Joined Up Accountability: Bringing the Citizen Back In

Accountability in complex organisational networks has been identified as particularly problematic, and an issue to be addressed, both in academic and in official documents. Indeed, in launching its new public service reform agenda, the Labour government has undertaken to address accountability at a later date rather than as an integral part of its approach to reform. This article seeks to address these questions of accountability, suggesting the need to reformulate our understanding of the concept itself, placing a citizen-focused accountability at the heart of the way in which services are understood and evaluated.