Executive Summary:

The volunteers teams that raised in the Syrian context serve as a vital link between humanitarian organizations, civil society, and the local population. Despite being a relatively new concept in Syria, partnerships among these teams offer benefits like broader access, resource exchange, and learning opportunities. The research focuses on the role of accountability in partnerships between volunteer teams and funding organizations and presents this concept from various angles, a the end it provides a set of recommendations for enhancement.

This paper is part of the a series research papers conducted by Door under the title of: Assessing the Functionality of Partnership at Empowering Youth in Syria; the partnerships between volunteer teams and the funding organizations. 

Methodology:

The study developed a semi-structured interview tool for qualitative data collection from volunteer teams in NWS, undergoing internal testing and pilot interviews. The research team conducted 25 physical interviews, ensuring diversity in gender, housing status, team age, members, and support received. Initial data analysis led to conduct six focused discussion sessions with new team representatives that were also analyzed. The paper includes quotes from interviews and discussions to amplify the voices of Syrian youth volunteers, enriching the discourse on partnerships in the Syrian context. 

Discussion:

The concept of accountability involves the duty to take responsibility for decisions and actions without reservation. While there is a theoretical emphasis on the importance of accountability in partnerships, its practical implementation is often hindered by a lack of clear delineation of responsibilities. Accountability is further defined as the active commitment of workers to empower participating groups in influencing their priorities and dealing with disasters, focusing on the rights, dignity, capacity, and safety of these groups. In organizational contexts, accountability requires the organization to take full responsibility, considering the community's needs and concerns, and transparently explaining its decisions and actions to them.