Achieving Meaningful Accountability for People Living in Poverty and Marginalisation

Meaningful accountability can shift power imbalances that prevent sustainable development for people living in poverty and marginalisation. Accountability consists of both the rights of citizens to make claims and demand a response, and the involvement of citizens in ensuring that related action is taken. However, for the poorest and most marginalised people accountability is often unattainable. They face multiple barriers in influencing social, political and economic decision-making processes and accessing the services they are entitled to. This briefing draws on research by the Participate initiative to highlight the key components necessary for processes of accountability to be meaningful for all.