Sustainability in NGO relief and development work: Further thoughts from Mozambique

Mozambique during the 1980s and 1990s has provided a challenging context for non-governmental organisations seeking to collaborate with its government in national development. One British NGO, Save the Children Fund, has set out to work in partnership with the government on a range of programmes at central level and in Zambezia province. Longer-term and emergency inputs form part of a conscious strategy aimed at securing sustainability. Institutional and practical constraints, however, make the achievement of this goal difficult, particularly in relief and rehabilitation projects. Changes in donor policies and in the Mozambican government's own evolving political priorities make it imperative to review this strategy on a regular basis. Lessons are drawn from Save the Children Fund's practical experience of development in Mozambique during the last eight years.     

Autonomy and policy independence in Africa: a review of NGO development challenges

Drawing on empirical data gathered from discussions with executive directors of NGOs in Ghana, this paper critically analyses the complex multi-tier relationships between NGOs and their donor partners and how these affect outcomes of their development projects in Ghana. The paper discusses how experiences with funding agencies inform crucial shifts in NGO programming for poverty alleviation. This paper argues that, given their (NGOs') peculiar positioning in development practice, a critical appraisal of power dynamics central to NGO operations (such as funding and ownership of development projects) is crucial to proposing new strategies of engagement with NGO activity in Africa.

Autonomie et indépendance sur le plan des politiques en Afrique : un bilan des défis de développement pour les ONG

Sur la base de données empiriques recueillies à partir de discussions avec des directeurs exécutifs d'ONG au Ghana, cet article analyse dans une optique critique les rapports complexes multi-niveaux entre les ONG et leurs partenaires bailleurs de fonds, et l'incidence qu'ils ont sur les résultats de leurs projets de développement au Ghana. Il traite de la manière dont les expériences avec des organismes donateurs façonnent des changements cruciaux dans la programmation des ONG en faveur de l'atténuation de la pauvreté. L'auteur soutient que, étant donné le positionnement particulier des ONG dans la pratique du développement, une évaluation critique de la dynamique de pouvoir centrale aux opérations des ONG (comme le financement et la propriété des projets de développement) est cruciale au moment de proposer de nouvelles stratégies en vue de la participation aux activités des ONG en Afrique.

Autonomía e independencia política en África: una revisión de los retos enfrentados por las ong en el desarrollo

Apoyándose en datos empíricos recabados a partir de diálogos sostenidos con los directores ejecutivos de ong en Ghana, el presente artículo analiza críticamente las relaciones complejas y de múltiples niveles que se establecen entre las ong y sus socios donantes. Del mismo modo, examina la manera en que dichas relaciones afectan los resultados obtenidos por sus proyectos de desarrollo en este país. Asimismo, el artículo revisa cómo las experiencias de las ong con las agencias de financiamiento, influyen en los cambios sustantivos detectados en los programas que han implementado para el alivio de la pobreza. El artículo sostiene que, dado el particular posicionamiento de las ong en la práctica del desarrollo, para proponer nuevas estrategias de involucramiento en las actividades que realizan en África, resulta crucial realizar una valoración crítica de las dinámicas del poder que se establecen en dichas actividades (por ejemplo, el financiamiento y el sentido de pertenencia de los proyectos de desarrollo).

Autonomia e independência de política na África: uma revisão dos desafios de desenvolvimento de ONGs

Baseando-se em dados empíricos coletados a partir de discussões com diretores executivos de ONGs de Gana, este artigo analisa de maneira crítica as relações complexas de vários níveis entre ONGs e seus parceiros doadores e como elas afetam os resultados de seus projetos de desenvolvimento em Gana. O artigo discute como as experiências com agências financiadoras influenciam mudanças cruciais em programas de ONGs para redução da pobreza. Este artigo argumenta que, tendo em vista o posicionamento peculiar (das ONGs) na prática de desenvolvimento, uma avaliação crítica da dinâmicas de poder central para operações de ONGs (tais como financiamento e posse de projetos de desenvolvimento) é crucial para se propor novas estratégias de engajamento com a atividade das ONGs na África.     

NGO monitoring and the legitimacy of international cooperation: A strategic analysis

States often invite NGOs to monitor international cooperation. Under what circumstances are states likely to take this step? We argue that NGO monitoring allows states to provide domestic publics with credible evidence regarding successful cooperation, but that this credibility carries a cost: if states fail to cooperate, a participating NGO will expose this failure and thus delegitimize the cooperation effort. Our formal analysis indicates that states obtain a dual benefit from NGO participation: in addition to enhanced legitimacy, NGO scrutiny helps states credibly commit to high cooperation levels vis-á-vis each other. The increased costs of failure, however, may deter state use of NGO monitoring. Surprisingly, we find that NGO monitoring is the most useful for states when the cooperation cost is relatively low. We explore the empirical relevance of our theoretical argument in NGO monitoring of World Bank development projects and compliance with the Kyoto Protocol. We also explain why NGO monitoring has been disallowed in the Global Environment Facility. Our analysis provides a firm strategic foundation for the idea that NGO participation sometimes confers benefits to states, and our theory has several empirically falsifiable implications.     

A journey towards development: the impact of local NGO programmes on women living in the char lands of Bangladesh

Both national and international policy-making institutions have acknowledged the contribution of NGOs in alleviating poverty, through empowering the poor and continuing to support their endeavours. In Bangladesh NGOs are working at national and local levels, but very few are working with the poorest and most vulnerable groups who live in the riverine and coastal areas, known as the char lands. These areas are unlike other parts of the country in terms of their physical, economic, and social structures, and they require a different approach in order to address the unique set of problems facing those who live there. Using experimental and innovative programmes, a small number of local NGOs have begun to make an impact in an area where government interventions and success are rare.     

Commitments and challenges in participatory development: a Korean NGO working in Cambodia

Despite their growing significance in the development field, academic research regarding development NGOs from emerging donors, such as South Korea, is almost non-existent. This study is based on a case study of LotusWorld, a Korean NGO, and its two recent projects conducted in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Based on interviews with Korean staff and with a group of villagers in the local community, the article examines how LotusWorld’s vision and practices of participation have evolved from the first project to the second, as well as the challenges that they faced. Suggestions for further community participation are made for key actors.     

Talking of gender: words and meanings in development organisations

This article reflects on the vocabulary commonly used within development organisations to communicate about ‘gender and development’. It argues that the relevant terminology, though frequently used, remains problematic. Some terms are almost entirely absent, while others are used loosely and inappropriately – with the subtleties of carefully developed and much-debated concepts often lost. Terms such as ‘empowerment’, ‘gender’, and ‘gender mainstreaming’ which originated in feminist thinking and activism have lost their moorings and become depoliticised. Despite these problems, there are indications that debates and language may be taking a more radical turn with the acknowledgement of the shortcomings of the practices of gender mainstreaming, the deepening of interest in the notion of empowerment, and the explicit adoption of a human-rights language.     

Youths in the interface of development and security

This article interrogates the link between youth, security and development in Africa and argues that the central determinant in the link is ‘governance’, especially as this implies the ability of the state to harness the productive potential of youths and to meet their demands on a number of issues. The article also asserts that the reality of a youth bulge in many African countries presents challenges (as opposed to crises), as much as opportunities for national socio-economic transformation. Besides, youths in many developing countries have been the victims of developmental experiments often tele-guided by international financial and development agencies. In its conclusion, the articles argues that efforts to address the challenges posed by youths must move from platitudinous wish-list into formulation of coherent policy agenda that is consistent with the socio-economic and political realities of individual countries; in which youths themselves active agents; and one which must be incorporated into the wider governance framework of nation-states.

The issue of youth and violent conflict concerns more than youth, it is a reflection of society in crisis and hence of development itself. If a society's values, norms, customs, practices, structures and institutions are under threat and such changes in turn threaten the development of its children into youth and then adults, then that society cannot sustain itself.1 ?1. UNDP, Youth and Violent Conflict, p.12. View all notes

The state … the economy… are predicated on notions of adulthood; they all require the participation of adults in order to function. If youth are unable to fully make this transition to the minimal conditions of adulthood, then such structures are unsustainable and will either fracture or mutate in unforeseen ways. An understanding of the intersections between youth, violent conflict and society is a way of re-examining development and developing societies. Youth, those who engage in violence and especially those who do not, are located at the junctures between development, security, peace and conflict.2 ?2. UNDP, Youth and Violent Conflict, p.13. View all notes     

Organisational change from two perspectives: gender and organisational development

By exploring two approaches to organizational change, gender and organizational development (OD), the author argues that OD is flawed since it perpetuates existing gender inequalities by failing to address them. By contrast, the gender approach brings change both for women and for men and is contextualized in a broader agenda of social transformation. Analysis of how power is gendered is the critical starting point. While gender is not disconnected from other forms of oppression--such as race and class--special attention needs to be given to gender because experience has shown it gets lost. This article seeks to contribute to breaking new ground in theory and practice in order to promote organizations that are both equitable and effective.     

Participatory development: an approach sensitive to class and gender

This article begins by presenting development experience gained in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya as a means of highlighting the centrality of popular participation to the development process. Important lessons from the ongoing development work in Irian Jaya were that it is not sufficient to consult beneficiaries and then act on their behalf or to engage in a development process unless the participants understand the project's conceptual orientation and language and have the tools to assess their needs and options for constructive change effectively. Also, developers must supply participants with information about the larger economic and political context in which they are operating. The article continues with an exploration of the ways in which a focus on class and gender raises participatory development to a new level. Constraints on transformative participation are then defined as 1) the political conditions and power structures existing in the country and community, 2) administrative opposition, 3) sociocultural impediments, and 4) limitations imposed by daily life. While it may be impossible to avoid the effects of such constraints, development agents can help villagers anticipate their impact and support efforts to cope with them. Participatory development challenges the status quo by enhancing economic equity and social equality and, if effective, will engender opposition, especially when a large amount of funding is at stake. Opposition can take many forms, including ridicule or resistance and can get personal. The demand to produce quick results also creates restraints on development agents. It is concluded that the development agent must engage key sectors of the local population in the development process and nurture this participation. Development agents should act as facilitators rather than independent initiators telling people what is best for them. Development agents must become very familiar with the community to earn the trust that is needed to guide people toward self-analysis and priority-setting.     

Moving beyond disparities: a yin-yang approach to gender and development

This article describes a different approach to gender relations utilizing the yin-yang symbol. The yin-yang symbol represents equilibrium in difference and unity in diversity, as well as simultaneously symbolizes concrete and abstract notions. In the dilemma between identity and gender, the yin-yang angle interprets this in terms of interdependent, interactive, and equally valuable forces. The article further draws on the written and oral contributions of 30 women and men who participated in the yin-yang encounter to seek a deeper understanding of the implications of femininity and masculinity in their lives and their societies. In view of this, it is noted that customs, which are detrimental to the female as it benefits men, contributes to the issue. A recommended means of transformation is an approach, which creates space and opportunities for subject, inducing the subject to be aware of the issue. Such an approach avoids accusation, confrontation, exclusion, domination and aims at a process, which starts with self-discovery, self-reflection, and recognition of other human beings, of society and nature itself. This awareness may ultimately lead to a desire to connect and to create more equilibrium in these relationships, in order to move beyond disparities.     

Academic-community collaboration,gender research,and development: pitfalls and possibilities

Collaboration has become a watchword for development practitioners and theorists. Yet collaboration or partnerships between academics and community-based researchers and activists have often proved difficult. This is particularly true for partnerships with smaller, grassroots community researchers, who are generally less resourced than their academic partners. This paper focuses on such partnerships in gender research, with the aim of reflecting on past problems as well as successes in order to develop strategies for making such projects more truly collaborative, rather than a minefield of broken promises and unspoken (and sometimes spoken) resentments.     

NGO Cooperation Boosts Development along the Belt and Road: Side Notes at the 2nd Silk Road NGO Cooperation Network Forum

正Whenever I come to China, I feel very happy. China is just like my second hometown.Joseph Kahama, Secretary General of the TanzaniaChina Friendship Association, expressed his love for China in the interview. This was his second visit to China to attend the Silk Road NGO Cooperation Network Forum. Held by China NGO Network for International Exchange(CNIE), the Second Silk Road NGO     

Faith and economics in 'development': A bridge across the chasm?

Beliefs about the origin and nature of the universe and the place of humanity within it have seldom been considered of relevance for economic theory and practice. Yet, for the large majority of the world's people, a bedrock of strong ethical principles, based on their religious faith, is an essential prerequisite for long-term economic progress. The World Faiths Development Dialogue is exploring the possibility of bridging the apparent chasm which separates the secular development agencies, such as the World Bank, from the world's religions. What visions have the faith communities to offer? Is there a genuine convergence of interests?     

Improving NGO governance: practical applications of the GATE approach

Non-governmental organisations face increasing demands to be accountable and transparent. Both need sound and timely evidence. Ensuring that these demands are satisfied is a key responsibility of governance, but fulfilling this requirement is a frequent weakness. A comprehensive approach to self-analysis – known as GATE – can make governing bodies more effective by better leadership of organisational responses to such demands. GATE works by: (1) making common sense connections to visualise the links between internal operations and generation of results, reputation, and resources, which makes complexity understandable and manageable; and (2) using a question-based ‘alignment’ resource to guide discussion and decision-making.

Améliorer la gouvernance des ONG: les applications pratiques de l'approche GATE

Les organisations non gouvernementales sont soumises à des exigences croissantes de redevabilité et de transparence. L'une et l'autre nécessitent des données concrètes solides et opportunes. Les efforts pour faire en sorte que ces exigences soient satisfaites constituent une responsabilité clé de la gouvernance, mais la satisfaction de cette exigence représente un point faible fréquent. Une approche complète de l'auto-analyse – connue sous l'acronyme GATE - peut rendre les organes responsables plus efficaces en dirigeant plus efficacement les réactions organisationnelles à ces exigences. GATE fonctionne : (1) en établissant des connexions sensées pour visualiser les liens entre les opérations internes et la génération de résultats, la réputation et les ressources, ce qui rend la complexité compréhensible et gérable ; et (2) en utilisant une ressource d’« alignement » basée sur des questions pour orienter la discussion et la prise de décisions.

Mejorar la gobernanza de las ONG: las aplicaciones prácticas del enfoque GATE

Cada vez más frecuentemente, las organizaciones no gubernamentales enfrentan demandas vinculadas a su rendición de cuentas y a su transparencia. Ambos aspectos requieren de información fidedigna y oportuna. Cumplir con estas demandas representa un aspecto importante de la gestión de las organizaciones. Sin embargo, a menudo, éstas presentan debilidades en este sentido. El presente artículo, hace referencia a la implementación de una metodología integral para el autoanálisis, conocida como GATE. La misma propicia el aumento en la eficacia de la gestión de estas organizaciones, mediante un mejor liderazgo a la hora de responder a estas demandas. GATE funciona: (1) generando vinculaciones de sentido común que permiten visualizar las conexiones entre la gestión interna y la generación de resultados, la reputación y los recursos, ante lo cual, lo complejo se vuelve comprensible y más manejable; y (2) utilizando un recurso de “alineamiento”, basado en preguntas, que orienta la discusión y la toma de decisiones.

Melhorar a ONG governança: aplicações práticas da abordagem GATE

Organizações Não-Governamentais enfrentam exigências cada vez maiores para serem responsáveis e transparentes. Para ambas exigências, são necessárias evidências confiáveis e oportunas. Garantir que estas exigências sejam satisfeitas é uma responsabilidade-chave de governança, mas cumprir esta exigência é frequentemente difícil. Uma abordagem abrangente para auto-análise – conhecida como GATE – pode tornar os órgãos governantes mais efetivos através de uma melhor coordenação de respostas organizacionais para tais demandas. A GATE trabalha: (1) fazendo conexões de senso comum para visualizar as ligações entre operações internas e geração de resultados, reputação e recursos, o que torna a complexidade compreensível e gerenciável e (2) utilizando um recurso de “alinhamento” baseado em questões para orientar a discussão e a tomada de decisões.     

Northern NGO advocacy: Perceptions,reality, and the challenge

This article reports the results of and conclusions from a survey of Northern NGOs conducted during 1998 and 1999 for the purposes of testing generalised criticisms of Northern NGO advocacy and providing benchmarks for further research on the policy impact of the Washington Advocacy office of Oxfam International. Based on the survey findings, the author challenges Northern NGOs to evaluate more thoroughly their advocacy so that they may effectively demonstrate their advocacy achievements and, by so doing, confidently invest a greater proportion of resources into advocacy programmes which effectively contribute to their goals of reducing poverty.