THE STATE OF NGO ACCOUNTABILITY: TWO CASE STUDIES FROM BANGLADESH

This article examines the critical issue of the accountability of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Bangladesh, a country with one of the largest and most influential NGO sectors in the world. It moves beyond the often-uncritical celebration of NGOs to explore the complex question of "to whom are NGOs accountable?". The study uses two detailed case studies of large Bangladeshi NGOs to analyze their accountability mechanisms in practice. The research assesses the different dimensions of accountability: upward accountability to donors, downward accountability to the communities they serve, and internal accountability within the organization itself. The paper argues that while NGOs have strong mechanisms for upward accountability to their international donors, their mechanisms for downward accountability to their beneficiaries are often much weaker. The analysis concludes that as NGOs have become major players in national development, the need for greater transparency and more robust mechanisms of public accountability has become a critical issue of governance.

The rapid growth and enormous influence of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) sector in Bangladesh has raised increasingly urgent questions about its accountability. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of this issue through two illustrative case studies of major national NGOs. The study begins by developing a conceptual framework for understanding NGO accountability, distinguishing between the different constituencies to whom an NGO might be answerable: its funders, its board, its staff, its partner organizations, and, most importantly, the poor and marginalized communities it purports to serve. The core of the article is the application of this framework to the two case studies. The analysis examines the formal accountability mechanisms of these NGOs, such as their annual reports, financial audits, and board structures. It finds that these mechanisms are primarily designed to satisfy the requirements of their international donors, a form of "upward accountability." The paper then investigates the more challenging issue of "downward accountability." It explores the extent to which the beneficiaries of NGO programs have a genuine voice in the design, implementation, and evaluation of these programs. The findings reveal a significant deficit in this area, with most NGOs operating on a top-down, service-delivery model with limited participation from their target communities. The paper concludes that for the NGO sector to maintain its legitimacy and effectiveness, it must move beyond its current focus on upward accountability and develop more meaningful and institutionalized mechanisms for being accountable to the people of Bangladesh.