Redefining Governance: Lessons from the INGO Board Action Pod on Equity, Accountability and Power Shifts

The INGO Board Action Pod pro­vid­ed rich insights into address­ing sys­temic inequal­i­ties, chal­leng­ing entrenched pow­er struc­tures and rethink­ing gov­er­nance in the inter­na­tion­al non-gov­ern­men­tal organ­i­sa­tion (INGO) sec­tor. Our process was ground­ed in col­lab­o­ra­tive learn­ing, as the ini­tia­tive facil­i­tat­ed an inclu­sive and reflec­tive space for par­tic­i­pants to explore the com­plex­i­ties of gov­er­nance, equi­ty and account­abil­i­ty. Through sur­veys, group dis­cus­sions and peer coach­ing, it cul­ti­vat­ed a safe envi­ron­ment where dis­com­fort was embraced as a cat­a­lyst for mean­ing­ful growth. The lessons learned from this expe­ri­ence high­light the trans­for­ma­tive poten­tial of Boards as agents of sys­temic change.

Lessons Learned

Structural Racism

Struc­tur­al racism emerged as a cen­tral focus of the INGO Board Action Pod, with par­tic­i­pants recog­nis­ing its deep entrench­ment with­in the INGO sec­tor. The sector’s prac­tices often reflect broad­er sys­temic inequities, per­pet­u­at­ing imbal­ances of pow­er and priv­i­lege. While some organ­i­sa­tions have made ini­tial efforts to address this issue, sig­nif­i­cant gaps in lead­er­ship and account­abil­i­ty remain, par­tic­u­lar­ly in the absence of cohe­sive strate­gies and mea­sur­able progress indi­ca­tors.

Pro­vid­ing an open and safe dis­cus­sion place enabled par­tic­i­pants to high­light their own expe­ri­ences of racism, and impor­tant­ly revealed that struc­tur­al racism is not just about indi­vid­ual bias but a sys­temic issue root­ed in his­tor­i­cal lega­cies of colo­nial­ism and unequal pow­er dynam­ics. Many organ­i­sa­tions lack a shared under­stand­ing of what struc­tur­al racism entails, which hin­ders the iden­ti­fi­ca­tion of effec­tive solu­tions. Addi­tion­al­ly, the absence of robust tools to mea­sure progress com­pli­cates efforts to cre­ate mean­ing­ful change. 

A key theme was the need for Boards to play a proac­tive role in dis­man­tling these bar­ri­ers. Lead­er­ship must move beyond sym­bol­ic ges­tures and adopt inten­tion­al strate­gies pri­ori­tis­ing equi­ty and inclu­sion, fos­ter­ing an envi­ron­ment where dif­fi­cult con­ver­sa­tions about priv­i­lege and pow­er can take place, as was revealed in our ses­sions.

True trans­for­ma­tion requires con­fronting uncom­fort­able truths and dis­rupt­ing entrenched prac­tices. The INGO Board Action Pod empha­sised the impor­tance of rethink­ing aid mod­els that per­pet­u­ate stereo­types and pow­er imbal­ances, shift­ing towards approach­es that cen­tre the voic­es and agency of mar­gin­alised com­mu­ni­ties. This involves recon­sid­er­ing fund­ing prac­tices, pro­gramme design, and deci­sion-mak­ing process­es.

Col­lab­o­ra­tion and shared learn­ing were seen as cru­cial for this trans­for­ma­tion. Inter-organ­i­sa­tion­al part­ner­ships were iden­ti­fied as a pow­er­ful way to exchange knowl­edge, co-cre­ate solu­tions, and ampli­fy efforts to address struc­tur­al racism. Case stud­ies of suc­cess­ful ini­tia­tives were high­light­ed as exam­ples of how progress can be achieved. Par­tic­i­pants felt that more tools were required to bring about trans­for­ma­tion, such as  those to mea­sure progress in address­ing struc­tur­al racism, includ­ing both qual­i­ta­tive and quan­ti­ta­tive indi­ca­tors, but also tools to cre­ate the inter­nal process­es that are required at the organ­i­sa­tion­al lev­el. Although there is a grow­ing recog­ni­tion of how steeped the non-prof­it sec­tor is in colo­nial lega­cies and how this per­pet­u­ates struc­tur­al racism, such con­ver­sa­tions are often marred by lack of clar­i­ty about what struc­tur­al racism is and how it is expe­ri­enced. This in turn can impede tak­ing prac­ti­cal action. Mem­bers of RINGO’s core team from Reos Part­ners have devel­oped a descrip­tion of struc­tur­al racism and some prac­ti­cal approach­es to dis­man­tle struc­tur­al racism in organ­i­sa­tions.  Trans­par­ent report­ing and account­abil­i­ty mech­a­nisms were seen as essen­tial for main­tain­ing momen­tum and build­ing trust among stake­hold­ers.

Trust and Accountability

Account­abil­i­ty is a com­plex chal­lenge, shaped by the diverse expec­ta­tions of glob­al and local stake­hold­ers. Mem­bers of the INGO Board Action Pod felt that there were often trade­offs between account­abil­i­ty required towards fun­ders vs. those of com­mu­ni­ties. 

At the heart of this is the prin­ci­ple that eth­i­cal lead­er­ship plays a cru­cial role in fos­ter­ing trans­paren­cy, trust and col­lab­o­ra­tion. Effec­tive gov­er­nance involves active engage­ment with com­mu­ni­ties, where deci­sions reflect their needs and per­spec­tives. There must be a will­ing­ness to lis­ten, learn and adjust based on feed­back, with a focus on shar­ing pow­er and ensur­ing inclu­sive deci­sion-mak­ing.

Key to this process is the imple­men­ta­tion of Board-lev­el Diver­si­ty, Equi­ty, and Inclu­sion (DEI) self-assess­ments, which help iden­ti­fy gaps and oppor­tu­ni­ties for improve­ment in terms of both rep­re­sen­ta­tion and ways of work­ing. Diver­si­fy­ing gov­er­nance struc­tures ensures deci­sions bet­ter reflect the lived expe­ri­ences of those impact­ed by the organisation’s work. In addi­tion, invest­ing in robust Mon­i­tor­ing, Eval­u­a­tion, and Learn­ing (MEL) sys­tems pro­motes con­tin­u­ous feed­back and improve­ment, ensur­ing account­abil­i­ty is main­tained at every lev­el.

In essence, trust is built through con­sis­tent, trans­par­ent actions and a cul­ture of shared respon­si­bil­i­ty. Boards must lead with integri­ty, pri­ori­tis­ing eth­i­cal stan­dards and fos­ter­ing an inclu­sive envi­ron­ment where all stake­hold­ers feel heard and val­ued. This approach ensures account­abil­i­ty is not only an exter­nal expec­ta­tion but an inter­nal organ­i­sa­tion­al val­ue, dri­ving long-term, sus­tain­able impact.

Power Shifts

Shift­ing pow­er dynam­ics with­in the INGO sec­tor emerged as a crit­i­cal yet com­plex pri­or­i­ty. Par­tic­i­pants recog­nised the trans­for­ma­tive role Boards can play in dis­man­tling hier­ar­chi­cal struc­tures and redis­trib­ut­ing pow­er, mak­ing deci­sion-mak­ing more inclu­sive. How­ev­er, ten­sions between risk aver­sion and the need for bold change were evi­dent. Boards often hes­i­tate to embrace trans­for­ma­tive action due to fears of desta­bil­is­ing exist­ing struc­tures, yet they also agreed that inac­tion only per­pet­u­ates inequity.

The INGO Board Action Pod empha­sised the impor­tance of inte­grat­ing lived expe­ri­ences into gov­er­nance process­es, ensur­ing that mar­gin­alised voic­es are heard in deci­sion-mak­ing. Oxfam GB’s efforts to embed decoloni­sa­tion into its strat­e­gy were high­light­ed as a suc­cess­ful exam­ple, show­cas­ing how Boards can lead by exam­ple and dri­ve sys­temic change, but many more case stud­ies are required

Align­ment between head­quar­ters and coun­try offices was iden­ti­fied as cru­cial to ensur­ing con­sis­ten­cy in pow­er-shift­ing efforts. For sus­tain­able change, these ini­tia­tives must be sup­port­ed across all organ­i­sa­tion­al lev­els. Par­tic­i­pants also stressed the need for doc­u­ment­ing progress and build­ing ally net­works to main­tain momen­tum and account­abil­i­ty. These tools help track change, fos­ter sol­i­dar­i­ty, and ensure con­tin­ued com­mit­ment to shift­ing pow­er dynam­ics in the sec­tor.

Practical Recommendations for Sustained Impact

The insights from the INGO Board Action Pod coa­lesced into action­able rec­om­men­da­tions designed to embed trans­for­ma­tive prac­tices across the sec­tor:

• Devel­op­ing Robust Mea­sure­ment Sys­tems: Organ­i­sa­tions must pri­ori­tise the devel­op­ment of com­pre­hen­sive Mon­i­tor­ing, Eval­u­a­tion, and Learn­ing (MEL) frame­works. These sys­tems should not only track progress but also pro­vide qual­i­ta­tive and quan­ti­ta­tive evi­dence of the impact of equi­ty and pow­er-shift­ing ini­tia­tives.
• Fos­ter­ing Col­lab­o­ra­tion and Capac­i­ty: Capac­i­ty strength­en­ing ini­tia­tives should focus on equip­ping Boards with the tools and knowl­edge need­ed to lead trans­for­ma­tive efforts. Col­lab­o­ra­tive part­ner­ships across organ­i­sa­tions can ampli­fy impact and cre­ate a uni­fied push for sys­temic change. This is about embrac­ing new ways of work­ing, not about organ­i­sa­tion­al strat­e­gy per se. 
• Sus­tain­ing Dia­logue and Advo­ca­cy: Ongo­ing dis­cus­sions on equi­ty, gov­er­nance, and sol­i­dar­i­ty are essen­tial to main­tain­ing momen­tum. Board mem­bers play a role in keep­ing decoloni­sa­tion work front and cen­tre. Build­ing and lever­ag­ing net­works of allies can ampli­fy advo­ca­cy efforts, ensur­ing that these issues remain on organ­i­sa­tion­al agen­das. Peer sup­port between Board mem­bers in dif­fer­ent organ­i­sa­tions should be more avail­able in the sec­tor. 

A Call to Action

The INGO Board Action Pod demon­strat­ed that sys­temic change is not a finite goal but a con­tin­u­ous jour­ney requir­ing unwa­ver­ing com­mit­ment, adapt­abil­i­ty and col­lec­tive effort. Address­ing struc­tur­al racism, fos­ter­ing account­abil­i­ty, and shift­ing pow­er dynam­ics demand courage and vision from Boards. These gov­ern­ing bod­ies hold an untapped poten­tial, where­by they occu­py a unique posi­tion to dri­ve sec­tor-wide trans­for­ma­tion, chal­leng­ing entrenched norms and cham­pi­oning equi­ty at every lev­el.

This ini­tia­tive serves as a reminder that the pur­suit of a more equi­table and impact­ful INGO sec­tor is both urgent and achiev­able. Through inten­tion­al actions, sus­tained learn­ing, and col­lab­o­ra­tive part­ner­ships, Boards can lead the charge in reimag­in­ing the sector’s future, one root­ed in jus­tice, inclu­siv­i­ty and shared pow­er.