Question tag: accountability
8 QuestionsHow do we set up a complaints and grievance procedure for our beneficiaries?
We've never had a formal complaints process. If someone has an issue they usually just tell whoever they know in the organisation and it gets handled informally. That's mostly worked but we recently had a situation where a beneficiary felt their complaint wasn't taken seriously and it escalated unnecessarily. We want to put something formal […]
What are the specific accountability challenges for umbrella CSO organisations?
Our organisation is an umbrella body for about 30 smaller community groups. Our accountability situation feels different from a typical service-delivery NGO because we're essentially accountable to our member organisations, not just donors. But we're not sure we're handling this well — some members feel disconnected and don't really know what we do with their […]
Why is having a complaints process important for a CSO?
Honestly I've always thought of complaints processes as something you put in place when things go wrong, and since we haven't had any serious incidents I've never prioritised it. But a donor recently included it in their due diligence checklist and it made me wonder if I've been thinking about this the wrong way. Can […]
What are the key elements of a beneficiary feedback mechanism?
We do a survey at the end of each programme cycle and it gives us some useful data, but by the time we have the results the programme is over and we can't act on the feedback until the next round. I want something more real-time — a way for beneficiaries to give us feedback […]
Do we have to publish our financial information to the public?
Someone on our board raised the question of whether we're legally required to make our finances public. We currently share financial reports with our donors but we've never published them anywhere publicly. A local journalist once asked to see our accounts and we genuinely weren't sure whether we had to share them. What does the […]
What is the National Accountability Framework (NAF) and how do I use it?
I keep hearing about the NAF in sector meetings and I picked up a copy but it's quite a long document and I'm not sure how to actually use it practically for our organisation. Is it something we're supposed to formally adopt? Is there an assessment we're supposed to do first? I don't want to […]
What are the core principles of CSO accountability in Trinidad and Tobago?
I've been asked to run a session for our board on accountability and I want to make sure I'm covering the right things. When I think about accountability I mostly think about financial accountability but I have a feeling it's much broader than that. What are the core principles that CSOs in T&T are expected […]
How do we conduct an accountability self-assessment for our organisation?
We've been talking about doing a governance review or self-assessment for a while but we're not sure where to start or what tool to use. Is there a specific self-assessment tool designed for T&T CSOs, or do we have to adapt something from overseas? And practically — who should complete it? Just the board, or […]