The aim of the Resilient Roots initiative is to test whether organisations who are more accountable and responsive to their roots - namely, their primary constituents - are more resilient to external threats from governmental and non-governmental sources. We believe that if civil society is accountable to and engaged with its constituency, it will be able to rely more upon them to come to its defence, bridge resourcing gaps, and safeguard its long-term sustainability when it is under political or structural attack. Our approach involves prioritising innovation, taking calculated risks, embracing failure, and most importantly sharing what we learn from our pilot partners with a broader community of interested stakeholders. The initiative consists of three main components; (1) providing support to fifteen pilot partners in diverse geographies and civil society contexts around the globe, (2) improving civil society accountability and determining its relationship with resilience, and (3) fostering an environment of peer-learning and wider uptake.
This article focuses on the second component and in particular, the approach the Resilient Roots team is taking to measure changes in accountability over the course of the initiative among the pilot partners. In it you will find an overview of our methodology and some recommendations of things to consider when setting up your own mechanisms for measuring accountability. We are still working to improve our methodology and invite you to use it yourself, share your experiences with us and provide feedback on our approach. Please also share any similar approaches that you are aware of, or that you have used in your organisation with Resilient Roots ().