Collective action has a relatively long history in political science and economic theory, but its application to governance programming in development is a relatively new phenomenon. As such there is little evidence of interventions that have been specifically designed to address collective action failures and increase accountability. There is, however, a range of literature relating to collective action and accountability interventions from which to draw inferences that may address both.
This report identifies several articles, reports and blog postings relating primarily, but not exclusively to accountability interventions, that provide insights into how a collective action approach might be used. As well as providing a conceptual background to collective action and accountability, this report identifies some of the emerging evidence relating to convening and brokering networks, the evidence examining the social dynamics that affect collective action, and how the nature of the public good or service can affect propensity for collective action.
