Paper short abstract:

This paper is situated in the resource -constrained UK third sector and the dearth of research on the use of reflective practice (RP) in development NGOs. It presents preliminary findings of a small research project to identify models of RP that could be of use in supporting volunteers.

Paper long abstract:

Resource constrained development NGOs working in the global South and North frequently rely on volunteers who may be university students or unfamiliar with the work of and context in which the NGO works. Thus, NGOs’ ability to respond to the challenges posed by the UN’s SDGs or the current cost of living, energy and climate crises often depends on volunteers (UNV, 2021). There is further evidence that in the context of the UK staff and volunteers working in the NGO sector are suffering from high levels of stress and burnout leading to a record number of vacancies in the sector and loss of skills (Draper, 2022; Wait, 2023). This points to the need for NGOs to do more to support their volunteers and yet resource constraints again hinder the effectiveness of this support.

This paper situates this dilemma in the scarce research available on use of reflective practice (RP) in the context of volunteering for development NGOs. However, the use of RP in the fields of nursing, social work, education, psychotherapy, urban planning and theatre is well established (Tarrant 2013; Maclean 2015; Boyd 2023; Bhola, Duggal and Isaac 2022; Sanyal et al 2012; Vettraino 2015).

The paper will present the preliminary findings of a small research project conducted at the University of East London with students and four community partners which aims to 1) map existing models of RP used across disciplines and in NGO literature and practice 2) share and test these models with our community partners

Paper short abstract:

What has happened to the focus on adaptation and loss & damage in the debates about global warming? Organizations (especially NGOs) continue to focus on what they can do (which is orders of magnitude less than what is needed, and there are very few good ideas about what adaptation should consist of.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is to provoke discussion about the problem that most of the discussion around global warming is focused on emissions reduction and mitigation. Very little is being said about AL&D. In the ‘rich’ countries the public has hardly any conception of what it might entail (let alone the implications for taxation and transfers of finance). Despite widespread awareness of what mitigation means, general discussion and debate about global warming involves very little about AL&D, and of the public is generally ignorant of it.

For the sake of simplicity, this paper looks at (very simplified) ‘supply’ and ‘demand’ aspects of climate change adaptation and Loss & Damage (AL&D) issues. By supply I mean the availability (or not) of funding from ‘rich’ countries to the global ‘south’, and demand is intended to indicate the various needs and claims made by countries of the south for support to adapt or deal with loss and damage. A key issue is that so far on the demand side the actions being taken are largely defined by those who supply, in conjunction with governments of the global south that collude with funders to accept particular forms of assistance. There is an enormous gap between what is offered by funders and taken up by governments take up on the one hand, and the needs of the people on the other.

Paper short abstract:

Since the mid-1990s, middle- and low-income countries have restricted the incoming of foreign funding through laws, hoping to safeguard their state sovereignty. This paper dives into the daily work of local NGOs in Jordan to understand how these restrictive laws shape their organizational practices.

Paper long abstract:

Since the mid-1990s, there is a trend among middle- and low-income countries to pass restrictive laws related to foreign funding. Hoping to safeguard their state sovereignty, governments recipient of aid have increasingly legislated on how flows of funding coming from abroad can be allocated and administered. Consequently, these laws and regulations impact NGOs/CSOs’ autonomy and financial sustainability. Indeed, following the adoption of these national laws, the flow of funding incoming stagnates or even tends to reduce.

Taking the case of Jordan, this paper dives into the daily experience of NGOs/CSOs. Mobilizing interactionist organizational theories, it seeks to understand how these restrictive laws shape their work and practices. This research rests on participant observation within two local Jordanian NGOs, combined with 37 interviews with key stakeholders.

In Jordan, these restrictive laws take shape through several types of medium, such as administrative restrictions, and bureaucratic procedures for instance. The result of that is a patchwork of formal and informal rules and mechanisms that NGOs/CSOs must navigate. Depending on international funding, Jordanian NGOs/CSOs must abide to the regulatory system.

First, in this paper, I outline the intricacies of the different mechanism NGOs/CSOs go through, depending on their type of registration (international or local). It gives an insight into the “administrative capital” NGOs/CSOs gain through repetitive experiences. Second, I show how these control mechanisms shape their organizational decisions and orientate their work.

Paper short abstract:

This case study of CSO collaborations in an East African country shows how an international CSO consortia’s collaboration challenges were reproduced at country level, obstructing the consortium’s aim to build locally owned climate justice programs. It also proposes how to address these challenges.

Paper long abstract:

Spurred by debates around decolonisation, Southern leadership and local ownership gain traction in designing CSO administered development programs. However, as donor funding is commonly allocated to international CSO consortia, upon approval of the program, the consortium constituents simultaneously need to create an effectively collaborating consortium, and also facilitate a leading role for country-level CSOs. In a case study of an international consortium working on climate justice, we explore the implications of this twin challenge as it played out over the first year of program implementation in an East-African country. Based on 20 interviews with consortium members and country partners, document analysis, participation in meetings and participant observation, the paper shows how typical challenges in consortium collaborations were not only reproduced at country level, but complicated further the development of a locally-led climate justice programme. Collaborations were primarily set up around single consortium partners working from diverse organizational aims and approaches, resulting in a hub-and-spokes model of collaboration. This limited partners to connect with other partner organizations, and overlooked important starting points partner organizations already created regarding collaborations. At the same time, the program offered many opportunities for meaningful bridging that could advance movement building, learning and engaging opportunities for advancing climate justice at country level. The paper concludes that consortium-led program facing similar conditions can meaningfully address these by incorporating in program development critical factors for coalition formation identified in social movement literature, as confirmed by our findings. This can help programmes to both overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities.

Paper short abstract:

What explains the variations in the effectiveness of CSOs in demanding transparency and accountability from duty bearers across different extractives? the paper aims to explain the variations in CSOs’ success in compelling duty bearers to be accountable in governing different forms of extractives.

Paper long abstract:

The role of CSOs/NGOs has received considerable attention in contemporary literature. However, insufficient knowledge exists on the conditions that explain the variations in the tactics, success or otherwise of CSOs in their pursuits not only across space but also, across different sectors. Contributing to this field of knowledge, the paper seeks to explain the varied outcomes of CSOs pursuits across different sectors and why. Thus, insights are drawn from the role of the civil society community in ensuring duty bearers/ruling elites enforce transparency and accountability mechanisms in Ghana’s mining and hydrocarbon sectors. Particularly, an explanation of the varied impact of CSOs in the mining and hydrocarbon sectors is offered. The paper argues that the strategies pursued by CSOs and the consequence of their outcomes are shaped by a combination of the nature of the sector’s domain in which they operate and the nature of the country’s political settlement. Given the differences in the dynamics of each sector and the variations in the nature of political settlement across countries, the pursuits of CSOs will be disparate. Beyond the heuristic contribution of the piece, the findings of the study will enhance the workings of CSOs and actors alike in their pursuits.

Paper short abstract:

l would like to bring discussions on how environmental advocacy unfolds in settings where natural resource extraction is largely informal or at least semi-formal. In such contexts local communities and CSOs become entangled in the trade-offs between economic gains and environmental degradation.

Paper long abstract:

Civil society organisations (CSOs) in developing countries play a crucial role as intermediaries between local citizens, the state, and global institutions concerned with governance and development. The study raises questions about the opportunities and constraints that communities and CSOs face in advocating for sustainable mining activities in a context of informal mining sector where responsibility for environmental harm is obscured. In Zimbabwe the increased politicisation of the mining sector and the rural areas in particular, resilience to climate challenges and the role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) is shrinking further. The paper argues that CSOs in Zimbabwe now have to address increasing environmental concerns arising from (informal) small-scale mining which has become an alternative source of livelihoods for many citizens. Extensive mining activities pose threats to agricultural lands and waterbodies, thus endangering biodiversity. At the same time, the state is banking on foreign currency revenues generated by small-scale miners to address the economic crisis. This means that in response to the crisis CSOs must navigate the vested interests of the state, citizens’ urgent livelihood needs and environmental concerns. Given their experience of advocacy in a challenging context, Zimbabwean CSOs provide a fertile ground for research to learn about evolving advocacy strategies in a dynamic context of a state in crisis, urgent livelihoods needs and threats to the environment. The paper analyses the new challenges encountered in navigating the triple pressures of a state in crisis, supporting rural livelihoods in the face of the Covid pandemic and protecting the environment.

Paper short abstract:

As climate change affects food security in Mozambique efforts are made to support agroecological food production. This paper explores the knowledges, their origin and valorization, that are used to inform these efforts.

Paper long abstract:

Climate change causes extreme weather conditions in Mozambique. These are drastic to food production that is mainly in the hands of female smallholder farmers. To combat the situation various international and local organizations support agroecological food production, women’s access to land and their inclusion in decision making through the channels of international development co-operation.

However, through these channels the logics, ideals, norms, and practices of the organizational field of development cooperation enter the local context and influence, for example, the kinds of knowledge that are valued and generated. There is the pressure to produce monitoring information for accountability purposes and to showcase impact stories. But what are the information needs of the local producers and do they get satisfied?

This paper proposes a research project that asks what kind of knowledge and whose knowledge counts in the interface of development cooperation and the local Mozambican context? What makes knowledge relevant and for whom? How are different kinds of knowledges used and for what purpose?

The data for this study will be collected as part of a transdisciplinary, participatory process with a Finnish environmental NGO and its local partners in Mozambique that tests an idea of transforming monitoring and evaluation into a continuous learning process that engages with multiple knowledges with a futures orientation.

Paper short abstract:

This research investigates the effects of military expenditures on different indicators of economic development in selected countries in the MENAT region. The study will conduct empirical analysis using a panel cointegration framework, focusing on the implications of political instability.

Paper long abstract:

The association between military expenditure and economic development is one of the major elements of the sustainable development literature. It is important to mention that the potential effect of military expenditures on economic development will depend on various factors such as the size and nature of the expenditure, the overall economic environment, the level of development of the country, and the other political and social factors. Therefore, concentrating on the role that might played by political stability variables might add a great deal to both theoretical and empirical investigation on this topic.

It is still vital topic to relate the relationship between military spending and economic development in the region of MENAT, where a stable political environment is typically necessary for sustained economic growth, and military spending can play a role in promoting stability. For example, in countries where the military is used to maintain stability and security, higher levels of military spending can lead to greater stability, which in turn can support economic growth. Additionally, military spending can divert resources away from other important areas, such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure, which can negatively impact the overall economy. Therefore, it is important to consider political stability indicators when analyzing the relationship between military spending and economic development. The relationship is likely to be complex and context-specific, and a careful examination of the political and economic environment is required.