Accountability in Public-private Partnerships: Perspectives, Practices, Problems, and Prospects

ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS The role of collaborative forms of organizing in achieving important societal purposes has significantly increased in the most recent decades. So have the concerns related to accountability in the new governance environment. This book thus aims to contribute to the debate about accountability in the context of collaborative governance. It reports that outcomes-oriented and client-oriented views of accountability were more prevalent among the practitioners. Five distinct roles for accountability were identified: Mapping and manifesting expectations, mobilizing and motivating (ex-ante), monitoring and measuring progress and performance, modifying, and mobilizing and motivating (ex-post). The most frequently cited difficulties were the availability of and access to information, sectoral and personal differences, and frequent changes in personnel, resources, and partners. The book should help shed some light on the accountability implications of the collaborative governance, and should be of particular help to those who utilize, study, monitor, or evaluate partnerships.