重新思考NGOs问责

NGOs问责的涵义可以从控制-交待、外部-内部、过程-机制三个不同的视角来理解。这就形塑了不同的NGOs问责型态,如等级问责和整体问责、功能问责和战略问责、外部控制和内部回应为基础的问责矩阵等等。这些问责型态不仅在理论上存在瑕疵,而且导致不合理的NGOs问责实践。可以根据问责的来源和问责关注的期限这两个维度建立一个整合的NGOs问责框架。该框架包含四种问责型态:效益问责、使命问责、结果问责和发展问责。这个新的理论框架进一步发展了NGOs问责的涵义,同时能够帮助利益相关者调整观察NGOs活动的关注点以提升NGOs的问责性,也有助于NGOs看清不同的问责力量,并判断怎样才能对自身的行为负责。研究的主要局限在于,提出的理论框架是一般意义上的,在实际应用中需要根据不同的NGOs类型及其运行的外部环境对框架的内容和侧重点进行调整。

Rethinking NGOs Accountability

The objective of this research is to rethink NGOs accountability and propose a new accountability framework. The paper is framed within a theoretical conception of NGOs accountability and is mainly literature-based. The research finds that seen from three different aspects, the meaning of NGOs accountability is so distinct that multiple types of NGOs accountability are shaped,such as hierarchical and holistic accountability,functional and strategic accountability,accountability matrix based on external control-internal response,and so on. Those types not only have flaws in theory,but also lead to irrational and unreasonable NGOs accountability in practice. According to two dimensions of accountability source and time limit’s concern,an integral NGOs accountability framework is built. The framework is made up of efficacy accountability,mission accountability,outcome accountability and development accountability. The principal limitation of the study is that it proposes a general framework,which ought to be further carve in practice in the light of different kinds of NGOs and environment which they operate in. The important implications relate to:a more wider and comprehensive angle of view on NGOs accountability, and the impelling appearance of more rich insights of the NGOs accountability literature. The proposed theoretical framework can help stakeholders rectify the focus of examining NGOs activity so as to promote NGOs accountability,and make NGOs identify clearly different accountability strengths and judge how to hold responsible for their actions. The concept of NGOs accountability is further developed by examination of the three perspective of understanding NGOs accountability. And the new NGOs accountability framework proposed can also remedy deficiencies of the previous research literature.