Accountability in Humanitarian Assistance

(1.5 Credits)

This short course will explore the concept of accountability within humanitarian intervention. In particular it will look at the contemporary significance of accountability for humanitarian response – when and why it has become an important concept for humanitarian intervention, and specific events that have led to a shift from donors to recipients of aid as the agents of accountability. Key questions that will be explored include: - To whom are humanitarian agencies accountable? What are the competing accountabilities and how do these influence program decisions and agency performance? - Why is accountability to beneficiaries important during a humanitarian response? Aside from ideological views, why should the humanitarian sector be concerned with accountability to beneficiaries? What are its end goals? - What does an effective accountability mechanism look like? How do agencies implement it? - Do these work? In what contexts? How is their effectiveness being measured? By whom? - Who are the main actors in this space? An examination of HAP, ALNAP, Listen First, ECB project, current NGO frameworks used in the field