Putting the Lasts First: The Case for Community-Focused and Peer-Managed NGO Accountability Mechanisms

The calls for NGO accountability have grown louder in recent years, some based on genuine concerns to help improve their performance
and others on a desire to muffle their advocacy activities. Using a comprehensive analytical framework, this article finds
that current accountability approaches prioritize accountability to boards and donors and give weak accountability to communities
despite strong NGO rhetoric to the contrary. The article recommends the development of accountability mechanisms managed by
NGO coordination bodies and focused primarily on accountability to communities to improve NGO performance and protect them
from politically motivated attacks.