This paper examines the ways in which joint sector reviews (JSRs) contribute to the development of mutual accountability in an aid environment and may be most effective as instruments of a domestic policy cycle.

Using a wide variety of sources, including an extended literature review, interviews with key education stakeholders in five countries and data collected from a desk-based analysis of 39 JSRs, the paper addresses two questions: (1) How are JSRs perceived as promoting (mutual) accountability? and (2) How is mutual accountability likely to be affected by JSR effectiveness?

The research suggests a less unified understanding of mutual accountability across key stakeholders than is touted in international development rhetoric. The paper therefore offers a more nuanced model of mutual accountability and the ways in which this intersects with JSRs that encompasses an expanded understanding of responsibilities and channels of responsibility.

The research team identified 5 interconnected dimensions of effective JSRs that served as framework for analyzing 39 JSRs.

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