Stakeholder relations

Dr. George CandlerDirector

UNF MPA Program

Accountability• Accountability “in terms of who is accountable to

whom, for what and under what circumstances.”Gagne (1996)

Canadian Public Administration

• Source: – “A nonprofit accountability framework.” Canadian Public

Administration, George Candler and Georgette Dumont, 2010.

• Research method: – meta analysis (we tried to read everything, put it all

together), and– An application to fifteen Rhode Island nonprofits.

Accountability to whom• Members• Clients• Constituents• Donors• Public• Government• Media• NGO staff• Partners & allies

Accountability for what• Consequential

– Inputs• Financial resources• Volunteer resources• Reputational capital

– Outputs• Goods & services• Social capital• Policy impact

• Procedural– Law– Formal mission– Ethics– Legitimacy

Why?• Accountability checklist:– What does your organization need to be

accountable for, – to whom, and– for those elements that do apply: do you account?

• Strategic communications tool– Think about what communications media can be

used to account for what to which stakeholders.

An application

Neymeyr, Kara (2005). Nonprofit Accountability Auditing: Application of an Accountability Audit Matrix to Fifteen Nonprofit Organizations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. MPA thesis, Bridgewater State College.

Actual accountability of fifteen Rhode Island nonprofits  

For what  

Consequential Procedural  

Inputs Outputs  

Stakeholders financial resources

volunteer resources

reputational capital

goods & services

social capital

policy impact

law formal mission

ethics Legiti-macy Mean

members

.72clients

.30constituents

.10donors

.94government

.49general public

.36media

.20nonprofit staff

.51partners/allies

.65

Mean .76 .35 .41 .94 .32 .30 .25 .81 .12 .40