Promoting democracy in Ghana: exploring the democratic roles of donor-sponsored non-governmental organizations

This article examines the democratic roles performed by Ghanaian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Drawing on a comparative case study approach, it explores how the organizational characteristics of five donor-sponsored NGOs relate to their ability to perform different democratic roles. Our analysis reveals that some of the democratic roles require contradicting organizational characteristics, which are therefore difficult to combine within one organization. Furthermore, it demonstrates that these NGOs do not contribute to democracy as predicted by theory. In particular, they are weak at providing channels of communication between state and society, and at directly representing, involving, and being accountable to ordinary citizens. We argue, nevertheless, that they perform these functions in a different way.     

Spanish NGOs’ discourses and practices in migration and development: A critical discussion from a global perspective

ABSTRACT

The concept of migration and development (M&D) and practices in that area have lain on many countries’ political agendas for decades, with no clear focus or coherent strategy knitting together the various stakeholders working in the sphere. This article analyzes the main conceptions of M&D in the discourses and practices of Spanish NGOs and compares them with the focuses that have arisen in the academic sphere, for a look into primarily five issues: whether NGOs have their own focus on the migration-development nexus or are swayed by public institutions’ guidelines; whether NGOs steer their actions more toward preventing and restricting migration or toward promoting development; whether NGOs also consider potential effects on development in receiving countries; whether NGOs entertain the idea of participatory actions where immigrant persons hold centre stage; and whether NGOs fulfil their civic and political function as a propounding force to contribute to democratic governance in migration matters.     

WORSE THAN EXPECTED? A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF DONOR PROLIFERATION AND AID FRAGMENTATION

The aid system itself is regarded by many as a major problem of present‐day development cooperation causing substantial transaction costs for recipients. Particularly, the expansion of bilateral and multilateral donors and the way they spread their aid money over many recipients, projects and sectors is seen as being at the base of these supply‐side problems. This article contributes to the discussion by bringing for the first time the non‐governmental organisation channel into the equation based on a data set of 73 Dutch non‐governmental organisations. Besides, it calls attention to the ‘philanthropist’ channel and shows that fragmentation and proliferation are not restricted to official aid agencies but constitute an aid channel–wide problem. This also means that solutions to this problem can no longer be restricted to only part of the aid architecture. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A gendered analysis of goat ownership and marketing in Meru,Kenya

Studies show that women are more likely to own small, rather than, large livestock. This study sought to establish gendered preference for different livestock species while focusing on the gendered differences in ownership, management, and marketing of goats in Meru, Kenya. Men demonstrated a higher preference for cattle than women, who had a higher preference for poultry than men. Men and women preferred goats equally, but women derived and managed more income from goats than men. Development projects should apply a gender lens before introducing different livestock species as gender differences exist in the preference and the management of different livestock.     

Modernising social service delivery in Russia: evolving government support for non-profit organisations

Russia has recently cracked down on politically active civil society, increasing regulation and undercutting foreign support. However, apolitical, service-oriented parts of civil society have not been subject to these restrictive policies. In contrast, since 2009 Russia has introduced a set of government tools to support socially oriented non-profit organisations. These tools present a framework akin to concepts of ‘third-party government’ and collaborative governance that have come to dominate Western public administration discourse. This article discusses the Russian government’s divergent positions towards civil society, the nature and extent of the supportive tool kit, and its prospects.     

Micro-enterprise development initiatives and entrepreneurial competencies,innovativeness, and social capital in Malaysia

This article examines the effect of participation in development programmes designed for women micro-entrepreneurs on the development of entrepreneurial competencies, innovativeness, and social capital. The study employed a cross-sectional design and quasi-experimental approach, and collected data from 417 women micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia. Findings reveal that the participants possess a significantly higher level of social capital, innovativeness, and entrepreneurial competencies. Development organisations should therefore focus on redesigning their policies and programmes to improve the breadth and depth of the development programmes that they offer, which ultimately lead to an improvement in the social-economic condition of low-income households in Malaysia.     

Rethinking dependency and development between international and indigenous non-governmental organisations

This article presents a case study detailing how the Netherlands-based international NGO Terre Des Hommes (TDH) works with and impacts the indigenous Tanzanian NGO Umoja wa Maendeleo ya Bukwaya (UMABU) and the Bukwaya region that UMABU serves. The article illustrates how indigenous agency and autonomy are actualised within relationships where indigenous over-reliance and dependency are connected to Western aid organisations. The paper proposes that dependent relationships between Southern and Northern NGO partners can be negotiated by indigenous leaders in order to disseminate resources for development in indigenous communities to a greater extent than previously imagined by Western donor agencies.     

Videos that speak for themselves: when non-extensionists show agricultural videos to large audiences

In 2008, an NGO showed videos about rice to farmers in 19 villages in Benin. A study in 2013 showed that farmers remembered the videos, even after five years had passed. In most of the villages at least some farmers experimented with rice farming or with new technology after the video screenings, which attracted large audiences of community members, including youth and women. Some of the villagers also visited extension agencies to get rice seed, and occasionally to seek more information. Farmers can benefit from agricultural learning videos shown by organisations with little previous agricultural experience. Videos do not necessarily need to be facilitated by an expert who knows the subject. Sometimes the video can speak for itself.     

Mismatch between NGO services and beneficiaries' priorities: examining contextual realities

The proliferation of NGOs, particularly in developing countries over the last five decades, has prompted debates on the extent to which NGO services have been able to match the priorities of disadvantaged groups such as low castes and ethnic groups in Nepal. This paper explores the development priorities of villagers from a village in Nepal (Thecho), and their views regarding the match between services offered by NGOs and those priorities. Additionally, the paper highlights the importance of NGOs understanding contextual realities while implementing development activities.     

Coordinating post-disaster humanitarian response: lessons from the 2005 Kashmir earthquake,India

This article is based on a field study carried out in Indian-administered Kashmir after the 2005 earthquake. In this analysis of how non-governmental development organisations (NGDOs) engage and coordinate with one another and with other disaster response agencies during post-disaster relief and rehabilitation operations, it can be concluded that NGDO coordination was ineffective. The research points out that, even though there is coordination among the international and national NGDOs, local NGDOs are seldom engaged in the overall coordination processes. The paper advocates developing coordination among the humanitarian agencies as a pre-disaster initiative for a more effective collaborative humanitarian disaster response.