Beyond the short versus long accountability route dichotomy : using multi-track accountability pathways to study performance of rural water services in Uganda

Summary Performance of social service delivery is often linked with effective accountability. Accountability studies increasingly acknowledge that studying one type of accountability relation at a time is too restrictive. Our study aims to correct for this and explores the effectiveness of combinations of different accountability mechanisms. We take the World Development Report’s accountability triangle as a starting point and adapt it in three ways. First, we refine the long route to accountability into three tracks by differentiating between the three groups of demand side actors; political accountability (opposition), citizen-led, and civil-society-led social accountability. Second, for each track we take into account the demand and supply side and the availability of supply–demand interfaces. Finally, we adopt a holistic approach through the simultaneous incorporation of both the short and long (with the different tracks) routes. To test its usefulness, we use our refined accountability framework to study the accountability constellations and their link to performance in Uganda’s rural water sector. Building on QCA, our findings identify the long three track route (supply—interface—all three demand actors) and the citizen-led social accountability route as viable routes to high water service performance in Ugandan districts. Additionally, a set of new hybrid accountability arrangements are identified while—contrary to theoretical assumptions—the short route (clients to service providers) does not prove effective.