“Domestic accountability” has become a new buzzword in the international debate on development. Whilst the concept of accountability is not new, it has attracted rising interest in the context of the debate on governance.

This tendency is reflected in a growing number of reports and studies that deal with accountability mechanisms in developing countries. Moreover, the fact that donors have been providing an increasing share of ODA in the form of budget support has triggered a controversial debate on how aid impacts on domestic accountability.

Whilst it has been argued that budget support and other programme-based approaches create new opportunities for strengthening domestic accountability systems by placing heavy emphasis on transparent budget processes, public finance management reform and accounting for results, there are also certain risks (Hudson and GOVNET Secretariat 2009). 

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