ABSTRACT
Many non-profi t organisations that work with public funding are subject to accountability mechanisms imposed by national or local governments. This is the traditional type of accountability in which the non-profi t organisation is accountable to a single principal. Recent years have seen the rise of various new forms of accountability, which, though known by various names (for example, “social”, “horizontal”, “downward”), share the notion that the non-profi t organisation is responsible to various principals or stakeholders. These new forms are seen as more democratic and more in keeping with the non-profi t character of the organisations involved. Specifi cally, they are thought to give citizens a direct infl uence on service delivery by these organisations, whereas they would otherwise only be able to infl uence them indirectly through representative democratic institutions.
