ACCOUNTABILITY EXPECTATIONS IN AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL ARENA - THE NATIONAL RURAL-DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP

This article explores the expectations and accountability relationship s present in an intergovernmental experiment known us the National Rur al Development Partnership (NRDP). As such, this study extends earlier analyses of accountability dynamics beyond the bounds of a single age ncy into the organizationally less tidy realm of intergovernmental rel ations. This research focuses on the unique expectations and accountab ility dynamics facing participants in the NRDP and identifies gaps bet ween expectations at the corporate (agency) and individual levels and between arenas in the intergovernmental system. These gaps complicate the accountability dynamics for NRDP participants and contribute to th e challenges of operating within the rural development policy arena. T he NRDP is designed to emphasize the relationship between processes an d substantive outcomes. It has developed a tendency to rely on profess ional and political accountability relationships that have little to d o with formal responsibilities.