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Paper short abstract:

NGOs play an integral role in the development field. However, this role is severely challenged by authoritarian regimes. Authoritarian States have limited tolerance for autonomous centres of powers, hence they feel threatened by NGOs and the wider civil society. This paper explores the NGO-State relationships in Sudan, a country that has been governed by an authoritarian regime for the past three decades. The perspectives of different players in the development sector in Sudan will discussed, to examine how their interactions affect the development process in this complex context.

Paper long abstract:

This paper focuses on investigating the role of NGOs in development in authoritarian states. It explores the nature of NGO-State relationships, as well as the effectiveness of NGOs’ operations in authoritarian contexts. More precisely, the case study examines the interactions between the government and NGOs in Sudan during the development process, specifically in the context of the authoritarian regime that has been governing the country for almost three decades. The study is based on a qualitative analysis of various secondary sources, coupled with primary data collected from the field. It is observed that, historically, authoritarian rulers have shown hostility against NGOs. Although the levels of hostility varied, it is safe to say that authoritarian contexts have always been harsh for NGOs. Generally, democracies provide healthier environments for NGOs operations and development programmes. In particular, the environment in Sudan has been exceptionally harsh for NGOs under the current regime and it is described to be one of the toughest environments for NGOs’ operations. The Sudanese regime has been using multiple strategies to control and suppress NGOs, yet the NGOs law remains the greatest obstacle in their way. Nevertheless, aside of the regime’s redundant firmness, NGOs and the civil society in Sudan have been suffering from complex internal deficiencies that prevent them from fully utilising the limited space allowed by the authorities and potentially expand it. These deficiencies are harder to address in such restraining conditions. Overall, the study finds that development NGOs have a considerable role in Sudan, albeit the strictness of the regime and other unfortunate circumstances.

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This paper outlines the findings of a 3 year international research project that examined the language policies and practices of NGOs. It argues that inclusive development approaches should accommodate multilingualism in beneficiary communities.

Paper long abstract:

This study examines the role of languages in power relations in NGO development work. It is based on 90 interviews with NGOs, donors and translators/interpreters. It incorporates fieldwork from three case study countries: Kyrgyzstan, Malawi and Peru. It finds that languages are not generally integrated in the development cycle and budgeted for in advance, which leads to communication difficulties between fieldworkers and beneficiary communities. The failure of donors/NGOs to integrate languages into development initiatives leads to certain groups being excluded from project design, M&E and providing feedback. Southern NGOs/CBOs also report difficulties in applying for funds from Northern donors because of limited language capacity. Moreover, donor/NGO discussions about sustainability and supporting local capacity rarely include nurturing the linguistic potential of communities to contribute to future development strategies. Examples of innovative practice in the country case studies are discussed. The paper argues that celebrating and accommodating multilingualism is essential for inclusive development. It concludes with practical recommendations for NGOs on how to embrace multilingualism in their work and methodologies.

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Paper short abstract:

Despite the formation of numerous organisations and partnerships initiated to address global inequality, progress has been at best slow and in some cases reversed. A shift in the power dynamic from North to South is essential and the time has come for change if real impact is to be achieved.

Paper long abstract:

This paper has emerged from my MBA research undertaken in 2015 which examines how the role of power in international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) has played a significant part in light of achievements (or lack thereof) of the millennium development goals (MDGs) launched in 2000. By analysing interviews with key stakeholders in the sector, the research found that although the INGO sector professes equality and partnership for community- led development, in many cases this is not the reality. At the time of the research, the much anticipated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) had just been announced, 3 years later, what has happened? Is progress being made or are failures to recognise the importance of the transfer of, or at the very least sharing of, power between North and South resulting in the likelihood that the SDG's will follow in the footsteps of their predecessors.

The findings of the research suggest that global strategic alliances committed to establishing a balance of power between INGOs and local community based organisations (CBOs) is the key to ensuring that international development is led by southern voices. These alliances will require a commitment to change management and will undoubtedly see a shift in the power dynamic which will inevitably lead to challenges for both parties. The research will conclude that, handled with care, this new way of working will ultimately lead to greater scale and reach of development resulting in long term change under development principles.

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This paper critically examines NGO interventions in Bangladesh from both post-colonial and decolonial feminist perspectives to problematise Western donor impacts on NGOs' sexual harassment narratives that only present a deficit victim model of Bangladeshi women and fail to address women's agency.

Paper long abstract:

The role of NGOs in development has always been subject to criticism. On one hand, scholars identified NGOs as flexible, innovative and efficient agents of development (Islam 2016; Hossain 2017). Others have argued that many NGOs are established and controlled by external donor agencies and design programs to satisfy specific goals set by donors (Edwards and Hulme 1995; Derbyshire 2004). This paper explores the political economy of NGOs' sexual harassment (SH) interventions in Bangladesh from both postcolonial and decolonial feminist perspectives, NGOs' SH initiatives in Bangladesh generally lack a deeper qualitative understanding of women's SH narratives and exemplify a deficit model showing women only as victims of SH (Bakker 2013; Nahar 2015; UNDP 2016; BRAC 2016; ActionAid Bangladesh 2017). In postcolonial and decolonial feminist terms, NGOs working in Bangladesh portray Bangladeshi women as homogenous, powerless, uneducated, tradition-bound and victimised category based on hegemonic Western understandings, and overlook these women's complexity and diversity along class, ethnic, and racial lines (Mohanty 1988, 2003; Spivak 2010; AbuLughod 2002; Kapoor 2008; Quijano 2000; Mignolo 2011; Giraldo 2016). Current research on SH has welcomed NGO interventions but failed to critically analyse Western donors' impact on shaping NGOs' interventions in Bangladesh. Therefore, to address this knowledge gap, this study employs qualitative research approach that include fifteen in-depth interviews of NGO workers engaged in SH related projects from five selected NGOs (i.e. UNDP, ActionAid, Manusher Jonno Foundation and Change Associates) and investigates how Western donor agencies exercise colonial power dynamics to shape NGO activism in Bangladesh.

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This paper considers the role of NGOs in Senegal in building support among religious leaders and teachers for a law giving formal status to Qur'anic schools. It reflects upon the limitations of this collaboration for achieving the NGO's child protection goals but finds value in the process itself.

Paper long abstract:

In January 2017, Senegal's religious leaders and Qur'anic Teachers Associations agreed upon a draft bill of law which, if passed in parliament, will give formal status to certain daaras (traditional Qur'anic schools, often the subject of child rights concerns and development projects due to the practice of child begging which takes place in many of the schools) that meet a set of agreed criteria, allowing them to be regulated by and to receive funding from the state. As an earlier draft was rejected by religious leaders in 2014, support was gained through collaborative efforts between various international and national NGOs, the Ministry of Education, and activists within the religious associations to engage with and mobilise religious leaders and Qur'anic teachers.

Based on semi-structured interviews conducted with NGO staff, Qur'anic teachers and imams in Senegal in 2017/18, this paper firsts provides a narrative account of the role of different NGOs in this collaborative process. It then considers the limitations of the collaboration on two fronts. Firstly, although the bill was agreed in 2017, parliament has yet to pass it into law, perhaps because of an upcoming election. Secondly, in order for the text of the bill to be approved by religious leaders, all mention of the practice of child begging had to be removed, despite this being the focus of the programmes of many of the NGOs and their donors. The paper therefore considers the value of the collaboration to lie not in its outcomes but in the process itself.

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Paper short abstract:

Can a service-delivery and sponsorship-born NGO become a campaigning organisation? The short answer is 'yes, but…'. The international NGO ActionAid has made bold steps towards gaining a campaigning voice but it does so on a tightrope between what the NGO seeks to be and what it still is.

Paper long abstract:

Can a service-delivery and sponsorship-born NGO become a campaigning organisation? Born in 1972, the international NGO ActionAid not only introduced policy and advocacy in the nineties like other NGO peers, but it also made bold steps towards gaining a campaigning voice in the past decade. However, findings point to a 'yes, but…' answer. An NGO like ActionAid can make steps towards becoming a campaigning organisation but it does so on a tightrope between opportunities and contradictions, between what the NGO seeks to be and what it still is.

Drawing on concepts from social movement theory such as repertoires and mobilising structures, I explore the changes that the NGO made to become a campaigning organisation - from a radical shift towards campaigning in its global strategy, to developing an international network of 'Activistas', to creating militant slogans and actions, and increasing campaigning resources and staff posts. Shifts that were made in a context of campaigning restrictions in the charity sector and an organigram that is still predominantly programmes-oriented.

A tense opportunity observed was the different campaigning paths that the NGO could offer to its supporters - those who seldom campaigned accessed campaigns gradually through traditional structures of sponsorship and service-delivery programmes while more politically tuned supporters did so through direct campaign recruitment. While non-campaign elements such as sponsorship and service-delivery programmes sometimes restricted campaigning, these also served as unconventional ways to mobilise unusual activists.

Overall, social movement theory proves to be a useful vocabulary to study NGO political progression.

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This paper will explore whether the prevalence of normative, donor-driven discourse on the role of civil society in development has resulted in 'jaded' and unproblematized understandings of civil society on the part of CSO staff and volunteers, depriving the sector of political potency.

Paper long abstract:

Although historically a much-contested concept, it has been argued that civil society has become a victim of its own ubiquity in development discourse; its potential for radicalism and innovation blunted by normative, donor-driven narratives as to its value and function, and the unquestioning acceptance of those narratives on the part of donor-dependent NGOs. Donor influence, both financial and ideational, is increasingly charged with sapping the vitality of civil society as an arena for political debate and citizen-driven change.

This paper presents preliminary findings from qualitative research undertaken with Central African CSOs working in the forest sector who, although members of the same network, are in receipt of different levels of donor funding (and the inevitable 'influence' that accompanies it). Based on the perspectives of a range of different organisations, from 'professionalised' national NGOs to grassroots, community-facing organisations, the research unearths and examines perceptions and understandings of the role and value of civil society among activists themselves: the personal motivation underlying their work, their guiding vision and their perceived contribution to achieving it. Drawing on the distinct intellectual tributaries of neo-institutionalist theory (rational choice, sociological and discursive institutionalism) it will explore the underlying drivers of consensual or contested understandings and the possible future implications for collective action and civil society activism.

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Paper short abstract:

This paper draws on research commissioned by the Humanitarian Academy for Development into the extent and challenges of Islamic Relief Worldwide's (IRW) domestic programming in seven Partner Offices. It finds that domestic programmes have the potential to rupture IRW's understanding of its mission.

Paper long abstract:

Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) is the largest UK-based relief and development agency rooted in the principles of Islam. As a faith-based organisation (FBO) it has received considerable attention in recent research (Tomalin 2014). As a specifically Muslim FBO, it has received even greater scrutiny (Petersen, 2015). IRW is, therefore, a significant NGO through which to consider the panel the panel theme.

Little research has been previously undertaken on the domestic programmes (DP) of INGOs such as IRW. However, findings from my own comparative study of the DPs of four large INGOs indicate that one of the challenges to and benefits of DPs is that they can subvert and disrupt understandings of the actors, spaces and processes of development.

This paper draws on research commissioned by the Humanitarian Academy for Development into the extent and challenges of Islamic Relief Worldwide's (IRW) domestic programming in seven Partner Offices. The research, undertaken between March 2017 and August 2018, collected data via an online survey, 39 semi-structured interviews and document analysis.

The main challenges experienced by these seven domestic programmes were: rising xenophobia; internal IRW strategy tensions; donor perceptions of poverty; resources, and visibility. Findings also suggest that DPs often struggle to gain acceptance and commitment in the IRW family because they pose difficult questions for IRW in explaining their mission, intervention strategies and beneficiary selection. This is especially the case in the context of a development sector, in which the geographical location of development is always distinct from 'home'.

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Paper short abstract:

This work examines the transformative potential of participation of MBOPs for social sustainability. It contributes to the discussion of CSOs as agents of political change, unpacking the narratives and practices of participation and social sustainability in the context of inclusive development.

Paper long abstract:

This research paper examines the transformative potential of participation of membership-based organisations of the poor (MBOPs) for social sustainability. It intends to contribute to the discussion of CSOs as agents of political and structural change, unpacking the narratives and practices of participation and social sustainability in the context of inclusive development.

Sustainable development has been studied as the development 'that meets the needs of the present without compromising the future', and it usually comprises three different pillars assumed to be equally important: environmental, economic, and social. While hard to analyse separately as they constantly overlap and interrelate, for analysis matters this research will focus particularly on 'the social dimension', understanding that part of its analysis might also have repercussions on 'the other pillars' of sustainability.

The investigation criticises the technical perspective within the framework of a capitalist system under which both participation and social sustainability have been studied and its restrictive effects on change in the development process. Consequently, it reflects on issues of power in development and suggests a reconceptualization of participation in the political, community and social spheres. A reconceptualization able to address the 'depoliticisation' of poverty and the structural economic inequalities experienced by marginalised groups in capitalist development. Likewise, this work discusses the meanings and practices of sustainability that are still informed by a colonial thought, something that could also end up in a depoliticized notion of sustainability and the consequent disempowerment of local communities.

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This paper presents a critical analysis of community development by looking at a Chinese organization's practices in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya and by showing how an outside organization interplays with the local agenda in community development when it enters the local community.

Paper long abstract:

Compared with governments, multilateral development institutions, and big NGOs acting as the first three pillars in development, Develtere and Bruyn (2009) point out the importance of the fourth pillar, non-specialist bodies, which refers to non-development departments, associations in various fields, foundations, other civil organizations and so on. In practice, a lot of foreign NGOs doing various projects in African countries fall into this category and they are actually playing a very significant role in local community development. However, the fourth pillar has not yet been fully researched in academic world.

The paper utilises empirical research on a Chinese NGO's work in Mathare, an informal settlement in Nairobi, to analyse the community development from a critical perspective and to look at the interplays between the foreign organization and the local community's agenda. Participant observation and in-depth interviews of both volunteers and local people are main methods used in this research. In this paper, firstly, the symbiotic relationship between the Chinese organization and the local community is illustrated, within which relationship mistrust and a playing of a zero-sum game between the two when considering their power relations are highlighted. Secondly, it investigates how the culture and identity of local people affects their adaptation and influence on the external Chinese organisation's projects. Both positive and negative impacts of the Chinese organization's practices are addressed. Thirdly, the paper links the analysis of community development at an individual and community level to higher levels and identifies possible solutions to rooted problems in community development.

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Paper short abstract:

Drawing on empirical work with NGOs, this research explores various forms of resistance and scrutinises their political clout. It concludes by suggesting that micro-resistance can play a crucial role in emancipatory projects only when organically linked with transformative political agenda.

Paper long abstract:

This article is about resistance to managerialism.

In the last decade, several scholars have explored how the progressive managerialisation of the NGO sector has detrimentally impacted on their commitment towards social justice and emancipatory transformation. In particular, it has been argued that the dominant development management framework, focused on value-for-money, standardization and performance measurement has progressively oriented them toward service delivery and depoliticised democracy promotion, encroaching their engagement with long-term social transformation agendas.

Analysing the literature that explores NGOs mangerialisation, it emerges that NGOs are represented along three different roles. According to some scholars, NGOs are powerless actors that reluctantly adopt managerialist thinking and practices, so to meet donors' requirements and ensure their financial survival. Other studies see the progressive managerialisation of the NGOs as the result of internal opportunistic pushes, largely due to NGOs' ambition to grow financially and elevate their status. Thirdly, other researchers associate NGO managerialisation to their progressive professionalization and thus explain it as an evolutionary step that has allowed NGOs to grow in size and influence within the development industry.

However, while the extant literature has explored in depth how NGOs have reacted to the pressure toward managerialisation, little attention has been given to analyse whether NGOs resist it and how, in what circumstances and with which outcomes.

This study aims to engage with this gap, drawing on extended fieldwork with NGOs in sub-Sahara Africa, which provided enlightening opportunities to reflect on various forms through which NGOs oppose and resist the managerialisation of their work.

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Paper short abstract:

NGOs play an increasingly important role in generating the political, economic and social developments that shape daily life. NGOs sector is an expansive terrain characterised by dynamic relationships between agents of action, the causes they serve and the communities.

Paper long abstract:

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) play an increasingly important role in generating the political, economic and social developments that shape daily life in our contemporary, global society. NGOs have the capacity to drive innovation and provide humanitarian relief in the face of natural disasters, war and other crises around the world. With a diverse range of organisations, objectives and activities that target local, national and international issues, the NGO sector is an expansive terrain characterised by dynamic relationships between agents of action, the causes they serve and the communities. Occupying the ground between business and government, the NGO sector faces a number of regulatory and financial challenges that affect its overall health and sustainability.

This paper seeks to understand various factors, which influence the sector's unstable circumstances in MENA. It will consider Palestine, Jordan and Libya by focusing on challenges facing NGOs' societal contributions, current operational practices and strategies for future development. It also studies engagement that explores the factors, circumstances and historical changes that influence the development and activities of NGOs in MENA in the post 'Arab Spring' ear as well as the organisational, financial and political challenges facing the sector today.

The following key themes will guide project development:

Scope

Funding

Networking, sharing information and expertise

Clientalism

Legitimacy and sustainability

Political Environment

Regulatory Environments in which NGOs Operate

NGOs and Cross Culture Relations

NGOs and (Inter)National Economies

E-paper: this Paper will not be presented, but read in advance and discussed