NON-GOVERNMENTAL WATCHDOG ORGANIZATIONS: WHAT THEY DO

A watchdog is an individual or group (generally non-profit) that keeps an eye on a particular entity or a particular element of community concern and warns members of the community when potential or actual problems arise. Watchdogs may be concerned with anything from the actions of a single individual to the policies of several national governments. They may monitor one issue or many; their concerns may be local or global...or both. 

 Just like actual watchdogs, watchdog individuals and organizations vary in what they do. For some, just sounding the alarm is the goal. Others might try to use their information actively to stave off problems. A few will actually tackle problems head-on, entering into lawsuits or other pitched battles with individuals or institutions that they see as threatening to the public interest or the well-being of the community. 

While some watchdog organizations concentrate solely on that function, many have other purposes as well, and include the watchdog role as only one of the things they do. The watchdog role overlaps with that of the advocate, but the thrust of most advocacy is the advancement of a cause or the improvement of conditions for a particular population or geographic area. The express purpose of watchdogs – the reason they’re called watchdogs – is protection. 

Watchdog organizations and individuals are like sentries. They keep an eye on powerful forces – governments and particular government bodies and agencies, corporations, organizations, institutions – to make sure that their operations and actions don’t cause harm or conflict with the public interest.  When they find that conflict, they may act as whistle-blowers, exposing illegal or other negative actions or practices to public view, and expecting that that exposure will bring about the appropriate measures as a result of a public outcry. Alternatively, some watchdogs may lobby, engage in direct action of some sort, or go to court to stop actions or reverse conditions that endanger or otherwise harm the community or its members. 

SallyPort Watch is a non-governmental watchdog organization and does not, in any way, have a formal fiduciary or any other type of relationship with New Mexico Military Institute.   One does not speak or represent the other.  Rather,  SallyPort Watch exists to keep a close eye on how the Institute manages its affairs while being vigilant for indicators of fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement in order to shine light on the issues and seek corrective actions.  

There are watchdog organizations monitoring government at all levels, from that local school board mentioned above, right up to national governments and the United Nations.  In the US, for instance, the Congressional Accountability keeps an eye on the activities of members of the US Congress and the Congress as a whole. The Government Accountability Project looks at the US government as a whole.

At the local level, government monitoring might be simpler.  We’ve already mentioned the possibility of keeping watch on the local school committee. Other local watchdogs might be concerned with the zoning and/or planning boards, the board of health, the sewer commission or water resources board, the capital planning committee – any local government entity, in fact, since all of their decisions are funded by taxpayers’ money and affect the whole community in some way.   In our area, we focus exclusively on New Mexico Military Institute as it is a publicly funded state institution.