Accountability and communications

4. Accountability and communications

Introduction

Accountability is at the core of the work of voluntary organisations. In a broad sense, accountability means being held to account. In the sense of voluntary (and other) organisations, it means being responsible for actions taken by the organisation and also being able to communicate, explain and justify what they have done. Therefore, the organisation needs to be accountable to all its stakeholders – the people and groups who have an interest in what the organisation does, that is, service users, staff, volunteers, donors and members, funders, government, the wider public and so on.

Section 4 is divided into three topics:

  1. The role of trustees looks at the role trustees play in governance and strategy- setting. It also considers their responsibilities and the ways in which they are accountable.
  2. Know, grow and show the difference you make explains how voluntary organisations make an impact and how this activity can be planned, measured and communicated.
  3. Communicating with others explores what being a good communicator entails through examining different methods of communicating and how to improve the ‘message’. This can create more effective and accountable relationships with different audiences.

Learning outcomes