We hope that the guide to the framework and online database will be helpful for the deepening of the understanding of accountability issues arising in the context of policy relevant research, and the organisational development of the institutions involved in it. Its primary purposes are to create a basis of understanding for the approach the framework takes, and to explore in an accessible way some of the key implications of the accountability discourse on the organisational development of not-for-profit policy oriented research institutions. By working through the key generic stages of policy oriented research processes it hopes to make the online database at www.oneworldtrust.org/apro an accessible resource, and facilitate the uptake of tools and sources by researchers and research managers for a structured introduction of accountability principles and mechanisms in their work and the development of policy oriented research organisations. As such it is not a representation of the full diversity of experiences we encountered in our collaboration with them, but a contextualised summary of the essence of thinking that emerged for us from this interaction. The document has been made to be easily read, and does not aim to be a referenced review or critique of literature.