing and
focused on how dynamic accountability continues to be a key element to enhance public trust. In addition to discussing tensions between accountability, transparency and confidentiality, breakout sessions gave participants the chance to deliver suggestions on how to report on unethical behaviour, how to report against multiple codes and how to determine the resilience CSOs.
Read the Outcome document and evaluation summary for 2018’s AGM.
The 2017 AGM was underpinned by the theme of dynamic accountability – interactive and innovative relationships between CSOs and stakeholders, which in times of shrinking civil space are particularly important for building trust and improving agency. We discussed how dynamic accountability can be mainstreamed in civil society organisations, and Members shared how they use technology and stakeholder data to drive decision making and impact. Accountable Now adopted the Global Standard as our new Accountability Commitments and was pleased to announce that we will be hosting the Global Standard Secretariat as of May 2018.
Get an insight into the whole AGM by reading our Outcome Document.
In 2015 Members agreed on an ambitious new Strategy and in 2016 we discussed the progress that was achieved and how to advance it further.
Getting input by Members on how to improve accountability to the people and report in a timelier, online-based format was key to this AGM and we presented the findings of a comparative study between Member organisations and peer organisations regarding the quality of their accountability practices.
Read the Outcome Document.
With 45 participants on board, our 2015 AGM witnessed many thoughtful presentations, interactive debates, expert insights, peer exchange and the chance to engage in an open collaborative environment. A major discussion point was the changing face of CSO accountability and what challenges it presents. To address these challenges, the new strategic direction beyond 2015 was discussed to drive more positive impact of ICSOs.
Read the Outcome Document.
Along with the appointment of new Board Directors, our 2014 AGM focused on the revision of the Charter Principles, developments in the Independent Review Panel’s vetting approach, and an extended discussion on the Global Standard project bringing together eight leading CSO accountability networks from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, North and South America to systematically cooperate and leverage each other’s strength in empowering civil society organisations.
Read the Outcome Document
In our 2013 AGM, Members retrospectively approved the contracts with the Berlin Civil Society Center hosting the Charter Secretariat, one new and two current Board Directors were elected and the Burning Platform of NGO Accountability was discussed.
Read the Outcome Document
At our 2012 AGM, new Articles of Association and Memorandum were adopted; a new membership structure was presented and four Board directors re-elected. The possibility of convergence with other accountability initiatives and suggestions for themes and topics for the upcoming Members’ Workshop were also discussed.
Read the Outcome Document.
The 2011 AGM took place on 13 April in Berlin. At this meeting, a Five Year Strategy for the Charter was adopted; two new Board directors were elected, and the GRI NGO Sector Supplement reporting framework and the work of the Independent Review Panel were discussed. Representatives from the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) gave input on how this initiative could relate to the Charter’s activities.
Read the Outcome Document.