Balancing Trust and Accountability: Charities, Government, and Society

Lead-PI: Elizabeth Searing, University of Texas

Consortium: Nathan Grasse, Carleton University; Alasdair Rutherford, University of Stirling; Georg von Schnurbein, Universität Basel.

Funders: NSF, SNSF, SSHRC, UKRI

 

Summary:

This project utilizes four unique country contexts (Canada, the U.K., Switzerland, and the U.S.) to map and understand cross-sector opinions on trust and accountability. Though these four countries have much in common, there is significant variation in regulatory approach, interpersonal trust, and popular sentiment toward public-serving institutions. The project will rely on this variation to understand trust and accountability, focusing on the mutual perceptions of four audiences in each context: operating charities, foundations, governmental agencies such as regulators, and the public.