29. Chains of accountability

It may be argued that any attempts to impact on policy processes in order to make them more evidence-based requires not only ‘upward’ links to decision-makers, but also ‘downward’ links to the populations and communities that will be affected by the policies. This issue raises normative questions about representation and accountability. From a research and advocacy perspective, Fine et al argue that researchers who collect evidence in order to influence policy have an obligation to create a certain structure of accountability. The researcher, or advocacy worker, is usually in the privileged position of being mobile and thus having the opportunity to leave a site, group or topic after a period of time to carry on with something else. Ideally, the researcher or advocacy worker should therefore make sure that s/he informs the group of how the data will be used, invites the group to critically review the conclusions drawn from the data, and furthers their cause through policy channels and networks that s/he has privileged access to. This system of downward links and accountability should also enhance the credibility of the evidence and make it more difficult for policy makers to ignore. The authors remark, however, that in practice there are several obstacles to an ideal chain of accountability.

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