NGO AND DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE

Definitions of NGO’S

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by natural or

legal persons that operates independently from any government and a term usually used by
governments to refer to entities that have no government status. A non-governmental organization
(NGO) is a type of non-profit organization that works to promote human good while operating
separately from any national government. Some NGOs work with governments and the United
Nations to accomplish their ends, with certain NGOs being granted consultancy status by the United
Nations. (NGO) - a voluntary grouping of individuals or organizations which is

(a) Independent and not-for-profit-sharing

(b) Organized locally, nationally or internationally and

(c) Aimed at influencing patterns of social, environmental and/or economic development through
advocacy and lobbying.

NGO’s refer to organizations which are

i) Not based on government

ii) Not created to earn profit.

This definition of an NGO is correct semantically, but it presents a problem in that it embraces a
large number and wide range of organizations that are structurally and functionally un related. This
broad definition of NGO refers more to what it is, and can be applied to many organizations.

World Bank definitions

This refer to private organizations that purse activities to relieve suffering, promote the interest of
the poor, promote the environment, provide basic social services or undertake community
development. They are private agencies that support international development, indigenous groups
organized regionally or nationally and member groups in villages. The World Bank classifies NGOs
as either operational NGOs, which are primarily concerned with development projects, or advocacy
NGOs, which are primarily concerned with promoting a cause.

An NGO is

i) A nonprofit making, voluntary, service oriented / development oriented organization,

either for the benefit of members (a grass roots organizations) or of other members of
the population (an agency).

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 ii) It’s an organization of private individuals who believe in certain basic social principles
and who structure their activities to bring about development to communities that they
are servicing.

iii) Social development organization assisting in empowerment of people

iv) An organization or group of people working independent of any external control with
specific objectives and aims to fulfill tasks that are oriented to bring about desirable
change in a given community, area or situation.

v) An organization not affiliated to political parties, generally in working for aid,

development and welfare of the community.

vi) Organization committed to the root causes of the problems trying to better the quality of
life especially for the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized in urban and rural areas.

vii) Organizations established by and for the community without or with little intervention
from the government, they are not only a charity organization, but work on socio-
economic-cultural activities. An organization that is flexible and democratic in its
organization and attempts to serve the people without profit for itself

NGOs were intended to fill a gap in government services, but in countries like India and China, and
are slowly gaining a position in decision making. In the interest of sustainability, most donors
require that NGOs demonstrate a relationship with governments. State Governments themselves are
vulnerable because they lack economic resources, and potentially strategic planning and vision.
They are therefore sometimes tightly bound by a nexus of NGOs, political bodies, commercial
organizations and major donors/funders, making decisions that have short term outputs but no long
term affect. In India, for instance, NGOs are under regulated, political, and recipients of large
government and international donor funds. NGOs often take up responsibilities outside their skill
ambit. Governments have no access to the number of projects or amount of funding received by
these NGOs. There is a pressing need to regulate this group while not curtailing their unique role as
a supplement to government services.
The NGOs relationship with offices and agencies of the United Nations system differs depending on
their goals, their venue and the mandate of a particular institution.

Civil society and NGOs

Civil society

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are

collaborative counter parts i.e. they are inseparable. CSOs – Societal arrangement of un coerced
collective efforts or actions in provision of public good & advocating for satisfaction of public
interest.

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Also, CSOs refers to the totality of civic & social organizations / institutions that advocate & take
action primarily for social development & satisfaction of public interests.

CSOs: are “free organizations,” free from the control & manipulation of the State. They include;
trade unions, NGOs, political parties, CBOs, FBOs, mass movements & action groups.

CSOs should be able to organize themselves & co-ordinate their activities without the control of the
State.

CSOs should have the organization capacities to influence State development policies.

There is a widespread idea of a close relationship and a correspondence between NGOs and civil
society. Some authors even consider both of them as synonymous, but this occurs precisely in a
moment when the concept of civil society is being enlarged in an exaggerated way. Furthermore,
civil society is usually represented with the best possible attributes and the strongest capabilities.
Following that vision, civil society would be the repository of the most positive aspects of any
nation

However, if a strict approach is followed, it is essential to specify what is civil society.

It is usually considered that civil society opposes the State; however, these are categories that
belongs to two different classifications.

The State should be opposed by a non-state condition, while civil society could be opposed by the
political society. Continuing that distinction, civil society corresponds to the manifestations carried
out by the people in the public environment and outside the current political practices characteristic
of the political parties and of the State. There is no direct correspondence between people and the
political and civil societies, because one person could move from one realm to the other at different
moments. That is the reason why it is a better approach to conceive civil society as a sphere of
social interaction, with persons entering and leaving.

In that perspective, civil society may manifest itself in very diverse ways: from a neighborhood
commissions working on a local problem, to professional organizations, and even to a group of
friends. This diversity explains why in so many occasions the concept of civil society is used
vaguely, as a synonym of other categories, like social movement, nation, and even society.

But like all social manifestation, civil society besides being heterogeneous is contradictory. Those
who invoke it as a reference for all the good found in a society, and in particular as superior to
political parties or to the State, forget what happens in reality. Although it is true that in civil society
are many expressions of solidarity, fraternity and friendship, there are also other interactions, such
as the armed gangs in some Latin American cities, the anonymous violence in public shows and
soccer games, etc. A social fragmentation is observed in Latin America within the civil society, with
the development of very strong subcultures, used to give unity and security to their members, but
also in order to distance them from the "rest." A good example of this are the urban "tribes" in
Buenos Aires, where the youth gangs call themselves "nineties punks" "Argentinean heavies"
"hardcores," "rappers of the underdevelopment", "pampa's skaters" etc. (in all cases using a mix of

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spanish and english words). In many districts, people move between new forms of aggression and
an increase of crime, to friendship and solidarity links in their work and their security (note 3).

In many cases, the NGOs that emerge from this civil society, reflects all of its contradictions. Some
groups are engaged in reactive activities against specific and local problems. Their work usually
ends in requests and claims against the State.

Therefore, CSOs refers to all organized social life i.e. voluntary, self generating, self supporting,
separated from the State & market; formed by people who have common needs, interests & values
such as tolerance, inclusion, co-operation, equality, & endogenous development

NGOs

NGOs are formed through collaboration of two or more individuals.

The NGOs are also heterogeneous, as is the case with civil society. Their limits instead of being
sociological, however are legal: in its strict sense, in Latin America the term NGO refers to a legal
distinction, it is an institution outside of the government. The legal framework was not prepared for
these new organizations, and the great majority despite their significant differences, are either
"citizens associations- or "foundations," in both cases non profit. The growth of NGOs was
explosive in Latin America, especially since the 70s.

In first place, the collapse of the former socialist governments in Eastern Europe affected a number
of Latin american intellectuals that followed leftist views of Marxist inspiration, and that worked at
the NGOs. Some left their institutions, while others contributed to a revision of the theoretical
background of the purpose and scope of NGOs.

In second place, the reduction of funds at the international level, has forced several organizations to
close or to reduce their activities, or to change the focus of their work, moving to new fields where
funding is available.

In third place, problems in the ongoing relationships between the NGOs remain or are even worse.
For example, the environmental NGOs coordinate among themselves, but rarely with NGOs from
other movements, such as feminists.

Lastly, there is the complex problem as a consequence of the indifference of the citizens toward
collective life, which also means a retraction from NGOs. The indifference of the population for
public issues will be consider in more detail below, but it is important to mention that this affects
some NGOs, as their links with the grassroots are undermined.

In some cases conflicting views developed between grassroots groups and NGOs. In several Latin
American countries, but especially in Chile, well known members of NGOs moved into positions in
the democratic government, where they have had to support policies that were heavily criticized by
the grassroots groups. These groups felt betrayed and their criticism extended to the NGOs.

In this context, in the field of the NGOs new facts are being developed, some of them parallel to the
different expression within civil society.

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Several NGOs became organizations more similar to a company (managerial NGOs). These entitles
sell professional services, usually as consultants (social diagnoses, agrarian plans, environmental
evaluations, etc.).

Others specialize in certain activities, and they sell the execution of services (action NGOs). This is
particularly common in social policies, where the NGOs execute the government's programs, like
child's dining rooms, refugees for the children of the streets, single women's health care, assistance
to elderly homeless. Of course there are mixed cases with both the action and managerial
components within one organization.

Other sectors, that remain outside the NGOs sphere during the 70s and 80s, like people coming
from the traditional political parties and business confederations, started to move inside.

The first wave was the creation of NGOs linked to political parties, especially those started by
former high government officials. The emergence of these partisan NGOs, together with the social
policies action NGOs, makes the borders between the realms of the non government organizations
and the State more uncertain.

The politics of the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB), which in the specific case from Latin
America correspond to the World Bank and to the Interamerican Development Bank (BID), further
confuse the scene. As a result of the requests for popular participation, those MDBs agreed to
integrate the NGOs into their projects, even at the level of direct beneficiaries. But this relies on the
old premise that NGOs correspond directly to civil society and that premise is no longer valid. Now,
support of an NGO, in Latin America, could mean many different things, like a group of
professionals without any connection with the grassroots, or a group of retired politicians. Faced
with the existence of that new policy of the MDBs, the governments of the region have attempted to
promote their own NGOs, in close sympathy with their positions.

Without criticizing nor approving this type of situation, but just calling attention to their existence,
because it had not received enough attention in the continent.

It’s also, an organization which is not part of the government e.g. private voluntary organization is a
tax exempted NGO intending to become / is engaged in development activities.

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Level of society Kind of organization

Local Churches

Cultural associations

Women’s’ groups

Farmers clubs

National Adult education association

Churches

Housing associations

Rural development organizations

Linguistic organizations

International Development and aid organization eg Red

cross, save the children, OXFAM and World
Vision

Federations of associations

Translation organisation

Evolution of NGO concept

International non-governmental organizations have a history dating back to at least the late
eighteenth century. It has been estimated that by 1914, there were 1083 NGOs. International NGOs
were important in the anti – slavery movement and the movement for women's suffrage, and
reached a peak at the time of the world disarmament conference. However, the phrase "non-
governmental organization" only came into popular use with the establishment of the United
Nations Organisation in 1945 with provisions in Article 71 of Chapter 10 of the United Nations
Charter for a consultative role for organizations which are neither governments nor member states.
The definition of "international NGO" (INGO) is first given in resolution 288 (X) of ECOSOC on
February 27, 1950: it is defined as "any international organization that is not founded by an
international treaty". The vital role of NGOs and other "major groups" in sustainable development
was recognized in Chapter 27 of Agenda 21, leading to intense arrangements for a consultative
relationship between the United Nations and non-governmental organizations. It has been observed
that the number of INGO founded or dissolved matches the general "state of the world", rising in
periods of growth and declining in periods of crisis.

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Rapid development of the non-governmental sector occurred in western countries as a result of the
processes of restructuring of the welfare state. Further globalization of that process occurred after
the fall of the communist system and was an important part of the Washington consensus.

Globalization during the 20th century gave rise to the importance of NGOs. Many problems could
not be solved within a nation. International treaties and international organizations such as the
World Trade Organization were mainly on the interests of capitalist enterprises. Meanwhile, NGOs
have developed to emphasize humanitarian issues, developmental aid and sustainable development .

NGOs in Uganda are relatively young organizations (most were founded after NRM regime
captured power in 1986). The majority of these organizations have a narrow social base- and thin
national geographical coverage. Most leading CSOs are urban-based however with a token presence
in the rural countryside. Most are concentrated in Kampala and conduct only limited activities
outside the capital. The middle class plays a prominent role in these organisations or at least those
most visible in the public arena. Thus several CSOs in the country are characterised as elitist
establishments. The majority of CSOs in the country are dependent on external donor funding and
the interests of donors often determine their objectives and causes – as such they may be described
as nomadic in their pursuits. The bulk of CSOs are involved in service delivery activities and
relatively non-controversial areas. They are not very strong or vocal in the areas of governance,
accountability, democratization and human rights. CSOs are largely constrained by lack of funds
and sufficient expertise to engage the state on technical matters such as macro economic policies.

Therefore, in Uganda, as with many developing countries, information regarding the numbers and
functions of NGOs is incomplete and not current.

The defining characteristics of NGOs

 Privately founded

 Not for profit

 Funding sources are private

 Autonomous / independent directors and management

 Pursue objectives and activities primarily for development

Some of the NGO’S in Uganda include

 Uganda Debt Network - Uganda Debt Network is an advocacy and lobbying coalition of
NGOs, Institutions and individuals formed in 1996.

 Rhino Fund Uganda-Two species of Rhinos once roamed the savannas and woodlands of
Uganda. Today, the Rhino is gone from Uganda

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  Gulu Walk - Every night, up to 40,000 children living in rural northern Uganda walk into
urban centers to sleep in relative safety and to escape the rebel army.

 Computers for Uganda - Computers for Uganda is a not for profit organization which is part
of Emerald City Rotary's Computers for the World organization.

 Ceewa Uganda - Council for Economic Empowerment for Women of Africa chapter Uganda
is a non-partisan and non profit organization working to promote the economic
empowerment of women in the development process. Slum Aid Project -SAP's vision is "To
see that people of Uganda in slum communities live and enjoy fair and dignified lives.

 United Nations Development Programme - UNDP is the UN's global development network,
advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to
help people build a better life.

 ACODE- ACODE is an independent public policy research, analysis and advocacy think
tank.

 Aids Information Centre - AIC exists to prevent the spread of HIV and mitigate its impact
by being a model of excellence in the provision and expansion of voluntary counseling and
testing, information and education, and the promotion of care and support.

 DENIVA- Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations (DENIVA) is a

registered, indigenous, non-profit making network of Ugandan Non-Governmental and
Community Based Organisations (NGOs/CBOs).
 Kulila Charitable Trust - Kulika is a charitable organisation based in the United Kingdom
and Uganda, providing educational scholarships and grants to Ugandan students and also 'on
the ground' sustainable agriculture training to farmers in Uganda.

 AidChild- Aidchild provides Homes, Pschological support & Innovative medical care to
Orphans affected with HIV/AIDS.

 BROSDI- Busoga Rural Open Source & Development Initiative is a not for profit
organization that works with government and the civil society in improving rural livelihoods
among others with the help of ICTs.

 Hospice Africa – Uganda - Committed to providing & supporting the provision, of palliative
care to cancer and HIV/AIDS patients in Sub-Saharan Africa.

 Nature Uganda- NatureUganda is the operational name of the East Africa Natural History
Society (EANHS) in Uganda. EANHS is the oldest conservation NGO in E.Africa.

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  Network of Uganda Research and research Users- NURRU has three core programs, each of
which is strategically conceived not only to feed into one another but also to ensure efficient
achievement of the individual program goals, thereby achieving in sum the overall
organizational objectives

 Uganda Rural Development and Training Programme; URDT is an ideologically and

philosophically independent learning institution, dynamically remolding the thinking and
behavior of the people in rural areas regarding women, the girl child, and their own
participation in, and control of those forces that influence their lives in the Kibaale and
adjacent districts of western Uganda.

 Ugabytes Initiative - UgaByTES initiative is Not-for-profit organization with a vision of

promoting the integration of Information and Communication Technologies in the
development plans of Uganda.

 Isis - WICCW- Isis-Women's International Cross-Cultural Exchange.

Advantages of NGO’s

 They have the ability to experiment freely with innovative approaches and, if necessary, to
take risks.

 They are flexible in adapting to local situations and responding to local needs and therefore
able to develop integrated projects, as well as sectoral projects.

 They enjoy good rapport with people and can render micro-assistance to very poor peope as
they can identify those who are most in need and tailor assistance to their needs.

 They have the ability to communicate at all levels, from the neighborhood to the top levels
of government.

 They are able to recruit both experts and highly motivated staff with fewer restrictions than
the government.

 They are seen as trusted communicators

 Generally smaller and thus more responsive to the needs of local communities than the kinds
of large scale development projects undertaken in the days of Modernisation Theory.

 There is no political agenda as is often the case with government aid, and thus aid is not
‘tied aid’ – it is freely given.

 NGOs can provide a more continuous supply of aid compared to governments, which can be
effected by elections

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  NGOs are more likely to help the poorest of the poor, unlike TNCs who will only invest in
slightly more developed countries that are more stable because these provide a better
prospect for profit.

 NGOs provide one of the most critical voices of government aid agendas and provide a
broader range of knowledge about life in developing countries compared to Official Aid
Agencies

 Relief services

 Development activities / service delivery

 Community empowerment

 Advocacy and lobbying

 Schools of democracy i.e. their influence on good governance

 Micro – policy reforms

 Watch dog role i.e. on crimes against humanities

Disadvantages of NGO’s

 Paternalistic attitudes restrict the degree of participation in programme/project design.

Restricted/constrained ways of approach to a problem or area.

 Reduced replicability of an idea, due to non-representativeness of the project or selected

area, relatively small project coverage, dependence on outside financial resources, etc.

 Territorial possessiveness" of an area or project reduces cooperation between agencies, seen

as threatening or competitive.

 Most people have looked at NGO’s as sources of employment where they expect to get large
sums of money inform of salaries.

NGO beneficiaries

 Poor households

 Women

 Children

 Poor mens

 Refugees

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  Etc

Typologies (categoristaion) of NGOs

These can be categorized into the following;

NGO types by orientation

 Charitable Orientation often involves a top-down paternalistic effort with little

participation by the "beneficiaries". It includes NGOs with activities directed toward
meeting the needs of the poor -distribution of food, clothing or medicine; provision
of housing, transport, schools etc. Such NGOs may also undertake relief activities
during a natural or man-made disaster.

 Service Orientation includes NGOs with activities such as the provision of health,
family pplanning or education services in which the programme is designed by the
NGO and people are expected to participate in its impementation and in receiving
the service.

 Participatory Orientation is characterized by self-help projects where local people

are involved particularly in the implementation of a project by contributing cash,
tools, land, materials, labour etc. In the classical community development project,
participation begins with the need definition and continues into the planning and
implementation stages. Cooperatives often have a participatory orientation.

 Empowering Orientation is where the aim is to help poor people develop a clearer
understanding of the social, political and economic factors affecting their lives, and
to strengthen their awareness of their own potential power to control their lives.
Sometimes, these groups develop spontaneously aroud a problem or an issue, at
other times outside workers from NGOs play a facilitating role in their development.
In any case, there is maximum involvement of the people with NGOs acting as
facilitators.

NGO Types by level of operation:

 Community-based Organizations (CBOs) arise out of people's own initiatives.

These can include sports clubs, women's organizations, neighbourhood
organizations, religious or educational organizations. There are a large variety of
these, some supported by NGOs, national or international NGOs, or bilateral or
international agencies, and others independent of outside help. Some are devoted to
rising the consciousness of the urban poor or helping them to understand their rights
in gaining access to needed services while others are involved in providing such
services.

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  Citywide Organizations include organizations such as the Rotary or lion's Club,
chambers of commerce andindustry, coalitions of business, ethnic or educational
groups and associations of community organizations. Some exist for other purposes,
and become involved in helping the poor as one of many activities, while others are
created for the specific purpose of helping the poor.

 National NGOs include organizations such as the Red Cross, YMCAs/YWCAs,

professional organizations etc. Some of these have state and cuty branches and assist
local NGOs.

 International NGOs range from secular gencies such as Redda BArna and Save the
Children organizations, OXFAM, CARE, Ford and Rockefeller Foundations to
religiously motivated groups. Their activities vary from mainly funding local NGOs,
institutions and projects, to implementing the projects themselves.

Note:

There are also numerous classifications of NGOs. The typology the world bank uses, divides them
into Operational and Advocacy but they vary in their methods. Some act primarily as lobbyists,
while others primarily conduct programs and activities.

Other classifications include;

Funding NGOs.

These raise funds from their own governments but support development projects carried out by
local Third World Organizations at the support level e.g. USAID, Oxfam, AVIS, etc. Funding NGOs
can be involved in campaigning & counter weight state power e.g. protecting human rights, opening
up channels of communication & participation in providing training grounds for activities like
women activists & promoting pluralism e.g. political pluralism.

Technical Intervention NGOs

These are mainly from the Global North; they tend to carry out development projects themselves
e.g. CARE International, such organization do planning & implementation. In most cases they have
their own financial resources and they are interested in technical aspects in development, e.g. peace
building, refugee response programs, disaster management, etc.

Field / Action level NGOs

These can be categorized into:

Representative NGOs, These represent their members for purposes of claims & negotiations in
government and other bodies in the defense of vital interests for their members e.g. Workers Union,

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& farmers as well as squatters. These may organize the selves to demand & give reform measures
e.g. better rights to land holding.

Community Organizations, These have broader functions which include; that of a representative
and also managing assets held in common by the whole community. All members of a given
community have the right to belong to a community organization. Many self help projects have
been under self help organizations e.g. community centre for cultural activities, valley dams, wells
& gazetted markets.

Association Organisation. These are restrictive than the first and the third. Members are registered
and normally screened depending on certain criteria developed by members e.g. Rotary Clubs, Lion
Clubs. The Organization represents the interests of people (members) who should be involved
actively in perceiving a specific common goal.

NGOs can further be classified according to what they do:

1. Advocacy NGOs

The primary function of this is to defend or ‘advance a specific cause’. Advocacy is a process of
articulating a particular cause; it involves engaging relevant powers & influencing policy makers to
take a desired position from the view point of the marginalized. Advocacy NGOs may raise
awareness by; lobbying, press work, Activists concerning particular causes e.g. Human Rights
Network (HURINET), NUDIPU (National Union of Disabled Persons in Uganda).

Operational NGOs

These seek to "achieve small-scale change directly through projects." They mobilize financial
resources, materials, and volunteers to create localized programs. They hold large-scale fundraising
events and may apply to governments and organizations for grants or contracts to raise money for
projects. They often operate in a hierarchical structure; a main headquarters being staffed by
professionals who plan projects, create budgets, keep accounts, and report and communicate with
operational fieldworkers who work directly on projects. Operational NGOs deal with a wide range
of issues, but are most often associated with the delivery of services or environmental issues,
emergency relief, and public welfare. Operational NGOs can be further categorized by the division
into relief-oriented versus development-oriented organizations; according to whether they stress
service delivery or participation; whether they are religious or secular; and whether they are more
public- or private-oriented. Although operational NGOs can be community-based, many are
national or international. The defining activity of operational NGOs is the implementation of
projects.

Campaigning NGO

Campaigning NGOs seek to "achieve large-scale change promoted indirectly through influence of
the political system." Campaigning NGOs need an efficient and effective group of professional

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members who are able to keep supporters informed, and motivated. They must plan and host
demonstrations and events that will keep their cause in the media. They must maintain a large
informed network of supporters who can be mobilized for events to garner media attention and
influence policy changes. The defining activity of campaigning NGOs is holding demonstrations.
Campaigning NGOs often deal with this issues relating to human rights, women's rights, children's
rights. The primary purpose of an Advocacy NGO is to defend or promote a specific cause. As
opposed to operational project management, these organizations typically try to raise awareness,
acceptance and knowledge by lobbying, press work and activist event.

On the other hand, Clark J proposed that NGO’s can be in six categories

 Relief and welfare agencies such as missionary societies

 Technical innovation organization that operate their own projects to pioneer new or
improved approaches to problems.

 Public service contractors which are mostly funded by Northern governments that work
closely with Southern governments and official agencies. These are contracted to implement
components of official programs because of the advantages of size and flexibility e.g.
CARE, ACTION-AID, WORLD VISION etc

 Popular development agencies that concentrate on self help, social development and
grassroots organizations.

 Grass root organizations, whose members are poor or oppressed themselves and who
attempt to share a popular development process (these often receive funding from
development agencies and include ACFODE, UWESO etc)

 Advocacy groups and networks i.e. organizations without field projects that exist primarily
for education and lobbying e.g. NAWOU, Uganda Debt Network, DENIVA etc.

The third categorization on NGO is put forward by Micheal Edwards and David Hulme, who
observed that there are over 40,000 development NGO’s and recognized that they are diverse and
later distinguished them as follows
 International NGO’s like Save the Children Fund, Christian Aid and etc. These are
commonly referred to as Northern NGO’S (NNGOs)
 Intermediary NGO’s in the south (SNGOs) who support grassroots works through funding,
technical advice and advocacy.
 The grassroots’ movements of various kinds i.e. grass roots organizations (GRO) and CBOs
which are controlled by their own members.
 Networks and federations composed of any or all the above.

Difference between an international organization and intergovernmental organization

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An international organization is an organization with an international membership, scope, or
presence. There are two main types.
 International nongovernmental organizations (INGOs): The main focus for INGOs is to
provide relief and developmental aid to developing countries. In relation to states, the
purpose of INGOs is to provide services that the state is unable or unwilling to provide for
their people. These organization’s projects in health, like HIV/AIDS awareness and
prevention, clean water, and malaria prevention, and in education, like schools for girls and
providing books to developing countries, help to provide the social services that the
country’s government is unable or unwilling to provide at the time. International Non-
governmental Organizations are also some of the first responders to natural disasters, like
hurricanes and floods, or crises that need emergency relief.
 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that operate internationally.
These include international non-profit organizations and worldwide companies such as the World
Organization of the Scout Movement, International Committee of the Red Cross, Médecins Sans
Frontières and World Safeguard and Media Limited.
The growth of NGO’s and possible causes in developing countries

NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) are increasingly becoming an important force in the

world especially in developing countries, in part because of claims that they are

 Efficient and effective

 They are innovative

 Flexible

 Independent, and

 Responsive to the problems of poor people at the grass-roots level.

The growth of such NGOs over the past two decades has given them an increasingly important role
and has led them forming a distinctive sector within civil society. They have been engaged in all
sectors of social life, such as relief, rehabilitation, health, education, development programs, peace,
human rights, and environmental issues, using finance raised from voluntary, private sources, and
donor agencies, and managing themselves autonomously at local, national and international levels.

A striking upsurge is under way around the globe in organizing voluntary activity and the creation
of private, non – profit or NGO. People are forming associations, foundations and similar situations
to deliver human services, promote grass root economic development, prevent environmental
degradation, protect civil rights and pursue a thousand other objectives.

The growth of NGO’s operating in the world is enormous now days and this is because of

 Societal conflict and tension

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  The need to respond more effectively to crisis situations in the face of break – down
traditional structure

 Ideological and value differences with the powers that be in the planning and
implementation of development work

 The realization that neither government nor the private sector has the will, means or capacity
to deal with all immediate and lingering social problems

 The dramatic revolution communication that took place during the 1970’s and 80’s

 The invention of wide spread dissemination of the computer, fiber optic cable, fax,
television and satellite e.t.c. opened even the world’s most remote areas to expand
communication links required for mass organizations

 The considerable global economic growth that occurred during the 1960s and early 70s

 A crisis of development since the oil shock of the 1970s and the recession of the 1980s,
which dramatically changed the outlook for developing countries

 The global environmental crisis which stimulated greater private initiative

 The continuing poverty of developing countries which led the poor to degrade their
immediate surroundings in order to survive. This was because most citizens in developing
countries were increasingly frustrated with government and thus were eager to organize their
own initiatives.

 The socialism factor which caused a search for new ways to satisfy un met social and
economic needs. While this search helped lead to the formation of marked oriented
cooperative enterprise, it also stimulated extensive experimentation with a host of non-
governmental organizations offering services and vehicle for self-expression outside the
reaches of an increasingly discredited state.

 High levels of conflicts manly in developing countries; social, political and economic
conflicts

 Emerging development in developing countries

 Public policy matters across the globe

 Levels of public service delivery

 Failure of government to play its roles in controlling many sectors of the economy

 Emerging Human rights abuses across the world

 High levels of social problems like unemployment and environmental degradation

 Call for development partners by the states

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  There is also pressure to expand the voluntary sector which seem to be coming from at least
4 (four) sources i.e. from;

 Below, in the form of spontaneous grass root energies

 Outside, through the actions of various public and private institutions i.e. from the
church, western private voluntary organizations and official aid agencies and
 Above, in the form of governmental policies. Some government made support for the
voluntary sector a central part of their strategies to reduce government social spending.
For example from Thailand to Phillippines, governments have sponsored farmer’s
cooperatives and other private organizations. Egyptian and Pakistan have five year plans
on the participation of NGOs as a way to ensure popular participation in development.
 Ordinary people, who decide to take matters into their own hands and organize to
improve their conditions or seek basic rights.
This growth of NGOs, their increasing integration into global decision making structures, as well as
the increased research focus, reflects a growing disillusionment with the inability of both
governments and business to respond quickly and adequately to growing global problems of social
inequality, exclusion and environmental degradation. NGOs are therefore expected to address some
of these global problems on their own and also in partnership with business and governments.

Three Generations of NGO development Program Strategies

Generation
Characteristics
First Second Third

Small-scale, self-reliant Sustainable systems

Defining Features Relief and Welfare
local development development

Shortages of goods and Institutional and policy

Problem Definition Local inertia
services constraints

Time Frame Immediate Project life Indefinate long-term

Spatial Scope Individual or family Neighbourhood or village Region or nation

All public and private

NGO + beneficiary
Chief Actors NGO institutions that define the
organizations
relevant system

Community self-help Failures in interdependent

Development Education Starving Children
initiatives systems

Management Orientation Logistics management Project management Strategic management

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The generation of NGO development reflects the constant challenge to voluntary organization to re
examine their strategies in a rapidly changing environment. The management of NGO’s today is a
bit different from the NGOs in the past two decades.

Factors that hinder NGOs success

 Public relations, Non-governmental organizations need healthy relationships with the

public to meet their goals. Foundations and charities use sophisticated public relations
campaigns to raise funds and employ standard lobbying techniques with governments.
Interest groups may be of political importance because of their ability to influence social and
political outcomes. A code of ethics was established in 2002 by The World Association of
Non Governmental Organizations.

 Project management, There is an increasing awareness that management techniques are

crucial to project success in non-governmental organizations. Generally, non-governmental
organizations that are private have either a community or environmental focus. They address
varieties of issues such as religion, emergency aid, or humanitarian affairs. They mobilize
public support and voluntary contributions for aid; they often have strong links with
community groups in developing countries, and they often work in areas where government-
to-government aid is not possible. NGOs are accepted as a part of the international relations
landscape, and while they influence national and multilateral policy-making, increasingly
they are more directly involved in local action.

 Staffing, Some NGOs are highly professionalized and rely mainly on paid staff. Others are
based around voluntary labour and are less formalized. Not all people working for non-
governmental organizations are volunteers.

- Many NGOs are associated with the use of international staff working in 'developing'
countries, but there are many NGOs in both North and South who rely on local
employees or volunteers. There is some dispute as to whether expatriates should be sent
to developing countries. Frequently this type of personnel is employed to satisfy a donor
who wants to see the supported project managed by someone from an industrialized
country. However, the expertise of these employees or volunteers may be
counterbalanced by a number of factors: the cost of foreigners is typically higher, they
have no grassroot connections in the country they are sent to, and local expertise is
often undervalued.

- The NGO sector is an essential employer in terms of numbers. For example, by the end
of 1995, CONCERN worldwide, an international Northern NGO working against
poverty, employed 174 expatriates and just over 5,000 national staff working in ten
developing countries in Africa and Asia, and in Haiti.

 Funding, Whether the NGOs are small or large, various NGOs need budgets to operate. The
amount of budget that they need would differ from NGOs to NGOs. Unlike small NGOs,
large NGOs may have annual budgets in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars.

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 Funding such large budgets demands significant fundraising efforts on the part of most
NGOs. Major sources of NGO funding are membership dues, the sale of goods and services,
grants from international institutions or national governments, and private donations. Several
EU-grants provide funds accessible to NGOs.
 Overhead costs, Overhead is the amount of money that is spent on running an NGO rather
than on projects. This includes office expenses, salaries, banking and bookkeeping costs.
What percentage of overall budget is spent on overhead is often used to judge an NGO with
less than 4% being viewed as good. High overhead costs may also generate criticism with
some claiming the certain NGOs with high overhead are being run simply to benefit the
people working for them. While overhead costs can be a legitimate concern, a sole focus on
them can be counterproductive.
 Monitoring and control, The governments of the countries an NGO works or is registered
in may require reporting or other monitoring and oversight. Funders generally require
reporting and assessment, such information is not necessarily publicly available. There may
also be associations and watchdog organizations that research and publish details on the
actions of NGOs working in particular geographic or program areas.

 Legal status, The legal form of NGOs is diverse and depends upon home grown variations
in each country's laws and practices

Basic requirements for the formation of NGOs

 Innovative thinking
 Creativity
 Conceptualization of vision
 Founders of NGOs have the ability to influence & mobilize popular support for
beneficiaries, governments and other stakeholders.
 They are good at planning, entrepreneurial & management skills.
 They are willing to work voluntarily at least in the initial stages when the number is being
formed.
 They should be able to understand the culture and the traditions of the targeted groups.
 They should be clear about the geographical field of operation, for purposes of achieving
their planned vision and objectives.
 The ability to assess an existing gap in the provision of services and goods. This calls for
skills to analyze what is and what ought to be the real and ideal. Most founders of successful
NGOs have the abilities of;
 Interpreting the past (history), Assessing the present and Forecasting the future relatively, &
realistically.

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  NGOs are founded by people who associate voluntarily with an aim of working together to
achieving a common goal / objective. The goal may be of short / long term, it may be
professional need driven or any often reason.
 Their formation takes a legal process depending on the laws governing a given country.
Therefore, they are expected to have a legal establishment and certificate of operation before
they start their work.
 Many NGOs exist to promote an activity that is not being undertaken by government.
 Alternatively, the government may be involved to some extent in that activity but NGOs are
formed to complement government’s work e.g. there are very many NGOs involved in the
fight against HIV/AIDS but the government is also a player in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
 Many NGOs are involved in environmental management. They complement the work of
NEMA. There are a number of significant aspects in the creation of NGOs.
Emergence of NGOs
Northern NGOs
NGOs in the North have been actors on the development stage longer than World bank and UN or
other official aid. Initially they were involved in relief work after world war and later they shifted
their work to the third world and broadened their work to include welfare activities. In the 1950s,
60s and through the 80s, the number of NGOs multiplied and their focus moved progressively to
development work. In most NGOs in the north, there is a strong church based link to the major
NGOs and principally they are engaged in funding development projects.
They are also actively involved in providing food and other materials for disaster and emergencies
e.g. Tsunami victims, earth quakes and etc.
Southern NGOs
For many Southern NGOs, their goals are about survival, humanity and dignity and democracy. A
great deal of energy has been spent in the Southern NGOs in helping social movements regain their
right to land and other resources, in order to promote their rights to good health and adequate
nutrition, to safety, to housing, and to a sustainable environment. They have steadilty grown from
the 1980s due to
• Increased availability of funding from donors
• Retreat of governments in developing countries in the provision of services
• Differences in their approach and location of operation
• Small agencies with a small staff operating in a specific locality
• Engagement in promoting self help activities, service provision, community organizing and
poverty alleviation programs.
• Churches are also actively involved in development work. Dioceses have a development
arm through which funds from northern churches and NGOs are channeled.

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