Transparency – why bother?

Judith Davey is ActionAid’s director of people, performance & Accountability.

Transparency can be transformational – access to accurate, timely and relevant information can make a world of difference to the lives of the poor and marginalised people. Knowledge is power, and transparency is a stepping to empowerment.

Why then does the debate about transparency focus so much on transparency to donors and supporters?  Of course the public, donors and supporters are important stakeholders, but as charities our primary stakeholders are our beneficiaries. Transparency about what we do and say in the name of our beneficiaries must be at the heart of the debate.

Meaningful transparency

We hear sometimes about the so-called ‘transparency trap’. Different commentators appear to mean different things when they talk about this. One of the more interesting interpretations is taking a tick-box approach – doing it because you feel you have too. Or not doing it because you’re worried about your reputation.

Meaningful transparency requires a thoughtful, nuanced understanding of what people want to know and why and it means responding to those needs. Less is more. Transparency does not mean that we have to stuff our communications and websites with technical documents full of acronyms and jargon that evaluate the impact of our work.

Accessible transparency

We need to find other more succinct, audience-appropriate ways to convey the richness and impact of our work. Digital can help us do this in visceral and powerful ways. Find out more from our 2014 Transparency Report.

As an example, ActionAid linked up our UK supporters with women in Bangladesh who were survivors of acid attacks – a particularly brutal form of violence against women and girls. Through social media they were able to exchange messages and our supporters expressed solidarity and support. Both supporters and beneficiaries found it emotional, engaging and uplifting. I doubt there could be a better way of getting across the impact of our work.

Join the debate

I’m delighted to be chairing the panel on The Transparent Organisation at NCVO’s Evolve conference. Of course, no organisation is perfect, and ActionAid is on its own journey to improve our policies and practice. I’m looking forward to the debate which I’m sure will give me further ideas on how to improve. The speakers are excellent – Karl Wilding, NCVO Director of Public Policy and Caron Bradshaw, CEO of Charity Finance Group.

Come along and join the debate – sparks could fly