The blended accountability regime of British Columbia land trusts

Scholars maintain that public service activities of non-profit organizations require carefully constructed accountability mechanisms to ensure the public interest is upheld. I interviewed decision makers at public-service-oriented non-profit land trusts in British Columbia, and examined the constitutions and missions of these organizations, to investigate accountability experiences and attitudes in practice; I compared this practical perspective with accountability theory in the literature on non-profit organizations. Results reveal a mission for land trusts that parallels the state’s role in land conservation, theoretically invoking a blended accountability regime with elements of state-like downward and democratic accountability to members and beneficiaries of the trust’s services. Membership and peer accountability were central to participants’ experiences, but not fully aligned with a blended regime. Membership votes were not always focused on mission, and peer accountability was sometimes considered to be too powerful to unleash. I provide recommendations for improved land trust accountability in a blended regime.