Alliance Online - June 2006

NGO accountability: control your fate by taking charge of the debate

Chris Deri

Civil society organizations have never had a more meaningful role in global governance. They play an important part in a wide range of transnational issues from human rights and climate change to the application of biotechnology. Exercising this role in global affairs depends on NGOs continuing to enjoy a high level of trust - a trust which is fragile and subject to many imponderables. But there are several things they can do to ensure and maintain their credibility: they can address the question of duplication in the sector; they can learn to make the most of their strengths; above all, they can ensure that they don't leave the question of accountability for others to resolve.

While they do not always successfully achieve or affect their intended change or outcome, there are a few fundamentals about the power of NGOs that cannot be ignored:

Beyond merely campaigning on various issues, NGOs are now highly valued partners of business and government, contributing specific and often unique technical competencies and regional expertise.
In less developed countries, they often play the de facto role of government in areas such as the provision of social services and the enforcement of environmental and labour laws.
In the US, Canada and Western Europe, NGOs are more trusted than business, government and the media, while in Brazil they enjoy much greater trust than government or the media and are on a statistically equal footing with business.[1]

The NGO sector has much to be proud of in this hard-won stature and credibility, but this trust can easily be undermined and lost, either through the innocent mistakes of a few well-intentioned fellow travellers or through the wilful efforts of its adversaries.

Putting aside scenarios such as these which are not controllable, what specific efforts at self-examination and action can an NGO proactively take to maintain trust and credibility so as to achieve its mission and vision?

Increase transparency about success and failure

No individual or institution wants to admit failure. Our instinct tells us that airing mistakes will erode trust which will inhibit our ability to achieve our objectives. Companies fear that allegations of wrong-doing will erode their legal or social licence to operate; and NGOs are always concerned about losing the support of donors and membership bases.

But false steps and serious mistakes are an inherent part of almost any undertaking. Given today's reality of instant access to information and the technology-driven democratization of citizen journalism, a 'no comment' or purely reactive approach to communications and overall transparency merely leaves it to others to define success, failure, mistakes and remedies.

In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, we soon learned that much - in some instances half - of the donated goods and services languished in customs houses or shipping containers thousands of miles from where they were needed; or that much of what was donated, accepted and sent over wasn't needed in the first place.

These were difficult truths. While NGOs did not suppress this information, they should have been proactive in airing the story, not only providing an accurate assessment of their true impact but also sparking a wider debate about what is truly needed to respond to similar disasters. If primary organizations do not provide credible information and debate, people will go elsewhere for it.

Distinguish your unique competencies

Twenty years ago, NGOs were largely social service providers (often close to home and to their donor and lay-leadership base) and/or campaigning organizations. Today, they are 'on the ground' all over the world deploying myriad technical skills, from measuring high-conservation-value biodiversity and negotiating peace in conflict zones to assessing labour practices across complex supply chains.

As within any business sector, different NGOs have developed specific core competencies and skills; each organization is better - and worse - at particular activities. However, the majority of NGO rhetoric and communication focuses exclusively on mission statements and the social imperative for their overall existence.

In order to scale the impact of their work (and thereby the accomplishment of their organizational mission), NGOs should adopt a more systematic business to business marketing approach that articulates their specific skills and competencies in terms of the needs of their partners and stakeholders, and the competitive advantage they have over others.

Good intentions are not enough. Results, and the means to achieve them, must be clearly and credibly demonstrated.

Address duplication

Thinking this business to business marketing approach through to its logical endpoint brings one to a place that is too often, if not entirely, ignored. There is both the reality in some instances, and certainly the perception in others, of duplication within the NGO 'sector'.

How many different organizations do we need to take up the fight against climate change? And what does each of them do?

In the first half of the last century in the US, the March of Dimes was established to eradicate polio. Once a vaccine was developed, the organization didn't just shutter its offices. In fact it took a number of years to mull and determine what its new mission would be.

Today's climate, with the competitiveness for donor support and favourable public opinion, would never allow for this. As NGOs enjoy this high point of credibility and trust, now is exactly the time for disciplined and difficult self-examination about duplication, inefficiency and outdated methods and models. To put this off merely leaves control of these discussions, and their outcomes, to others.

Conclusion

Some of these recommendations may be labelled crass or cynical: too corporate, out of step with the intent, aspirations and motivation of civil society. Perhaps guilty on all counts. But if we are to embrace the idea that a civil society can help change and protect our world, then we must hold ourselves to these high standards or wait to have them imposed on us by others.

1 Edelman 2006 'Trust Barometer' www.edelman.com/image/insights/content/FullSupplement_final.pdf

Chris Deri is a senior vice president in Edelman's corporate responsibility practice. He has worked with both NGOs and Fortune 500 companies to help them address their stakeholders. He can be contacted at Chris.Deri@edelman.com

Click here to send this article to a friend

Why should I subscribe to Alliance?

Subscribe now to Alliance magazine and receive:

4 issues of Alliance to your door
8 issues of Alliance Bulletin to your inbox
Access to all back issues (since 1998) in PDF format
Click here for more information or call +44 20 7239 1405.