Good Practice Library

Through our accountability reporting process, our Independent Review Panel identifies good practices from the reports sent by our members. Browse our library and get inspired by innovative CSO accountability practices!

Want to find good practices on a specific topic?

Click on one of the topics below.

Looking for good practices from one of our members?

Visit their profile page

CBM ensures sustainable outcomes through strong partnerships and local ownership

In 2017 CBM began developing its partnership principles in line with its programme commitments; these aim to build on locally driven development agendas and ensure local ownership of projects. Participatory approaches are applied throughout CBM’s project cycle management and country planning processes to further increase ownership. This leads to outcomes which often last beyond the project cycle.

CBM leads the way on disability inclusiveness with their Disability Inclusive Development standards

Inclusion is one of CBM’s core values and the organisation takes proactive measures to ensure both their programmes and working environment are accessible to and inclusive of persons with disabilities. A policy framework on inclusion and an accessibility policy guide CBM’s work and operations, and their disability inclusive development (DID) standards align with the human-rights based approach to ensure the voices of persons with disabilities are heard.

CBM’s comprehensive approach to staff security

CBM International has a dedicated Health, Safety and Security Unit which focuses on training and awareness building for staff. Initiatives include pre-departure travel briefings for business trips, mandatory traveller security training (with a dedicated topic on female security and sexual assault) and written resources available to all staff.

Oxfam mainstreams accountability across the organisation

Preparation and publication of their Accountability Reports are used to raise awareness amongst Oxfam’s dispersed workforce of accountability policies, procedures, and future ambitions. Following publication of the 2014 Accountability Report, awareness raising work amongst affiliates that had not contributed to that Report prompted them to prepare an Accountability Framework, which provides an index of all relevant internal policies and procedures used to ensure that they hold themselves to account, and others can hold them to account, in all that they do.

Oxfam’s adaptive approach to campaigning design and implementation

A shared power analysis is developed with stakeholders at the outset of any campaign development, with all relevant stakeholders mapped and consulted in ways tailored to their particular needs. Internal stakeholders such as affiliate representatives might be engaged to help co-create the policy position; whereas with external stakeholders such as potential coalition allies they might share and adopt a common strategy; and with potential targets of their advocacy they might engage as sounding boards to informally check their objectives and key messages.

Oxfam takes stakeholder engagement to the next level

In the last Accountability Report they described early efforts to consider an Oxfam-wide comprehensive Stakeholder Engagement Policy. The development of this Policy was put on hold in mid- 2015 given the direction of the Oxfam 2020 organisational change programme. Oxfam 2020 will significantly reshape the nature of all stakeholder relationships within the confederation. The extent of the changes to all stakeholder relationships caused them to pause the development of a Stakeholder Engagement Policy until the precise modalities of the new arrangements have been worked out in full.

World YWCA ensures an accountable movement through its strategy

The World YWCA took major decisions to implement the Accountability Commitments and adopted the Strategic Framework 2016-2019. The 3rd Goal in the Strategic Framework is to build an effective, well governed, accountable and sustainable movement that has robust assets to sustain the work of the movement and has a key action to “implement the accountability framework for the World YWCA, including a formalised monitoring and evaluation strategy, processes and the International Accountability Charter (INGO).”

World YWCA is an organisation where young women strive

The World YWCA is an all-female organisation. The YWCA movement focuses on women’s empowerment within a human rights framework In addition, they focus on young women and girls, as the World YWCA has a policy that young women aged 30 or under form at least 25% of all decision-making spaces.

World Vision empowers communities as change agents

World Vision’s goal is that every child has an opportunity to live a full life. To contribute to the ministry’s goal of sustained well-being of children within their families and communities (especially the most vulnerable), World Vision partners with others to empower children and communities as change agents. For World Vision’s global impact on children based on a compilation of field child well-being reports, see the 2014 child well-being summary report, Building a Better World for Children.

Terre des Hommes hires staff with accountability in their DNA

Accountability is understood at Terre des Hommes as: ”Clear commitments in the eyes of others that have been kept”. So, as the first step on the road to reinforce an accountability culture, they streamline “accountability” to carry a positive connotation through the decision-making processes and human resource management.

SOS Children’s Villages involves senior leadership in their accountability reporting process

The compilation and development of SOS Children’s Villages Accountability Report has been conducted following a clearly defined process, which is reviewed and refined after each process cycle. The process is based on broad involvement throughout the General Secretariat (GSC) with respective experts providing input. As in past years, the Management Team provided key guidance for preparing this report and oversaw the progress and final outcome, thus also providing a formal internal approval of the report and its contents.

Sightsavers monitors performance via their SIM card system

Globally, all programmes are monitored using the Strategy Implementation Monitoring (SIM) card and the programme portal. All individual projects within Sightsavers contribute to their global strategic objectives. Their M&E approach roots the organisation in evidence based decision making, allowing them to identify gaps and learn and adapt in response to the challenges and achievements experienced during programme implementation.

Do you have any questions about our good practices or do you think your organisation has something to contribute?