ABSTRACT
The extraordinary rise to influence of non-governmental organisations (NGO) over the past two decades has been the twentieth century's most important progressive social innovation. And it is this more than anything else that has driven concerns about NGO accountability. The concern is that NGOs, unlike elected governments and owned businesses, lack an adequate, clearly defined basis on which they can be held to account. Their networked relationships and public profile can certainly provide crucial elements of pressure and oversight. But these mechanisms are rightly seen as inadequate governance for a form of organisation that has become so important in influencing individual attitudes and public and private policy and practice. The raging debate about corporate governance, equally, offers important lessons that can be transferred to the NGO community, notably on board director responsibilities and competencies. Adequate NGO accountability must emerge from vision about the future of civil society, not fear for it.
