INDIANAPOLIS | Watchdog offices are built on a promise: someone inside the public system should be responsible for looking at whether that system is following the rules.
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CGN Investigates: Who Watches the Watchdogs?
Oversight boards, ethics offices, inspectors general, and public auditors are meant to hold institutions accountable, but their own authority varies widely.
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What This Means
Watchdog offices are only as strong as their independence, authority, transparency, and resources. Readers should look beyond the title of an oversight body and ask what it can investigate, what it can publish, and whether anyone is required to act on its findings.