Accountability of a Mixed Child Welfare Organisation

Abstract

Chapter seven analyses the case of a state child welfare institution that changed from a state-funded institution to one financially linked to local and international organisations. The diversification of funding sources had implications for expanding their scope of accountability to a range of people and organisations. The case-study raises questions about managing competing accountabilities, prioritising certain dimensions of accountability and about how to take advantage of the potential additional legitimacy from these new accountability relationships. It illustrates how state-run institutions, too, are having to develop second-order accountability capital to extend their legitimacy beyond the state to other audiences. It also reveals how state institutions can come under particular political pressures as reflected in the reluctance of the organisation to be re-interviewed in the period since Xi Jinping came into office.