From 12th to 16th November 2018, the Global Standard launched its first Dynamic Accountability Week (DAW) giving Project Partners the opportunity to showcase the Global Standard with events and activities which aimed to spark conversations on Dynamic Accountability and how it is transforming accountability in the civil society sector. This week proved to be an exciting one for accountability as DAW took place alongside the Global Accountability Week, developed by CIVICUS Affinity Group of National Associations (AGNA) which celebrated and promoted civil society accountability.
Key Learnings
Accountability is a broad concept with different organisations applying a variety of meanings to it. Our Dynamic Accountability Week gave us the opportunity to discover and learn more about accountability and how the concept is seen across the world. If you followed us on social media, you could see that accountability has been characterised in many (buzz)words: active participation, meaningful dialogue, responsiveness, closing feedback loops, and impact measurement, among others.
All of these characteristics comprise what we refer to as “Dynamic Accountability”. We believe that accountability is a continuous process that involves all partners and constituents where space is created for listening, participation and feedback. This is critical especially if we want to foster trust with the people we work with and to become more resilient to challenges that could impede our operations locally and globally. In essence, it calls for a shift in power that attempts to bring people to the core of our work.
The Dynamic Accountability concept is at the heart of our initiative, the Global Standard for CSO Accountability. The Global Standard enables organisations, no matter their size or context, to improve their accountability practices and thereby their effectiveness. It broadens and challenges our understanding of what it means to be accountable.
Recap of our Events & Activities
Together with our Project Partners, we held various events and activities across the world to promote the Global Standard for CSO Accountability.
In the Balkans region, the Balkans Civil Society Development Network created an informative and engaging video introducing the Global Standard, the concept of Dynamic Accountability, and their involvement in this initiative. Check it out and learn how you can participate in the community of practice!
In Latin America and the Caribbean, RendirCuentas launched the RendirApp! A simple and easy tool for CSO self-assessment that will help organisations improve their accountability by using the Global Standard.
In Kampala, Deniva / QuAM held a public dialogue on the importance of Dynamic Accountability for a credible civil society in the context of shrinking civic space in Uganda. Within this, they launched the Global Standard as a tool to amplify people’s voices, challenge restrictive laws on CSOs, and build up trust with the government and development partners. This event highlighted the critical role of civil society in the struggle for democracy in Uganda. This event was organised in partnership with Uganda National NGO Forum and funded by the European Union and GIZ.
In London, Accountable Now met with donors to introduce the Dynamic Accountability approach. This approach aimed to challenge donors and their grantees to shift their mind-set towards seeing accountability as more than just traditional log-frame reporting. Instead viewing accountability as an on-going process where feedback goes both ways to cultivate trust, overcome common challenges and increase the impact of CSOs.
In Maharashtra, Voluntary Action Network India (VANI) conducted a dialogue on dynamic accountability for enhancing CSO effectiveness.
In Singapore, Cooperation Committee for Cambodia presented the Global Standard in the ASEAN People’s Forum on 2nd November. They presented the main challenges to CSO effectiveness in the region and discussed howCSOs can strengthen their accountability and transparency practices by adopting the Global Standard. Participants expressed special interest in using the Global Standard to assess their internal systems and processes.
In Berlin, we facilitated two webinars to introduce the Dynamic Accountability concept to a wider audience and to demonstrate how they can begin adopting it in their organisations and countries. We were able to hear and discuss with the participants their own perceptions of accountability and their best practices towards it.
If you are interested to learn more, follow us on social media to continue the conversation sparked by the Dynamic Accountability Week or send us an email to get started.
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