What is Mutual accountability?
Mutual accountability refers to the relationship of providers and recipients of international development cooperation and their ability to deliver on mutually agreed commitments and producing long-lasting development results. There is mounting evidence of the importance of mutual accountability to make development cooperation contributions more targeted and predictable and to allocate financial resources effectively.
Mutual accountability exists at different levels – global, regional, national and local. At global level, it is a vital part of an open and inclusive global development environment, responsive to country needs. The national level is most critical, and works only if grounded in a strong notion of domestic accountability between government and citizens and transparency of development cooperation. It often benefits considerably from supportive global and regional accountability efforts.
Who are the most relevant actors in Mutual Accountability?
- National aid coordinating ministries
- Provider representatives at country level and at headquarters
- Line ministries and local authorities in recipient and provider countries
- Parliament in recipient and provider countries
- Civil society organisations
- Business leaders
What are “enablers” of Mutual Accountability?
MA enablers are prerequisites - guidelines and processes - that facilitate behaviour changes for better development results.
These building blocks include:
- National aid/partnership policy
- Country-driven monitoring frameworks with provider targets
- Databases to monitor trends
- Independent analytical input, from CSOs, independent monitoring groups and parliaments
- Political leadership from recipient and donor governments
- Peer pressure among providers
- Clear institutional structures
- Investment in capacity building of recipient governments to monitor providers and negotiate changes in their behaviour
A number of external factors may influence development cooperation relationships, such as the policies of providers of development cooperation, the degree of political stability and rule of law in the recipient country, level of social and economic development, skill levels within the public sector, and how active civil society is. Implementing MA enablers can simplify and structure the way in which progress is achieved.
Which behaviour changes could be triggered?
On provider side:
- Increasing political commitment to transparency and accountability and confidence
- Aligning with national development priorities and frameworks
- Improving predictability
- Reducing conditionalities
- Using national systems
- Coordinating among providers, including between country and headquarter level
On recipient side:
- Increasing political commitment to transparency and accountability and confidence
- Ensuring leadership in devising partnership strategies
- Improving availability of information and reporting
- Strengthening coordination among ministries
- Enhancing national and sectoral consultation frameworks
Download the fact sheet – Mutual Accountability in development cooperation.