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Responsible Accountability? Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships, Sustainable Development and Global Health

de Donà, Matteo LU orcid and Jönsson, Kristina LU (2026) In Global Policy
Abstract
Following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) have received renewed political attention. In several policy fields, MSPs have been criticized for a lack of accountability, resulting in efforts to redress this problem. However, it is still unclear how accountability challenges and shortcomings differ across partnerships operating within the same policy field, while little is known about how MSPs themselves understand and frame accountability. Using policy documents and interviews, this paper investigates accountability challenges across two global health MSPs: UHC2030 and Medicines for Malaria Venture. Our analysis shows that MSPs face different accountability challenges... (More)
Following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) have received renewed political attention. In several policy fields, MSPs have been criticized for a lack of accountability, resulting in efforts to redress this problem. However, it is still unclear how accountability challenges and shortcomings differ across partnerships operating within the same policy field, while little is known about how MSPs themselves understand and frame accountability. Using policy documents and interviews, this paper investigates accountability challenges across two global health MSPs: UHC2030 and Medicines for Malaria Venture. Our analysis shows that MSPs face different accountability challenges depending on their official and de facto responsibilities. We also observe that accountability gaps look different depending on how horizontal accountability is understood as well as on the prevailing logics (either public or corporate) that inform MSPs. Accountability and responsibility are strictly intertwined, and the ways in which accountability is enacted are directly dependent on varying framings of responsibility. Consequently, accountability is understood and framed inconsistently among MSPs contributing to the 2030 Agenda. Hence, the transformative potential of these partnerships should be understood in relation to the specific governance contexts in which these MSPs are embedded. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
Global Policy
pages
12 pages
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:105033113309
ISSN
1758-5899
DOI
10.1111/1758-5899.70158
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4e0f6c65-32b7-44ff-8756-9c84051f74c8
date added to LUP
2026-03-26 15:57:20
date last changed
2026-04-01 19:34:45
@article{4e0f6c65-32b7-44ff-8756-9c84051f74c8,
  abstract     = {{Following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) have received renewed political attention. In several policy fields, MSPs have been criticized for a lack of accountability, resulting in efforts to redress this problem. However, it is still unclear how accountability challenges and shortcomings differ across partnerships operating within the same policy field, while little is known about how MSPs themselves understand and frame accountability. Using policy documents and interviews, this paper investigates accountability challenges across two global health MSPs: UHC2030 and Medicines for Malaria Venture. Our analysis shows that MSPs face different accountability challenges depending on their official and de facto responsibilities. We also observe that accountability gaps look different depending on how horizontal accountability is understood as well as on the prevailing logics (either public or corporate) that inform MSPs. Accountability and responsibility are strictly intertwined, and the ways in which accountability is enacted are directly dependent on varying framings of responsibility. Consequently, accountability is understood and framed inconsistently among MSPs contributing to the 2030 Agenda. Hence, the transformative potential of these partnerships should be understood in relation to the specific governance contexts in which these MSPs are embedded.}},
  author       = {{de Donà, Matteo and Jönsson, Kristina}},
  issn         = {{1758-5899}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Global Policy}},
  title        = {{Responsible Accountability? Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships, Sustainable Development and Global Health}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.70158}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/1758-5899.70158}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}