Co-producing NGO accountability accounts with beneficiaries: evidence from Indonesia

Purpose This study examines how accountability is co-produced between NGOs and the beneficiaries, where beneficiaries assume roles as objects and subjects of accountability accounts. Design/methodology/approach The study employs a multiple-units case study approach and draws empirical insights from programmes run by a major Indonesian NGO. Data were collected through interviews, document analysis and observations. Relevant aspects of stakeholder-centric stakeholder theory were used to frame the analysis. Findings Shaped by power dynamics, the NGO accountability framework seeks to quantify its work and actively structures beneficiary participation, positioning beneficiaries as objects. The findings reveal that beneficiaries are, however, not merely passive recipients but active subjects striving to assert their agency as they navigate the constraints and opportunities within these structured spaces. Through their participation – whether through compliance, adaptation or subtle negotiation – they contribute to the co-production of accountability accounts, demonstrating that even within controlled frameworks, accountability remains a relational process. Originality/value The study contributes to NGO accountability literature by foregrounding grassroots participation and highlighting how structurally constrained beneficiaries shape and co-produce NGO accountability, offering an alternative to the prevailing top-down accountability framework. It also extends the dialogic accountability literature by showing that beneficiary participation, in the presence of power asymmetries, often unfolds subtly and adaptively, prioritising access to the programme's benefit over direct contestation of the NGO's agenda.