Accountability in Public Policy Partnerships Julia Steets Accountability in Public Policy Partnerships Also by Julia Steets HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, IMPROVING US-EUROPEAN COOPERATION (edited with Daniel S. Hamilton) PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: On The Road to Implementation PALÄSTINA (with Dietmar Herz) Accountability in Public Policy Partnerships Julia Steets Associate Director, Global Public Policy Institute, Germany © Julia Steets 2010 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2010 978-0-230-23897-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-31599-4 ISBN 978-0-230-29061-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230290617 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Steets, Julia, 1975– Accountability in public policy partnerships / Julia Steets. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-349-31599-4 1. Public-private sector cooperation. 2. Government accountability. I. Title. HD3871.S74 2010 352.3'4—dc22 2010027560 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 Contents List of Figures and Tables ix Preface x List of Acronyms xi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Accountability – a fuzzy concept and its importance for partnerships 1 1.2 Purpose and structure 4 2 The Concepts of Partnerships and Accountability 6 2.1 Partnerships 6 2.1.1 Definition 6 2.1.2 P artnerships between networks and corporatism 10 2.1.2.1 Corporatism 10 2.1.2.2 Networks 12 2.2 Accountability 14 2.2.1 Defining the ‘core’ of accountability 14 2.2.2 Who is accountable, to whom, for what and how? 18 2.2.2.1 Defining the agent 19 2.2.2.2 Defining the principal(s) 20 2.2.2.3 What are agents accountable for? 22 2.2.2.4 H ow is accountability created or strengthened? 26 2.2.2.5 W hen is the agent interested in strengthening accountability? 30 2.2.3 The accountability dilemma 32 2.3 Partnership accountability 34 2.3.1 Political salience 34 2.3.2 Importance of trade-offs 36 2.3.3 Complexity 37 v vi Contents 3 Why Organisations Ought to be Accountable 38 3.1 Major justifications for accountability 39 3.1.1 Consequentialist justifications 39 3.1.2 Power and stakeholder theory 41 3.1.3 Power and the democratic deficit 46 3.2 The alternative: Justifying accountability through delegation 53 3.2.1 D elegation and the duty to act in the best interest of the principal 53 3.2.2 D elegation and the need for appropriate accountability mechanisms 58 3.2.3 Ex-post and hypothetical delegation 65 3.3 The advantages of justifying accountability through delegation 76 3.4 Form should follow function 78 4 Partnerships in Practice 81 4.1 Partnership types … 81 4.1.1 Advocacy and awareness-raising partnerships 83 4.1.2 Rule setting and regulation partnerships 84 4.1.3 Policy implementation partnerships 85 4.1.4 Information-generating partnerships 86 4.2 … and their accountability arrangements 86 4.2.1 Legal and fiscal accountability arrangements 86 4.2.2 Financial accountability 88 4.2.3 Elements of process accountability 89 4.2.4 Accountability for outcomes 91 4.2.5 A ccountability through independence and professionalism 94 4.2.6 O verview over partnerships and their main accountability arrangements 95 5 Concrete Partnership Accountability Standards 99 5.1 Advocacy and awareness-raising partnerships: Basic standards for all partnerships 99 5.1.1 A ccountability for complying with relevant rules and regulations 100 5.1.1.1 Choose a well-governed host organisation 105 5.1.1.2 Adopt clear internal rules 106 Contents vii 5.1.1.3 C reate an effective oversight body with the ability to apply sanctions 106 5.1.2 Financial accountability 108 5.1.2.1 Adopt a system of internal financial controls 110 5.1.2.2 A dopt accounting and reporting policies complying with donor demands and generating reliable, relevant, comparable and understandable information 111 5.1.2.3 C onduct independent audits for large partnerships 116 5.1.3 A ccountability for working towards the partnership’s mission 118 5.1.3.1 Define a clear mission 119 5.1.3.2 O rient partnership activities along the mission 120 5.1.3.3 E mploy resources efficiently in pursuit of the mission 120 5.1.4 Summary of standards 121 5.2 Standards for rule setting and regulation partnerships 124 5.2.1 A pplying democratic accountability standards to rule-setting partnerships 125 5.2.2 Accountability through participation 126 5.2.2.1 C reate formal possibilities for participation and inclusion 127 5.2.2.2 P rovide stakeholders with relevant information, knowledge and skills 134 5.2.3 Accountability to avoid the abuse of authority 137 5.2.3.1 P artnerships proposing voluntary rules: No additional measures are necessary 138 5.2.3.2 P artnerships setting binding rules: Authorisation, mandate, judicial review 139 5.2.4 Summary of standards 140 5.3 Standards for implementation partnerships 142 5.3.1 A pplying corporate accountability standards to partnerships 144 5.3.2 O utcome accountability through performance evaluation 145 viii Contents 5.3.2.1 D efine clear objectives and performance targets 145 5.3.2.2 M onitor performance and create incentives for performance improvement 148 5.3.3 O utcome accountability through the introduction of market elements 150 5.3.3.1 O utsource suitable tasks through competitive bidding processes 151 5.3.3.2 C ollect beneficiary feedback to assess performance 153 5.3.4 Summary of standards 154 5.4 Standards for information-generating partnerships 155 5.4.1 T ransferable accountability practices in universities and the judiciary and guidance from relevant international standards 156 5.4.2 A ccountability for impartiality through independence 160 5.4.2.1 Ensure institutional independence 161 5.4.2.2 Foster personal independence 162 5.4.3 A ccountability for accuracy and quality through professionalism 165 5.4.3.1 R ecruit experts with formal qualification and good reputation 166 5.4.3.2 C reate possibilities for verifying or disputing results 167 5.4.4 Summary of standards 169 6 Conclusion 170 6.1 Summary of findings 170 6.2 Lessons and applications 173 Notes 176 Bibliography 225 Index 262 List of Figures and Tables Figures 1.1 Structure of the argument 4 2.1 Partnerships, networks and corporatism 13 2.2 Accountability 16 2.3 Layers of principals 21 2.4 The principal’s and agent’s interest in accountability 31 5.1 A ccountability of advocacy and awareness-raising partnerships 101 5.2 A ccountability of rule setting and regulation partnerships 125 5.3 Accountability of implementation partnerships 143 5.4 Accountability of information-generating partnerships 157 Tables 4.1 Partnership functions and accountability arrangements 95 5.1 A ccountability standards for advocacy and awareness-raising partnerships 121 5.2 A ccountability standards for rule setting and regulation partnerships 140 5.3 A ccountability standards for implementation partnerships 154 5.4 A ccountability standards for information-generating partnerships 169 6.1 Summary of accountability standards for partnerships 172 ix