Konstantin Obukhov took part in a scientific seminar of the Department of Management of the Faculty of Socio-Economic and Computer Sciences of the Higher School of Economics in Perm

The seminar discussed issues of transparency and openness with NGOs in the Russian regions 

On June 23, 2023, on the basis of the Department of Management of the Faculty of Socio-Economic and Computer Sciences of the Higher School of Economics in Perm, a scientific seminar was held with a speech by Konstantin Obukhov (Research Fellow at the ILSIR) on the topic "Transparency and openness of socially oriented NGOs in Russian regions: advantages and barriers". 
 
Based on the data of a qualitative study conducted with the heads of regional socially-oriented NGOs (n=29), the main strategies of accountability of organizations were identified: formal accountability, targeted accountability, expanded accountability strategy. The corresponding barriers have been identified for each strategy. The main barriers to the implementation of the principles of openness are: the limited resources of the organization, the basic competencies of employees, the instability of Russian legislation, the specifics of the organization's activities, the unprofessional activities of other socially oriented NGOs, technological problems, competition for the audience.
 
The leaders of socially-oriented NGOs have identified the following advantages of implementing the openness policy: expanding opportunities to attract resources and support networks, increasing the speed of response to social challenges, easier access to human and volunteer resources, forming a position of "expertise" in profile activities.
 
Daria Anisimova (head of the non-profit organization "Scientific and Project Community of Social Entrepreneurship and Joint Living Arrangements", lecturer at Tomsk State University) was a debater at the seminar. Daria noted the importance of the stated topic for the development of the regional NGO sector, outlined the experience of her organization in promoting the agenda of information openness and transparency, the main barriers to accountability in the Tomsk region. The need for a clearer allocation of the motivation system for the heads of regional socially-oriented NGOs to implement the disclosure of organizations' reporting, as well as wider disclosure of information about the organization's activities, was identified.
 
The seminar participants asked questions about the specifics of the activities of socially oriented NGOs, the relationship between NGOs and social entrepreneurship, the general isomorphism of accountability strategies in the commercial and non-profit sector. It was noted that it is necessary to understand the logic of creating socially oriented NGOs for further analysis of existing accountability strategies in organizations.