Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are increasingly involved in development policy, and recognise the need to use evidence and engage with policy processes more effectively. ODI's Civil Society Partnerships Programme (CSPP) is designed to help them to do this. While seeking to capitalise on ODI's 40 years of development research and policy work, particularly with Northern governments and agencies, the programme recognises the need to learn much more about how Southern organisations do it. To facilitate this the CSPP will need to develop long term equitable relationships with a wide range of Southern partner organisations. This study presents a summary of current thinking on issues of accountability, partnership and capacity-building between Northern and Southern organisations, and provides some examples of current practice among organisations involved in similar work.

Genuine partnerships are not an end in themselves - they are practiced and promoted in order to strengthen the capacity of the partners and ensure that the results of the partnership will be both relevant to target groups and sustainable in the long term. Capacity building is often a supply driven activity in which the so-called 'partners' do not share common goals, values or expectations. Traditionally, partnerships took place along the lines of a principal-agent relationship (donor-recipient), in which the principal holds authority and the latter is simply a receiver of support. In recent years, however, there has been a shift towards a more collaborative, mutually beneficial type of partnership. In this new partnership model both parties join their resources to achieve common benefits. An equitable partnership characterised by mutual accountability between partners needs to recognise that each party has different objectives, brings different capacity to the partnership, and will each learn something from it. This highlights the need for mutual respect of each partner organisation's mission and values as well as agreement on the terms of the relationship. The success of a partnership depends on the extent to which ownership, power and commitment are shared by the organisational partners. Ethics and principles play an important role in the partnership because they enhance the degree to which ownership, power and commitment are respected and shared.

Partnerships are neither rigid nor static, but fluid and dynamic relationships which develop with time. North-South partnerships in particular need to evolve, building capacity and structures that ensure partners are accountable to each other while addressing the needs of their respective stakeholder groups. In practice, there are two main barriers to effective partnerships: (i) inequality/power imbalances between partners; and (ii) the partners' internal management systems. These can be overcome by transferring responsibility and ownership to the less powerful partner and by investing in the necessary internal systems to provide effective support to the partnership.

Accountability refers to a chain of relationships in which actors are accountable upwards (to donors and other actors that have formal authority over the organisation), downwards (to target groups and beneficiaries but also to other groups and individuals that the organisation might affect directly and indirectly) and inwards (to organisational missions, vision and values). A three level accountability relationship is therefore required in partnerships: accountability of partners to their own stakeholders; accountability of partners to each other; and accountability of the partnership to its stakeholders.

In the context of this study however, the accountability of partners to each other requires special attention. The key areas that need to be clarified when organisations enter into a partnership are: (i) access to timely and accurate information; (ii) terms of engagement; (iii) the legitimacy of engagement/partnership; and (iv) procedural review and evaluation mechanisms. These are elaborated in greater detail in the sections below (or view full working paper 255 pdf 264kb).

Under the Organisations section, an overview is provided of the organisational policies and strategies used by Northern organisations to promote equitable partnerships. While these are often rooted in common development cooperation policies and frequently share the same broad principles, there are wide variations in practice. All though tend to include the ethical, substantive and procedural elements, however there is often a wide gap between policy and practice. The following examples are discussed in greater length in the paper:

• The Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC) believes that establishing and maintaining relations on the basis of partnership is key to achieving development. The set of principles it has developed are broad, yet it offers guidelines as to how to initiate a partnership, how to maintain and strengthen it, and how to end it.
  
• The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs regards partnerships as an attitude, a working method and a means. By searching together for added value, partners enter into a joint commitment.
  
• The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GTZ) has four main criteria which must be met before they enter into a partnership: the project must be in line with the development-policy goals of the German Federal Government; all partners must have compatible interests; the private partner must make a key contribution to the project; and GTZ provides only those services to a project that the partner would not be able to render on its own.
  
• The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) envisages partnership as a relationship based on a shared vision and mutual respect that equitably addresses issues of ownership and control; that recognises fully the different contributions of each partner; that acknowledges reciprocal rights, obligations and accountability; and that is conducted in an open, transparent and collegial matter.
  
• The Swiss Commission for Research Partnerships in Developing Countries (KFPE) has developed guidelines based around 11 principles including joint objectives; mutual trust; sharing information; shared responsibility; and transparency.
  
• The main guiding principles of the Norwegian Council of Universities' Programme for Development Research and Education (NUFU) are equality in partnership, mutual benefit and the prevalence of Southern needs in identifying areas for cooperation.
  
• In addition to shared vision, objectives, activities and reciprocal obligations, Denmark's Development Policy 'Partnership 2000' emphasises strengthening the party that has the fewest resources.
  
• The US Agency for International Development's (USAID) comprehensive partnership principles and procedures emphasise the balance between respect for the principles of 'privateness' and independence with the maintenance of clear, results-oriented standards of accountability in the pursuit of mutually agreed objectives.

The annotated bibliography contains summaries of the most important publications and websites addressing the issues of accountability, partnerships and capacity building.

Click on the links for further information:

• Introduction and Current Thinking
• Partnerships
• Accountability
• Annotated bibliography - summaries of the most important publications addressing the issues of accountability, partnerships and capacity building
• Organisations - an outline of recommended policies and strategies used by organisations to promote equitable partnerships
• Key Websites - information on and links to other organisations involved in similar work
• View working paper output: Partnerships and Accountability: Current thinking and approaches among agencies supporting CSOs, Working Paper 255 (pdf 264kb).