The contribution of self-regulation frameworks for NGO sectors in an effective regulatory system

Diagram of The Regulatory Bridge
Sector Self-accountability Government Public / Funders

It is in the interest of all NGOs that their sector is well-managed and accountable; this is also the case for governments, given the value of NGOs and of civil society. Many governments therefore support the sector by encouraging umbrella bodies and dialogue about issues like good governance. With the growing interest in NGO accountability, NGO sectors around the world have developed a range of ways to regulate themselves:

  • The sector can jointly regulate with the government, such as in the Philippines.

Other initiatives created by the sector can be equally powerful:

  • Codes of Conduct exist in many countries, and these are described in more detail below.
  • There is often a great deal of informal oversight, such as through networking, information sharing, shared trustees and even peer reviews.
Codes of Conduct for NGOs

Codes have been created in 40+ countries, whether as a result of legthy discussion between members of the same body or between government and (part of) the sector. They are very much a product of local circumstance and therefore vary in content and strength (including enforcement and sanctions). Robert Lloyd provides an important overview in The Role of NGO Self-Regulation in Increasing Stakeholder Accountability (2005, One World Trust), examining the use of codes of conduct and certification schemes as a way of strengthening NGO accountability.

A well known membership example from the US that is emulated in several countries are the Standards if Excellence. Based on the core values of honesty, integrity, fairness, respect, trust, compassion, and responsibility, these serve as a model of how well managed, responsibly governed, nonprofit organisations operate. Other well-regarded examples examples include Independent Sectors's Statement of Values and Code of Ethics, BBB Wise Giving Alliance standards for charity accountability and the SANGOCO code in South Africa.

Some sectors have gone a step further by developing self-policed "hallmark" systems for public fundraising (e.g. CBF in the Netherlands). Codes have also been created to deal with themes rather than geography:

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