Transparency & Accountability
Why it matters
For Forus, transparency & accountability are more than principles – they are ways of working. As a network based on horizontal relationships, we are particularly committed to mutual accountability- between members, with governance bodies, the Secretariat as well as our partners. For Forus, at the heart of accountability & transparency are conversations: open discussion and dialogue, which nourish the trust within the network. We practice accountability and transparency through ongoing member voice mechanisms, gathering the views and feedback of our members and where possible their own members too. We conduct regular assessments of our accountability and transparency, including through self-assessment exercises with the Forus Council. We believe in learning from the feedback we receive and we are constantly developing new tools and discussion spaces to collect ideas, opinions and impact reports from our network. Our journey to strengthen our accountability and transparency is also made possible thanks to collaborations with experts in this area: Accountable now, the Dynamic Accountability Community of Practice, Keystone Accountability and other partners, including the evaluators who undertake reviews of our work.
We are increasingly focusing our efforts to rigorously monitor our impact and relationships with members, allies and donors across the globe.
Monitoring & evaluation systems
Forus is a network committed to contributing to change towards inclusive and sustainable societies. Forus’ Strategy 2021-2025 sets out A positive Agenda for civil society and delivers an important commitment to strengthening monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning in the Forus network. The Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning Framework framework sets out how Forus:
- Monitors & evaluates our work, through ongoing data collection and analysis, drawing and responding to critical insights
- Is accountable to our members and partners, by using the monitoring and evaluation data to respond to their needs, learn and adapt
- Learns, through a culture and process that supports sharing of diverse views, open discussion and dialogue
Listening to our members
The voices of our members are at the heart of everything we do in Forus. As part of our commitment to strong mutual accountability in the network, Forus has a full-fledged Member Voice system, based on collecting members’ views and feedback. In April 2021, Forus partnered with Keystone Accountability to collect feedback from its members about the overall network dynamic, as well as some more specific themes. 63% of Forus members responded to the survey. In the video below find what members said about us!
What our members have to say about us
Actors of development and democracy
With 72 national members and 7 regional ones, at Forus we strive in keeping our network a horizontal and safe space for civil society organisations from across the globe to shape new narratives and share their work. We believe in reciprocity and in a two-way-approach in which we constantly learn from our members and give back from the network. In the words of our regional member in the Pacific, PIANGO “We are Forus and Forus is us”. For Forus, being accountable is about relationships – with our members and external allies. Our approach reflects our values:
- Horizontal relationships: we work to empower members to take lead and join in action towards change, learning from each other’s knowledge and experiences. We recognize the interdependencies within civil society and strive towards horizontal relationships.
- Building trust: we work as a network of peers, encouraging open and honest dialogue. Trust is an important resource in the network, allowing for both successes and limitations to be discussed. We create safe spaces for discussion for our members.
- Mutual accountability: we develop mechanisms for members to hold each other to account as peers, and our governance holds the Secretariat to account. We see accountability as an ongoing process.
- Inclusion: Every member has equal power to influence all processes. Our governance bodies are diverse in terms of language, gender and geographical representation. We listen and take into account diverse views, and make decisions in a collective way.
- Independence of members: Members’ strategies and activities are independent of the influence of Forus’ Secretariat and governance. Members remain fully autonomous in defining their strategies and positions.
We value your feedback, please share your ideas on our activities and work on our Voices of Forus channel here.
