Transforming CSO accountability: a stakeholder-driven approach for increased trust and impact

This session explored how an inclusive, dynamic approach to accountability that puts people at the core of decision-making can help CSOs strengthen their legitimacy and impact. The Global Standard for CSO Accountability and its project partners from around the world provided a starting point to discuss different aspects of accountability, from the basics such as transparency and feedback to more advanced concepts around stakeholder engagement, responsive decision-making, adaptive programming, and innovative partnerships. This session offered something for everyone – from those who are new to the concept to accountability experts, for organisations large and small.

The aims of the workshop were to:

• Provide insights on how to practice an inclusive, dynamic approach to accountability that puts people at the core of decision-making, through the Global Standard.
• Understand common challenges and strategies when practicing CSO accountability, in a more systemic way.
• Build further the collective knowledge on the adoption of Dynamic Accountability and the engagement with the Global Standard.

The workshop took the following approach:

• The workshop started with a presentation from the Partners on the principles of Dynamic Accountability and the Global Standard, as a way to frame the discussions.
• Following the presentation, the entire group had a break out session into smaller groups (14-20 people per group), based on the topic they were most interested in.
• The topics were: transparency, feedback and responsive and decision-making, stakeholder engagement, partnerships and reflective learning.
• The participants discussed a specific topic for 30 minutes and then  another one for the same period. The participants gained a deeper insight into two aspects of dynamic accountability, exchange experiences, and left with some ideas on how to drive progress on this point within their organisations.
• Finally, in plenary, the group shared the key takeaways.