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ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Over the past decade, accountability for civil society organizations (CSOs) operating in the space of humanitarian action has consistently increased. However, this accountability has been largely top-down and meant to represent accountability of the CSOs towards the donors and national governments. Little progress has been made on accountability to the intended beneficiaries of these humanitarian programmes on whose behest such organizations operate. Real accountability implies being held responsible towards not only funders and donors on how money is spent but also for actions undertaken towards all stakeholders: beneficiaries, communities, partners (being governmental or implementing partners), as well as the environment.

This issue of Southasiadisasters.net is titled “Accountability is in Everybody's Interest” and highlights the importance of not only top-down but bottom-up and lateral accountability for humanitarian organizations and CSOs. The articles in this issue cover a broad range of subthemes related to accountability and depict how it can lead to social innovation, resilience, sustainability of development outcomes and community ownership. This issue also introduces the readers to the new concepts like dynamic accountability. Most importantly, this issue underscores the fact that real and meaningful accountability is more than audited reports, as it implies a constant dialogue with a diverse range of stakeholders, including those typically excluded and marginalised. – Kshitij Gupta