What is accountability and why is it important?

What is the Global Accountability Report?

How are the organisations selected?

Who is involved in writing the Report and what are their qualifications?

How does the One World Trust gather information for the Report?

What do the interview questions look like?

How much time does an organisation need to dedicate to this? What is the time frame for the research?

Does the Trust conduct media PR to publicise the Report findings?

Where do the assessment indicators come from?

How do the Global Accountability Project, Framework, Index and Report all relate to each other?

How does the Global Accountability Report differ from other reports?

What is the rationale underpinning the One World Trust’s tri-sectoral approach?

Is the One World Trust’s cross-sectoral approach too broad?

What is the One World Trust?

Who should I contact for more information about the Global Accountability Report?

What is accountability and why is it important?

Accountability is about the processes through which an organisation makes a commitment to respond to and balance the needs of stakeholders in its decision-making processes and activities, and delivers against this commitment. Organisations that focus on accountability find that it leads to increased credibility and legitimacy with stakeholders, stronger governance structures and increased organisational learning and innovation.

What is the Global Accountability Report?
Featuring the results of the Global Accountability Index, the Report presents an assessment of the accountability of global organisations from the intergovernmental, corporate and non-governmental sectors looking at four areas: transparency, participation, evaluation, and complaint and response mechanisms.

Across each of these areas, we assess:

• The existence of a written document/policy through which the headquarters makes a commitment to the values and principles of accountability and which guides their approach to the issue across the wider organisation
• The management systems (leadership, training, resources) through which the organisation fosters the implementation of the commitments made in the policies

In this way, the Report describes the existence and commitment to values of accountability at the headquarters of an organisation, and their internal capabilities to implement these across the wider organisation.

The Report is specifically focused on accountability to affected communities and the wider public. It is written to assist organisations assess their own accountability in relation to peers across sectors. It highlights good accountability practices and areas that require further improvement. It provides a perspective on accountability challenges facing global organisations.

The Trust published a pilot report including 18 organisations in 2003. Succeeding reports, published in 2006 and 2007, included data for 30 organisations each.

How are the organisations selected?
Organisations are selected for inclusion in the Global Accountability Reports based on both objective and subjective criteria. The initial filter used is based on an analysis of an organisation’s reach and impact. Potential organisations are split into sectors and quantitative criteria are considered including the number of members/employees, the number of countries of operations, and the budget or operating income. Also taken into consideration is the number of public policy issues that the organisation impacts upon. After the initial filter, a subjective choice is made by the project team in consultation with members of the Independent Advisory Panel. We aim to have a range of organisations from different sectors and activities. Selected organisations reflect the diversity of actors within their group. This is a good approach for capturing wider trends in the accountability of transnational actors.

Who is involved in writing the Report and what are their qualifications?
The research is conducted by a team of in-house experts each selected for their background on accountability of organisations in the intergovernmental, corporate or non-governmental sectors. The indicators, research methodology and results of the assessments are reviewed by external experts, stakeholders and the assessed organisations themselves. Additionally, the Trust has an Independent Advisory Panel that advises on the mandate and strategy of the Global Accountability Project under which the Report falls, with particular reference to ensuring content integrity.

How does the One World Trust gather information for the Report?
In the initial phase, we undertake secondary data research from publicly available materials. Following this, organisational representatives are interviewed and provided with an opportunity to share relevant information that is not yet publicly available.

Interviews are also undertaken with stakeholder groups (and organisations are encouraged to identify specific groups we should speak to), and experts who have previously published work on the organisations. Assessments based on the secondary research and the interviews are then sent to organisations so that they can comment on our interpretation prior to the publication of the Report.

For organisations that choose not to engage in this process, the assessments are based on publicly available materials, interviews with experts, former staff and other groups that the Trust identifies as their stakeholders.

What do the interview questions look like?
Interview questions relate to the existence of specific policies, who has responsibility for them, if training is provided on them and how they are disseminated within the organisation and to external stakeholders.

They are sent in advance to the main contact person in the organisation but can be answered by anyone in the organisation who has a broad overview of organisational policies and procedures. Based on our experience and given the range of issues the questions cover, organisations that gain most from the process divide responsibility for specific groups of questions between appropriate departments and individuals (e.g. questions related to internal complaints and response mechanisms are best answered by the Head of Compliance or head of HR depending on the organisation’s structure).

How much time does an organisation need to dedicate to this? What is the time frame for the research?
Based on experience, we estimate that an organisation needs to allot a total of two/three days time to engage, split between individuals, spread over a number of months.

In 2008, we are following the time frame below:
April: briefing on the Global Accountability Report for organisations
April-September: data collection and scoring
October and November: media briefings
December (first week): Report launch

Does the Trust conduct media PR to publicise the Report findings?
Yes, we brief UK and international broadsheet and trade publications, as well as broadcast and online outlets on the Report findings. We also partner with organisations in other countries to disseminate the findings in their local media. In 2007, the Report was featured in various media including the Economist, the Financial Times, and Reuters.

The Trust tries to focus its media PR on the positive messages that come out of the research. Organisations that perform well in the assessments are invited to participate in the media PR conducted for the Report to showcase their good practice and experiences in increasing accountability.

Where do the assessment indicators come from?
The indicators for the assessment are a simplified version of the guidelines in the Global Accountability Framework, which assesses accountability based on four dimensions: transparency, participation, evaluation, and complaint and response mechanisms. The Framework was developed over four years through evidence-based research and multi-stakeholder dialogues. Over a hundred organisations across the three sectors and their stakeholder groups have been contributing to them.

How do the Global Accountability Project, Framework, Index and Report all relate to each other?
Launched in 2001, the Global Accountability Project aims to:

• Enhance the accountability of global organisations to their stakeholders, leading to increased legitimacy, learning and performance
• Strengthen the capacity of stakeholder groups to engage in global decision-making processes
• Generate wider commitment to the principles and values of accountability and democracy, making global governance structures more effective in addressing the pressing needs of today’s world.

Its two components are the Framework, which provides guidelines on how organisations can increase their accountability, and the Index, which assess the accountability of organisations across sectors. The Report presents the results of the Index.

How does the Global Accountability Report differ from other reports?
Unlike other similar reports, the Global Accountability Report looks across sectors and thus promotes cross sector dialogue and learning.

What is the rationale underpinning the One World Trust’s tri-sectoral approach?
It recognises that transnational corporations, international NGOs and intergovernmental organisation together define today’s global governance arena. They are powerful organisations with a wide reach and influence; they all come under scrutiny from governments, the public at large and from each other; and as a result need to better share the challenges that they encounter when responding to calls for increased accountability and learn from each other to identify better responses. While the Trust is not trying to create a common standard, we are promoting the recognition of common principles that must be considered by a global organisation belonging to any of the three sectors, if it seeks to increase its accountability.

Is the One World Trust’s cross-sectoral approach too broad?
We recognise that organisations are different through their very nature, their mission, the context in which they operate, and the composition of their stakeholder groups. This is why the Global Accountability Index does not attempt to provide an in-depth analysis of the state of accountability in each of the assessed organisations. Rather the Index focuses on the key principles of accountability that are applicable across the three sectors and that highlight broad lessons and trends.

What is the One World Trust?
The One World Trust is an independent, non-profit think tank that conducts research and advocacy on issues of global governance.

Our work is funded by the Ford Foundation, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, the Polden-Puckham Foundation, the Allan and Nesta Charitable Settlement, the Madison Trust, and other foundations.

Who should I contact for more information about the Global Accountability Report?
Robert Lloyd, Projects Manager