| The purpose of this exploratory study has been to identify, describe, and evaluate the critical issues and challenges associated with accountability in public-private partnerships. The data for the study were drawn from field research focusing on public-private partnerships formed between K--12 schools and private and nonprofit organizations in the United States. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with forty practitioners, many of whom were partnership coordinators/directors. The participants come from seventeen different states and all three sectors.;The study found that accountability is becoming more salient and significant in the functioning of educational partnerships. It was also found that outcomes-oriented and client-oriented views of accountability were more prevalent among the practitioners, along with partnership accountability, community accountability, and quasi-professional accountability. The analysis of the findings pointed to five distinct roles for accountability: mapping and manifesting expectations, mobilizing and motivating (ex-ante), monitoring and measuring progress and performance, modifying, and mobilizing and motivating (ex-post). The most frequently cited difficulties associated with accountability in partnerships were the availability of and access to information, sectoral and personal differences, and frequent changes in personnel, resources, and partners. The most frequently offered recommendations for creating successful public-private partnerships and maintaining effective accountability in these systems were mapping and mutually-adjusting expectations, building relationships, developing measures and a measurement system, and identifying and involving all relevant stakeholders.;It was concluded that, to provide effective accountability in and of multi-sectoral partnerships, the collective and collaborative nature of partnerships as well as the complex and complicated nature of accountability issues involved should be acknowledged and appreciated, and cross-walking of traditional organizational and sectoral boundaries should be anticipated and attempted. It was further maintained that accountability in collaborative settings should be conceived as a continuous and comprehensive process, should emphasize and reflect collective responsibility and consensus , and should encourage the use of a creative combination of informal and formal means and mechanisms. The study concludes with a discussion of the meaning of and conditions for answerability in multi-sectoral networks and partnerships, followed by implications for future research, management and education. |
