The shaping of NGO accountability: aligning imposed and felt accountabilities in Oxfam Novib

The purpose of this paper is to advance and deepen our understanding of the shaping of accountability in non-governmental organization (NGOs) contexts. Using a framework drawing on the concepts of imposed, felt and adaptive accountability the paper examines the process through which one prominent Dutch development NGO, Oxfam Novib, has come to construct its own accountability. The case traces the process through which an initial imposed (maladaptive) accountability regime primarily based on satisfying narrow governmental requirements was altered and shaped to instigate a more adaptive regime aimed at aligning informal felt accountabilities with formal accountability mechanisms. The stability of this regime is shown to be threatened by the recent emergence of demanding, narrowly focused governmental funding requirements in a context where NGOs are coming under greater critical scrutiny.