NGOs’ performance, governance, and accountability in the era of digital transformation

What is it about?

This is a literature review and introduction to a special issue on digitisation in non-governmental organisations (NGOs), highlighting areas for more research. Digital transformation creates opportunities and challenges for NGOs and their stakeholders. While many challenges brought about by digital transformation are universal, NGOs can be acutely affected due to the diversity of their stakeholders, regulatory and funder demands, and ongoing resource constraints. Conversely, there is hope that digital transformation can help to address longstanding sectoral level challenges, and engage those diverse stakeholders with per­formance, governance and accountability information. Digital transformation is arguably amplifying existing trends, through helping NGOs discharge greater accountability to beneficiaries, and changing their communications with funders. However, beneficiaries have seldom driven such attempts, and are often not involved in the development of accountability measures nor assessing NGOs’ success. Early attempts to engage beneficiaries are encouraging, but real concerns remain that technology worsens social division and amplifies cleavages, leaving the most vulnerable behind.

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Why is it important?

In NGOs, digital transformation affects different accounting modes and there is room for expansion fo research to improve how accounting's digitilisation opportunities are applied and taken-up in NGOs . We urge the members of this community and future NGO scholars to continue to research NGO management and accountability practices with a view to hold NGOs to account for the impact they create on the beneficiaries and their communities and to inform regulatory and policy activities for good. Beneficiaries are said to be the raison d’ˆetre for NGOs and they need to remain focused on serving these beneficiaries. We very much hope that future research will continue to find ways of assisting the NGOs in discharging their desired accountability towards the beneficiaries and their communities, while achieving their missions.

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