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Organizational learning in non‐governmental organizations: What have we learned?
Abstract
Learning is considered to be an essential component of organizational effectiveness in all sectors—private, public and non-governmental. All NGOs aspire to be ‘learning organizations’, yet few have reflected systematically on the success in this regard. This article summarizes the experience to date of international NGOs that have prioritized learning as an objective, drawing out areas of both success and failure, and reflecting on whether there are any features that distinguish learning in NGOs from learning in other types of organization. A simple typology and set of tests of NGO-learning are presented, along with a series of challenges for the future. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Public Admin. Dev. Vol. 17: 235–250 (1997).No. of Figures: 0. No. of Tables: 0. No. of Refs: 48
... Nevertheless, translating these conclusions into practice, i.e., changing the modus operandi and making learning as one of the key strategies of an organisation is not straightforward, especially given the financing architecture that supports development NGOs, which has evolved to become primarily project-and even results-based. Making space for learning is difficult to protect when this is seen as separate and secondary to 'real work', i.e., service delivery (Edwards 1997). Recent work emphasises similar links between learning, innovation, and impact. ...
... The central role of learning and collaboration in the respondents' innovation views is not only highlighted by the innovation keywords exercise represented in the world cloud reproduced in Figure 2. These findings are, on the one hand, in line with the existing literature on learning, innovation, and development NGOs (Seelos, Mair 2017;Ramalingam, Scriven, Foley 2009;Edwards, 1997). On the other hand, they are only natural, if we consider that one of the key roles of NGO/CSO platforms is to foster connections, promote exchanges, peer-learning, and collaboration within their member networks and with other civil society actors. ...
... This comes across very strongly in the definitions explored in the survey and interviews, but also in paradigm innovations identified by the surveyed platforms, such as "Pacto pela Democracia" in Brazil and the Citizen Manifesto in Uganda. The ideas of learning and collaboration are seen as almost integral to the innovation process, in line with existing literature on learning, innovation, and development NGOs (e.g., Seelos, Mair 2017;Britton, 1998;Edwards, 1997). The most vulnerable populations and the voiceless stand in the centre of innovation efforts towards more democratic development processes. ...
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are still in the side-lines of the emerging literature on innovation in international development cooperation. Nevertheless, the topic has been gaining prominence since the 2000s, accompanying the wider transformation of the development cooperation field. This paper presents a) a review of recent literature on the topic, to establish the theoretical background of the empirical research; and b) the results of a mixed methods research that involved a broad geographic sample of 20 NGO national co-ordinating bodies through an online survey and semi-structured interviews. The goal was to map and analyse innovation perspectives, culture, and practices in these organisations, understand their relationship with mainstream views of innovation in the field and uncover their potential to promote inclusive innovation. Results suggest that these actors approach innovation from a social innovation lens that is grounded in social theory, presenting potential to promote inclusive innovation practices. The paper also highlights the key role of information and communications technologies, as well as digital tools, as both a reason to innovate and enablers of innovation in these organisations.
... A plethora of books on the theme have been published, including 150 in one year! (Edwards 1997). 33 Unfortunately, the breadth of the literature is not always matched by depth and clarity. ...
... It is critical for NGOs to establish a learning posture and commitment. Edwards (1997) provides a sweeping overview of the integral role that learning must play in the life of the NGO: ...
... a. An activist culture Edwards (1997) says it succinctly: -Activist cultures see learning as a luxury‖ (238; Taylor 2002,352). This activism is often written into the DNA of the NGO, as they were often birthed in the context of an overwhelming need that required an immediate response. ...
... NGOs have long played an important role in delivering development assistance (Edwards, 1997(Edwards, , 1999. Their increased popularity as a mechanism for distributing development assistance originates from the early 1990s, largely for the following five reasons: ...
... Thirdly, INGOs are believed to be more in touch with the real needs of ordinary people, and better structured to deliver services at the grassroots level (Edwards, 1997(Edwards, , 1999. ...
... Nevertheless, the increased reliance on national and international NGOs is not without controversy (Edwards, 1997(Edwards, , 1999 Therefore, in operating outside the national policy framework, NGO development initiatives have often blossomed and died (Chapman and Dykstra, 2006). ...
... Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have long played an important role in delivering development assistance (Edwards 1997(Edwards , 1999. However, their increased popularity as a mechanism for distributing development assistance gained popularity since the early 1990s, largely for five reasons. ...
... Third, NGOs were viewed as being more in touch with the real needs of citizens and better structured to deliver services at the grass-roots level (Bies, Moore & DeJaeghere 2000;Edwards 1997Edwards , 1999Aga Khan Foundation 1995). NGOs could often use new funds to build on activities and structures that they already had in place. ...
... The increased reliance on national and international NGOs is not without controversy (Edwards 1997(Edwards , 1999. For all the advantages, channeling development assistance funds through NGOs carries some risks. ...
The United States provides substantial amounts of development assistance to low-and middle-income countries, much of it administered by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). While the motives are complex, reasons include the desire to provide humanitarian relief, promote economic and social development, encourage political values and practices compatible with those of the U.S, and build international goodwill toward the U.S. International assistance agencies, such as USAID, have tended to utilize three mechanisms for allocating development assistance funds: problem oriented funding, sector-oriented project funding, and program funding. Of these, USAID has relied most heavily on project assistance, even at a time that many other donors are emphasizing program assistance. In awarding project assistance, USAID staff have choices about the mechanisms through which project funds can be converted into on-the-ground development activities, choices that can shape the eventual impact and effectiveness of the assistance. This paper examines the advantages and challenges associated with using these different mechanisms, with particular attention to aid to education, and suggests implications for the evaluation of development assistance activities.
... NGOS are complex and bureaucratic organizations that often have a top-down model for management and accountability within the organization (Armstrong, 2006;Charlton & May, 1995;Clarke, 1998;and, Dichter, 1999). As the world becomes more complex and interconnected couple with the rise of failed states and the global economic crisis, NGOs are taking on roles that were initially the roles of governments (Dichter, 1999, Florini, 2000Edwards, 1997;Edwards & Hulme, 1999;Florini, 2000;Ossewaarde, Nijhof & Heyse;and Tandon, 1996 ). ...
... She notes that the transformative nature of NGOs is problematic "when NGOs as agents are working through multiple principals at the same time" (Ohanyan, 2008 p.17). Accountability has been and continues to be a problem given the variety of stakeholders for social mission organizations (Covey, 1995;Edwards, 1997;Florini, 2000;and Lindenberg & Bryant, 2001). ...
... Nonprofit organizations are distinguished from private-sector organizations in that their goal is 'something other than to provide a profit for its owners,' which is generally understood to be a social mission" (Phills, 2005, p.20). In order to be considered legitimate in the host country, NGOs must be open to learning as well as trying to serve the organization's key mission (Edwards, 1997). ...
... Here, learning is the result of the continuous social interaction between the actors involved in the process. This interaction allows a better understanding of each other's positions and re-evaluating one's own (see, for example, Edwards 1997;Haas 2000;Eising 2002). Where learning is based on such endogenous experience -i.e. ...
... Where learning is based on such endogenous experience -i.e. learning takes place 'within domains' (Grin & Loeber 2007: 202-210) -it is often referred to as social or organisational learning (Dovey 1997;Edwards 1997;Tsang 1997;Easterby-Smith et al. 1998;Romme & van Witteloostuijn 1999;Bates & Khasawneh 2005). On the other hand, experiences can originate exogenously with regard to the context in which learning takes place. ...
This thesis examines the strategic use of lessons drawn from past experiences during post-agreement climate finance negotiations. Existing theories and empirical studies of learning and lesson-drawing tend to disregard aspects of political contestation and power. Their research agenda aims to find alternative explanations for policy change, which creates a blind spot for learning in politically charged contexts. Approaches that do take power seriously emphasise the symbolic or rationalising effects of lessons. This thesis proposes a different mechanism. In its theoretical framework, it demonstrates how lesson-drawing and power can be reconciled within arguing-and-bargaining theory, which requires rethinking how lessons fit into the framework conceptually. The Green Climate Fund (GCF), an institution under the umbrella of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, serves as a case study. Formally established in 2010, the GCF allocates funding for climate adaptation and mitigation measures in developing countries. While envisioned to induce a paradigm shift in global economic development pathways, it is not the first of its kind. Other development and climate finance institutions are frequently referenced during the negotiations at the Fund. Based on an in-depth qualitative analysis of video recordings of four negotiation rounds, the thesis finds that post-agreement climate negotiations, while equally politically charged, take place under different circumstances than the annual global climate summits. The fact that an initial agreement has already been signed preempts effective bargaining using conventional tactics, such as threat of withdrawal, as those would lack the necessary credibility. In this light, delegates adjust the mode of negotiating, but without changing the underlying logic of interaction. On the contrary, lesson-drawing not only reflects that adjustment, but becomes itself a vehicle for strategic action. These findings have further implications for larger debates in International Relations, particularly regarding the role of structural assets in negotiations.
... Very few of these organizational studies investigate the operations and information needs of field articulation work (Lindenberg & Bryant, 2001;Fiori, Espada, Field, & Dickers, 2016). Yet, priding themselves as "learning" organizations, 20 humanitarians fervently pilot and push outside innovations from for-profit industry and academia-and can be found feverishly "reorging 21 " every few years-even as these different organizational models repeatedly fail to achieve their intended benefit (Edwards, 1997;Lindenberg & Bryant, 2001). ...
... 20 The "learning" approach is a staple in the development and social learning literature (Korten, 1980) that recognizes change in society happens most sustainably via bottom-up learning (Rogers, 1962). This evolved into "organizational learning" a management practice to be applied to the organization and promoted by popular non-profit writers like (Senge, 1992(Senge, -2010 and (Drucker, 2009) as an organization continually adapting to be what the management/customers/workers need it to be, which can tend to manifest itself as frequent reorganizing (or reorgs) (Edwards, 1997, Lindenberg & Bryant, 2001 21 reorganizing ...
Toward Better Design of Humanitarian ICT: A Social Agency-Centered Framework of Humanitarian Information Needs Based on a Grounded Study of Successful Red Cross/Red Crescent Practitioners Robin E. Mays Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Mark P. Haselkorn Department of Human-Centered Design and Engineering Meaningful and relevant design of humanitarian technology must be informed by a deeper understanding of information practices found within successful humanitarian fieldwork. Existing largely in geographic isolation and through implicit expertise, these practices have yet to be adequately articulated. This research reveals hidden practices of peer-identified, successful International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement (RCRC) practitioners in order to inform more effective design of humanitarian information and communication technology (ICT). The results draw from the qualitative analysis of 116 practitioner interviews and ethnographic observations across six countries and multiple contexts. From their stories of success and failure, I distill a grounded theory of information practices for successful outcomes within humanitarian resilience work. This paper presents a theoretical framework for depicting relevant information needs of field-level practitioners, and how that information is accessed and applied within a "Wheel of Successful Practice." The outer wheel depicts (1) community trust, (2) community organization, (3) community agency, and (4) long-term impact as four, high-level, information essentials practitioners' identified they "Must-Have" for success. The inner wheels consist of 11 Success Factors and 30 Information-Driven Behaviors repeated across contexts for achieving those Must-Haves. These results uniquely identify (1) social agency as the place where critical information resides, and (2) community discourse and community-practitioner interactions for how that critical information is revealed. Thus, the Wheel of Successful Practice identifies that information needs reside within social interactions. My findings challenge technology developers and designers-in alignment with emerging trends in human-centered design and engineering-to innovate for greater participatory and sociomaterial methodologies to account for the exigencies of humanitarian values within the design humanitarian ICT.
... We propose that a good starting point would be increased knowledge dissemination at the local level. By regularly communicating the findings and results of the organization's programs and interventions, INGOs begin to foster a culture of organizational learning based on the evidence collected on the ground (Edwards, 1997). Consequently, this can help staff members and volunteers begin the process of structured learning from experience, so that they are able to connect information and experience and turn it into knowledge and action (Edwards, 1997). ...
... By regularly communicating the findings and results of the organization's programs and interventions, INGOs begin to foster a culture of organizational learning based on the evidence collected on the ground (Edwards, 1997). Consequently, this can help staff members and volunteers begin the process of structured learning from experience, so that they are able to connect information and experience and turn it into knowledge and action (Edwards, 1997). As staff members and volunteers begin to understand and see the value of evaluation and assessment, they will be more likely to contribute to the process. ...
In the twenty-first century, the call for International Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs) to demonstrate their effectiveness has become popularized. This has given rise to scholarly attention examining the roles of program evaluation and impact assessment in assisting INGOs in demonstrating their effectiveness. While previous studies suggest that INGOs actively conduct program evaluation and impact assessment, this article explores the perspectives of two Canadian INGOs on how they understand, use, and experience evaluation and assessment as it relates to their work. Our study uncovers three continuing challenges: evaluation and assessment are largely descriptive and lack more sophisticated analyses; efforts to conduct evaluation and assessment are consolidated within organizations’ head offices, while staff members and volunteers are largely excluded; and evaluation and assessment remain rooted in the paradigm of quantifiable results, which do not truly reflect the nature of work being conducted on the ground.
Au vingt-et-unième siècle, on veut de plus en plus que les organisations non gouvernementales internationales (ONGI) démontrent leur efficacité. Ce désir a motivé les chercheurs à se pencher sur les évaluations de programme et les études d’impact pour voir dans quelle mesure celles-ci peuvent aider les ONGI à montrer qu’elles sont efficaces. Des études antérieures suggèrent que les ONGI mènent de manière concertée des évaluations de programme et des études d’impact. Cet article explore comment aujourd’hui deux ONGI canadiens comprennent, utilisent et vivent l’évaluation et la mesure de leur travail. Notre étude relève trois défis actuels : l’évaluation et la mesure tendent à être descriptives sans offrir d’analyses plus poussées; ce sont les sièges sociaux des organismes qui gèrent l’évaluation et la mesure en excluant ainsi bon nombre de fonctionnaires et volontaires; l’évaluation et la mesure se limitent au paradigme des résultats mesurables et par conséquent elles ne reflètent pas nécessairement le véritable travail mené sur le terrain.
... The existence of mechanisms for ongoing political exchange both within communities and between communities and policy-makers has been considered a key development indicator, and NGDOs key players in these processes (Brown, 1991;Madon and Sahay, 2002). Such roles depend crucially on epistemic virtues such as reputation, trust, integrity, which in tum depend on high standards of truthfulness, error recognition, openmindedness to new ideas and ability to learn (Chambers, 1994;Edwards, 1997;Edwards et aI., 1999;Heap, 2000). Typically third sector organisations have trust advantages over other organisations but they can be discredited by poor research (Heap, 2000) or come to be viewed with suspicion by the poor owing to their perceived wealth (Holloway, 1999) or closeness to government, business and funders (Pearce, 2000). ...
... Improving knowledge status in such cases does not mean just achieving internal conceptual, epistemic and informational development; it may mean a vast range of activities, including providing information to outsiders such as clients, the media or other NGDOs; facilitating dialogue in the local community or among development agencies; or bringing about conceptual shifts in policy-makers, the public or international agencies such as the World Bank. A number of writers have pointed out the limited successes actually achieved by NGDOs in influencing policy as opposed to carrying out projects (Edwards and Hulme, 1995;Edwards, 1997;Madon, 1999). Such activities themselves demand specialised knowledge and skills. ...
Non-governmental development organisations (NGDOs) are increasingly adopting knowledge-based roles such as lobbying, advocacy, policy formulation, research and dialogue facilitation. At the same time, they have on the one hand been criticised for knowledge errors and failures, and on the other been urged to adopt knowledge networking technologies. Building on earlier work which developed a three-dimensional model of knowledge based on contemporary epistemology and cognitive science, this paper develops a knowledge-based view of NGDO activity, arguing that there is evidence of a complex range knowledge roles, involving some very demanding informational, epistemic and conceptual challenges. The expertise, skills and resources required for effective knowledge work can be supported by networks and networking technology, but only if deficits as well as benefits are recognised and if informational, epistemic and conceptual capacities are developed alongside technical expertise.
... We propose that a good starting point would be increased knowledge dissemination at the local level. By regularly communicating the findings and results of the organization's programs and interventions, INGOs begin to foster a culture of organizational learning based on the evidence collected on the ground (Edwards, 1997). Consequently, this can help staff members and volunteers begin the process of structured learning from experience, so that they are able to connect information and experience and turn it into knowledge and action (Edwards, 1997). ...
... By regularly communicating the findings and results of the organization's programs and interventions, INGOs begin to foster a culture of organizational learning based on the evidence collected on the ground (Edwards, 1997). Consequently, this can help staff members and volunteers begin the process of structured learning from experience, so that they are able to connect information and experience and turn it into knowledge and action (Edwards, 1997). As staff members and volunteers begin to understand and see the value of evaluation and assessment, they will be more likely to contribute to the process. ...
... Following this logic, project learning must entail identification and correction of project errors. Existing studies, however, have argued that project learning is rather selective, mainly drawing on 'what works' whereas the information of 'what does not work' are rarely incorporated for project learning (Hulme 1987;Edwards, 1997;Berg, 2000). Hulme (1987) refers to this kind of learning practice as 'selective learning'. ...
... Failure on the other hand, takes the form of incompliance of stated objectives and organizational principles. Edwards (1997) cautions that selective learning may invoke a significant risk of repeating same mistakes or even exacerbating the extent and magnitude of problems. Such risk can be a matter of a grave concern not only for local populations who may be adversely affected by projects but also for development organizations. ...
This article aims to understand why development organizations tend to report project success rather than failure which blocks learning from project problems. Drawing on the case of a World Bank forestry project in Andhra Pradesh, India, the article analyses different interlinked sites of project learning activities facilitated by monitoring & evaluation, and investigates the way in which project information is used for project reporting. The results point to multi-layered blockages to project learning from problems. These include formats of indicators and project visits; the criteria used for project fund disbursement and staff career promotion within recipient governments and development organizations; and asymmetrical power relations, collusion and collaboration among project actors. The article calls for a critical need to restructure the existing organizational incentive structures within recipient governments and development organizations to cultivate a culture of learning from problems.
... Refere-se a novos modelos mentais subjacentes às práticas organizacionais. Britton 1998;Edwards 1997;Fowler 1997;Roper e Pettit 2002). ...
Este estudo centra-se na inovação no contexto da Cooperação Internacional
para o Desenvolvimento (CID) – inovação para o desenvolvimento – a partir das perspetivas das Organizações Não-governamentais de Desenvolvimento (ONGD) portuguesas. Diante da diversidade de interpretações que o
conceito de inovação pode apresentar, qualquer análise sobre o tema deve
começar por identificar as perspetivas e práticas do(s) ator(es) em análise.
Desta forma, a análise é guiada pelas perguntas: o que significa inovação
para as ONGD portuguesas? Que prioridade dão à inovação? Que obstáculos enfrentam? Que tipos de inovação desenvolvem e implementam? Que
razões levam as ONGD portuguesas a querer (ou a não querer) inovar?
Sendo este o primeiro estudo alargado sobre inovação nas ONGD portuguesas, procurou-se fazer um mapeamento da cultura, capacidade, estruturas
de apoio à inovação existentes nas ONGD portuguesas e também identificar
os obstáculos/constrangimentos à inovação nestas organizações. O estudo
foi realizado através de um inquérito por questionário online, que obteve
respostas de 46 organizações no período de 9 a 26 de novembro de 2021.
A amostra incluiu organizações com uma grande variedade de estruturas
organizacionais, de acordo com a diversidade do universo de 163 ONGD
portuguesas.
Os resultados do inquérito mostram que a inovação está muito presente na
agenda, estratégias e prioridades das ONGD inquiridas: para a grande maioria (88%) é uma prioridade “Alta” ou “Muito Alta” no âmbito do trabalho que
desenvolvem. Os inquiridos mostram perspetivas amplas e multifacetadas
na definição de inovação. No entanto, para as ONGD que responderam ao
inquérito, a inovação é vista principalmente como uma ferramenta para melhorar processos, aumentar a eficiência e o impacto do seu trabalho. Inovações potencialmente disruptivas capazes de levar à mudança sistémica são
pouco frequentes nos exemplos identificados. Além disso, embora se considerem inovadoras, as ONGD inquiridas também identificam obstáculos importantes à inovação, nomeadamente ao nível do financiamento e recursos
12
humanos disponíveis – 73% afirmam não ter nenhum tipo de orçamento
disponível para inovação.
O estudo termina com um conjunto de reflexões e identifica caminhos possíveis para ajudar a construir um contexto mais propício à inovação para o
desenvolvimento, em particular nas ONGD portuguesas. É importante que a
inovação seja vista e abordada enquanto uma abordagem de construção de
mudança social e sistémica, pelo que é fundamental apostar nas parcerias e
no trabalho conjunto. Entre os caminhos possíveis apresentados destaca-se
a criação de um grupo de trabalho multi-ator dedicado ao tema, a criação
de um fundo para financiar projetos de inovação para o desenvolvimento e
a aposta na formação e capacitação de colaboradores de ONGD.
... As these organisations face ever growing challenges of legitimacy, accountability, and vulnerable dependence on government funding, their perceived role as precursors of alternative development models, natural social innovators and catalysts of international solidarity movements is increasingly being questioned (Banks et al., 2015). Innovation was a regular topic in a body of research on learning in development NGOs, which arose in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Britton, 1998;Edwards, 1997;Fowler, 1997;Roper & Pettit, 2002). In fact, the ability to provide alternative approaches to the mainstream development policies and practices has been seen by donors and governments as a distinct feature of these organisations (Bebbington et al., 2007), in line with the view of innovation in development cooperation as social innovation. ...
This chapter argues that revisiting and revitalizing humanitarian advocacy is especially pertinent in view of three current changes in humanitarian action that can be summarized as a change towards resilience humanitarianism (Hilhorst, 2018). This comprises interwoven shifts that together de-centre classic humanitarian action: a broadening of service providers especially at national and local levels; more attention to the agency and roles of affected communities; and a focus on the nexus between humanitarian action, development and peacebuilding. It is also pertinent in view of changing practices in advocacy. First, there is a nascent practice of advocacy directed at humanitarian actors to influence their definition of who is eligible for aid and their course of action. Second, there has been an unfolding practice of humanitarian advocacy in relation to the solidarity crisis in relation to refugees and migrants in Europe. This comprises broader sets of actors, ranging from refugees, community-based initiatives, new groups of volunteer humanitarians and humanitarian actors; their advocacy is broader in scope with a focus on human rights more broadly. The chapter therefore develops a research agenda that can capture a large diversity of advocacy activities by affected communities, civil society actors, and (international) humanitarian agencies. We sketch this research agenda from five angles, providing illustrations and examples of potential questions.
... As these organisations face ever growing challenges of legitimacy, accountability, and vulnerable dependence on government funding, their perceived role as precursors of alternative development models, natural social innovators and catalysts of international solidarity movements is increasingly being questioned (Banks et al., 2015). Innovation was a regular topic in a body of research on learning in development NGOs, which arose in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Britton, 1998;Edwards, 1997;Fowler, 1997;Roper & Pettit, 2002). In fact, the ability to provide alternative approaches to the mainstream development policies and practices has been seen by donors and governments as a distinct feature of these organisations (Bebbington et al., 2007), in line with the view of innovation in development cooperation as social innovation. ...
A review of future research on civil society for Africa.
... As these organisations face ever growing challenges of legitimacy, accountability, and vulnerable dependence on government funding, their perceived role as precursors of alternative development models, natural social innovators and catalysts of international solidarity movements is increasingly being questioned (Banks et al., 2015). Innovation was a regular topic in a body of research on learning in development NGOs, which arose in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Britton, 1998;Edwards, 1997;Fowler, 1997;Roper & Pettit, 2002). In fact, the ability to provide alternative approaches to the mainstream development policies and practices has been seen by donors and governments as a distinct feature of these organisations (Bebbington et al., 2007), in line with the view of innovation in development cooperation as social innovation. ...
A multi-disciplinary, international perspective on a future agenda for those interested in research on civil society.
... According to these theories, commitment and adherence to the recommended codes of conduct should result in better performing and more effective organizations because compliance minimizes financial and other risk factors and contributes to consistency and stability in operation (Ebrahim, 2010;Geer et al., 2008;Ostrower, 2007). Organizational learning is frequently associated with organizational effectiveness because it helps managers assess their strengths and weaknesses, understand environmental changes, develop staff and resources, and generate knowledge that improves the performance of an organization (Drucker, 1964;Edwards, 1997;Edwards & Hulme, 1996;Letts et al., 1999). ...
As the charitable sector continues to grow, so do concerns over its accountability. Calls for greater accountability for nonprofits have led to not only an increase in government oversight activities, but also the proliferation of accountability standards within nonprofit communities as the sector has been determined to address the issue through self-regulation efforts. Given the pervasiveness of the standards movement, the purpose of this study is to evaluate whether and to what extent accountability reforms matter in improving organizational performance. Various theories (e.g., scientific management and organizational learning theories; resource dependence theory and institutional isomorphism) are explored to understand the nature of the accountability-performance relationship. Analysis of Charity Navigator data (N=943) indicates that accountability measures are positively associated with financial performance (more efficient in using resources, for example). Reviewing CEOs’ compensation packages is one of the individual accountability features that is particularly impactful in improving performance. Additionally, our findings shed light on the expansive scope of the standards movement, highlighting the importance of further investigating the connection between accountability and organizational performance beyond finance.
... The Paris Declaration (2005) as an international agreement has set down key processes including alignment and harmonization for all development actors including NGOs to collectively tackle the Millennium Development Goals (2010) and the Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations, 2020). Critics of branding in the NGO world (for example Edwards, 1997;Levine, 2009) have argued that brands are fundamentally self-promoting, distracting individual NGOs from the harmonized, collective objectives of aid and development. On a deeper level, socio-political scholars (Ossewaarde et al., 2008;Keating and Thrandarottir, 2016) have argued that the rational Accountability Agenda represents only one aspect of NGO legitimacy and a holistic legitimacy framework is needed to help reverse any NGO crisis in trustworthiness. ...
Brands are increasingly part of how international aid and development Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) operate, but there are challenges in aligning NGO brand value across diverse stakeholders. This research explores how key decision makers within one major NGO – Oxfam—construct the challenges of brand value alignment, using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology. Three master-themes emerge demonstrating key tensions around aligning NGOs brand value: the difficulty of balancing competing stakeholder needs, the internal cultural conflict around branding, and the existential dilemma underlying the societal effectiveness of NGOs. This paper proposes that NGOs can better navigate these intra—brand tensions using Brand-as-Purpose as an organizing principle; framing shared identity, creating a dynamic container for stakeholder interests and cultivating Moral Capital strongly anchored in increasing recipient wellbeing. This paper is one of the first pieces of research which explores how NGOs make sense of aligning brand value in the context of complex stakeholder cultures and recipient sovereignty. Brand-as Purpose is put forward as an organizing principle to help balance three key tensions around brand value alignment. This paper proposes that Moral Capital anchored in recipient wellbeing underpins NGO brand value and societal legitimacy and needs to be paramount in how NGO’s establish and legitimize their brands.
... While recent years have seen attempts to somewhat remedy this sad irony of exclusion of beneficiaries, such as through the encouraged acknowledgement of local experience and interests as a basis for bottom-up project assessment (Dietz & Zanen, 2009;Pouw et al., 2017), development organisations still often conduct their own evaluation. Such control over the process allows organisations to shape the narrative in a manner that portrays them in a positive light and reflects their interests (Edwards, 1997;Mosse, 2005). In fact, divergences of project perspectives may vary along multiple stakeholder groups, reminding us that even spectacular development failures benefit some, such as gatekeepers and various elites, not to mention the 'successful' employment of numerous people along the production chain during the project's construction, maintenance, and dismantlement (for example, Whyte, Babiiha, Mukyala, & Meinert, 2014). ...
Recent years have seen a growing interest in the long-term implications, resonance, and reverberation of international development interventions. Going beyond projects’ official blueprints and stated objectives, scholars and development practitioners alike increasingly approach such interventions as living, complex, and non-linear processes that can have far-reaching and unexpected consequences. In this article, I offer a conceptual guide—reinforced by methodological suggestions—for studying the representational and material ‘afterlives’ of development interventions in the global South, which overflow projects’ official timelines and life cycles. Inspired by phenomenological ideas and by the ‘material turn’ in anthropology, as well as by work on temporality and spatiality, I recognize target populations as repositories of non-hegemonic knowledge, skill, and agency, who creatively re-appropriate development’s remains and legacies. While such local perspectives may have been kept under relative control throughout the project itself, they come to the fore upon the project’s termination, as formal scripts loosen their grip. The result is a cumulative, site-specific, and grassroots-based ethnographical approach aimed at studying post-intervention sites in their totality, with emphasis on the intertwinement of the palimpsest-like multilayers of interventions.
... Acknowledging the profit-driven orientation of early thinking in the private sector, they also suggest that earlier work in the field of international development, with its focus on participation and power, learning from change, and institutional capacity building "anticipates" many aspects of organisational learning theory. Edwards (1997), for instance, highlights four themes that demonstrate the importance of organisational learning as a part of formalised NGO practice in development: (i) continuous learning serving to manage the complex and context specific nature of development challenges; (ii) reflexivity enabling practitioners to derive learning from current practice and inform future work; (iii) the inevitable and potentially instructive failures in development practice creating a learning imperative; and (iv) learning from structured inquiry helping development organisations distinguish between value-based beliefs and knowledge. ...
Increasingly, development initiatives are delivered through consortia, which in some cases include a formal "learning partner" role. Who are learning partners and what is their role? What is their potential comparative advantage in different knowledge and learning processes? Drawing on traditions of knowledge management and organisational learning, and documents on 11 learning partner roles, this article suggests that they may contribute more to heterogenous groups, at a programme-wide rather than project level, and in addressing inter-organisational barriers to knowledge sharing and use. The article offers a systematic approach and questions to guide future inquiry into their roles and effectiveness in practice.
... In the presentation, the accountability, developmental, and knowledge creation motivations behind evaluation were discussed (Chelimsky & Shadish, 1997), followed by a presentation of the idea of four generations of evaluation: measurement, description, judgment, and negotiation (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). The emergence of participatory modes of evaluation in development cooperation was emphasized (Chambers, 2008), and the particular challenges in NGOs, including the culture of activism, strong value base, and learning-by-doing rather than reflecting, were presented (Edwards, 1997). Furthermore, we introduced the methodological dilemmas of constructing causal relationships, struggling with attribution, ideas of contribution analysis (Mayne, 2001), as well as the emerging trend of program theory evaluation (Chen, 1990) in development cooperation. ...
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in international development struggle between being actors in the mainstream or representatives of alternatives to it. However, many NGOs all over the world align with the mainstream and are increasingly similar to each other. This homogenization results from institutional isomorphism, which is affected by their aspirations to be legitimate vis-á-vis the international field. Consultancies are among the main practices to promote normative isomorphism, but little is known about their micro-level dynamics. Drawing on the notion of program mechanisms in realistic evaluation, we scrutinize how external facilitators in organizational development processes enable normative isomorphism. As a result of analysis of interventions in three Finnish development NGOs, we identify program mechanisms of convincing, embedding, and consolidating. Our findings show how organizational development activities contribute to the direction of change toward normative isomorphism and argue that a detailed analysis of intervention mechanisms would be useful for self-reflection in any field of activity.
... Bage (2012) argues that it is a better approach for non-profit organizations to compete by putting emphasis on differences from the other organizations instead of competing aggressively. Edwards (1997) indicated that with increasing competition, the funders who could criticize their own foundation and wanted a transparent and accountable foundation would replace the loyal funders who had limited knowledge and gave importance to ideological popularity in the past. In order to sustain the existence of their organizations, leaders of civil society organizations have to meet the expectations of the funders related with accountability and performance (James et al. 2005). ...
This study aims to investigate how and at what level civil society organizations fulfill strategic leadership implementations. The scope of the study involves Turkish Charities that have international operations under the name of civil society organizations. We have collected the data from the interviews of the charity managers, and we have preferred using the qualitative method. We have analyzed the data with descriptive analysis technique. As a result of the study, we have found out that the charities operating internationally under the name of civil society organizations have fulfilled strategic leadership implementations effectively, in identifying and developing the core competences, forming a sustainable and effective organizational culture, and controlling the strategic activities in a balanced way. On the other hand, we have determined that these organizations cannot implement strategic leadership effectively in identifying the strategic intent of the organization, developing human capital and emphasizing ethical practices in organizational culture. We have also derived from the study that the Turkish charities do not have planned strategic leadership implementations, and the managers have benefitted from strategic leadership implementations depending on the conditions which they are in.
... Ebrahim (2005) notes that international donors have been reluctant to pay for the overhead costs supporting field level learning and thus limiting the organizational capacity building of the NGOs. Also Ebrahim (2005) quotes Edwards (2002) stating that without experiential learning of field workers the learning in other layers within NGOs will also be defective. ...
The 2011 famine in the Horn of Africa resulted in the death of many thousands of people. According to the report A Dangerous Delay, (2012) jointly published by Oxfam and Save the Children, the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) attempting to mitigate the emergency responded too slowly. The report states that NGOs had access to accurate information about the growing crisis provided by the early warning systems (EWS). Yet the NGOs responded too slowly reducing the effectiveness of their interventions. Issues of inadequate financial and organizational capacity and a lack of co-operation between NGOs contributed to the slow response. We argue that resource dependency underscored many of the issues faced by the NGOs.
... Cette autoréflexion peut amener des ONG à revoir leurs stratégies ou leurs modes opératoires. L'apprentissage et la transmission permettent également d'établir les connections entre organisations et de favoriser le travail en réseau(Edwards, 1997). L'intérêt pour les bailleurs consiste à repérer les spécificités et les atouts de chacune des organisations, l'intérêt pour les ONG étant de mieux connaître les différents intervenants des actions humanitaires. ...
This article aims to interrogate ourselves about the nature of relationship between governments and non governmental organizations including financial relationships. If economic theories can be a support to analyze these relationships in a particular perspective of asymmetry, they do not, however, highlight the interdependance between the different actors which are mostly based on relationships of trust. Then, we want to know how theses links are built. We rely on the work of Sako (1992) for the highlights because they explain that contractual relationships are embedded in social relations through three types of trust : contractual trust, competence trust and goodwill trust. Using a qualitative methodology, we illustrate the relationship between four NGOs (Médecins Sans Frontières, Médecins du Monde, Action Contre la Faim and Care France) and three governmental or intergovernmental actors (French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and United Nations High Commissioner Refugees (UNHCR). The main results show us, through a description of the expectations of the actors, that the asymmetric information are numerous and interdependencies between actors are fundamental to building a long-term relationship. It is built in active communication, and professionalism demonstrated in the willingness of actors to act beyond mere contractual relationship previously built.
... Evaluation is well understood in the research literature to have a number of different purposes; traditionally it served as a source of scientific information for organisations, a means of findings out if practices bring about their desired effects (Schwandt, 2005). Evaluation is also discussed in the literature as a way of holding human service organisations accountable for program outcomes (Chouinard, 2013), in order to foster the examination of implicit assumptions within organisations (Benjamin & Misra, 2006;Shaw & Falkner, 2006), and as a means to share and legitimise marginalised perspectives (Edwards, 2002;Hoole & Patterson, 2008). Evaluation can also serve as a process to directly change practice through engaging individuals in thinking through the implications of evaluation findings and applying evaluative thinking to their process of reflecting on human service practice (Schwandt, 2005). ...
While human service practice improvement is acknowledged as an important outcome of program evaluation, much evaluation is narrowly focused on accountability requirements. This type of evaluation often has limited use and relevance to human service practitioners. In exploring forms of evaluation that do have practice relevance, this article presents the experiences and perceptions of human service practitioners subject to evaluations that set out to foster learning. Across the cases participants expressed concerns about data quality and credibility, the relevance of evaluation data to the program context, the invasiveness of the evaluation, management of the process (particularly limited consultation with practitioners), and the lack of effective dissemination. These cases illustrate the challenges for evaluation to be useful to practice, and to foster meaningful improvements to services.
... De¤iflik STK'lar›n yaflad›¤› deneyimler ›fl›¤›nda ilerleyen literatür zamanla STK'lar›n ö¤renen örgütler haline gelmesinde etkili olan iç ve d›fl koflullar üzerinde yo¤unlaflmaya bafllam›flt›r. ‹lk olarak Edwards (1997) ta-raf›ndan yap›lan bu türden analizlerin üzerinde özellikle durduklar› konu bafll›klar› flu biçimde s›ralanabilir: ...
Non-governmental organisations have several mechanisms in place to facilitate learning with and from communities they intend to serve, however these do not always realise authentic participation and meaningful programmatic adjustments. In a participatory research in Central-Eastern Uganda we investigated how the community believes collective learning with NGOs could best be shaped. In this paper we present findings as well as reflections on the learning spaces that emerged in the research and how one could assess whether collective learning is a transformative practice. We offer a conceptual framework NGO practitioners can use to enrich their collective learning toolkit as well as to track and trace small shifts and changes happening in learning trajectories in order to lobby for resources to allow collective learning to happen more authentically, through increased presence and informal interaction with communities.
Celem artykułu jest określenie znaczenia relacji społecznych jako
wewnętrznego stymulatora innowacji oraz wagi potrzeby zachowania proporcji w dbałości o obszar materialny i społeczny organizacji. Jego metodyka oparta została na wykorzystaniu teoretycznego konstruktu równowagi organizacyjnej jako środka pozwalającego wyeksponować wyżej wymienione aspekty podjętego problemu badawczego. W opisie zagadnienia znalazły się określenia oparte na semantycznej sprzeczności Zabieg ten pozwolił zaakcentować specyfikę uwarunkowań innowacji.
Przedstawiony w artykule punkt widzenia prowadzi do wniosku,
iż czynnikiem determinującym zdolność do tworzenia innowacji jest elastyczność, zachowana także w sferze relacji społecznych w organizacji. (EN: The purpose of this article is to emphasize the importance of social relations as an internal stimulator of innovation, and the significance of the need to preserve the proportions in the care for physical and social are as of an organization. Its methodology is based on the use of the theoretical construct of organizational balance as a measure intended to highlight the above mentioned aspects of the research study. In the description of the problem there are terms based on a semantic contradiction. This procedure helped to stress the specificity of determinants of innovation. The point of view presented in the article leads to the conclusion that the determinant of the ability to innovate is flexibility, preserved also in the sphere of social relations within an organization.)
Este estudo nasce da necessidade sentida pela Plataforma Portuguesa das ONGD (PPONGD) de produzir conhecimento que permita às suas associadas uma análise mais informada sobre a transformação do sector da Cooperação Internacional para o Desenvolvimento (CID). Compreender a transformação em curso e os desafios que apresenta é fundamental para que depois a própria PPONGD e as suas associadas desenhem em conjunto os possíveis caminhos para o futuro, definindo a orientação da sua intervenção, as suas prioridades e as suas possibilidades.
1. Traçar a evolução da CID nos últimos 20 anos, refletindo e discutindo as transformações em curso num mundo multiplexo;
2. Discutir os desafios que estão a enfrentar os principais atores, públicos e privados, da CID perante a mudança em curso;
3. Contribuir para o debate sobre esta nova configuração da CID oferecendo linhas orientadoras baseadas na adaptação e inovação para se pensar e agir perante a complexidade, fragmentação e fragilidade do mundo multiplexo.
Este estudo procurou fazer uma revisão da literatura disponível, académica e cinzenta (relatórios de organizações da CID, artigos de blogues, debates e entrevistas online), e, quando possível, recorreu-se a entrevistas com profissionais de organizações internacionais – governamentais e não-governamentais. Na introdução do estudo contextualiza-se a CID num mundo em transformação e apresenta-se o quadro de reflexão que irá ser aplicado nas secções seguintes. Na Parte I, analisa-se a transformação da CID e da APD, a partir de três questões cruciais ao sector: quantidade, qualidade e legitimidade. Na Parte II, apresenta-se os desafios atuais dos principais atores, públicos e privados, “tradicionais” e “novos” da CID. Por fim, a Parte III apresenta algumas linhas orientadoras sobre complexidade, fragmentação e fragilidade, que podem ser ferramentas de análise úteis neste novo contexto. Na conclusão deixamos alguns pontos de reflexão para as organizações da sociedade civil. English version available.
Band 4 der renommierten Lehrbuchreihe, herausgegeben vom Deutschen Institut für Erwachsenenbildung (DIE), vermittelt die Vielfalt der Lerntheorien: von klassischen Konzepten der Lernforschung über aktuelle Modelle bis hin zu Theorien des Lernens in bestimmten Kontexten. Beispiele, Übungsaufgaben und kommentierte Literaturhinweise geben Anregungen zur individuellen Vertiefung.
Knowledge production and its possibilities and pitfalls in North–South research partnerships have gained increasing attention. The previous literature has identified certain pervasive challenges, and suggested a variety of ways to change partnerships, ranging from improvement of current collaboration activities to fundamental transformation of the hegemonic Eurocentric criteria for knowledge. Against this backdrop, we ask what kinds of learning can take place in research partnerships. We draw from two sources – an institutional approach and a classical categorization of learning proposed by Gregory Bateson – to develop a heuristic for analyzing institutional learning in North–South research partnerships. Moreover, based on previous empirical studies and our own experience with academic collaboration between Finnish and Tanzanian scholars, we reflect on the ways in which learning in its different forms shows in partnership practices that need to deal with different, intertwined institutional fields.
Viele Theorien der lernenden Organisation sind in die Jahre gekommen. Noch immer wird mit Konzepten gearbeitet, die ihre wesentlichen Grundlagen aus dem Behaviorismus, der Kybernetik oder dem Strukturfunktionalismus beziehen. Das – und die damit verbundene Tendenz zur Mechanisierung – sind vielfach dargestellt, modifiziert und kritisiert worden.
As the scope and influence of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have increased in recent decades, so has demand for the professional management of such organizations. Specialized, graduate-level education in nonprofit management is an outgrowth of this demand. With the environments, financial profiles, and intersectoral partnerships of NPOs becoming increasingly complex, nonprofit accountability, ethics, evaluation, and good governance have emerged as target areas for improving nonprofit management. Despite this targeted interest, how such topics are treated in the curricula of professional management training programs is virtually unexplored. Building on the work of O’Neill (1998), Mirabella and Wish (2001, 1999, 1998), and Wish and Mirabella (2000, 1998) on general trends in graduate nonprofit management education, this article explores the extent to which and how nonprofit accountability, ethics, evaluation, and governance are currently being addressed in U.S. nonprofit management education programs. The paper reports on findings from a survey of 153 colleges and universities and the analysis of documents including syllabi and course descriptions. Curricular inclusion of these topics is found to be associated with some institutional characteristics of the degree programs in which nonprofit management education is offered, including disciplinary setting and degree of specialization in nonprofit management.
Humanitarian aid funding has reached record highs. DAC donors are the leading supporters of humanitarian relief efforts but a growing number of non-DAC donors contribute substantial sums to humanitarian crises as well. The research provides analysis of the humanitarian funding mobilized for the Syrian refugee response in Lebanon in order to gain a better understanding of which donors are funding response efforts, how much, and where the funding is channeled. Governments are the primary funders of humanitarian assistance and NGOs a primary recipient of this funding. Spurred by New Public Management (NPM), a paradigm shift in public administration, which promotes the role of non-state actors and emphasizes results, donors have adopted performance measurement techniques within the humanitarian sector. Scrutiny over how funding is spent means that donors require NGOs to demonstrate the effectiveness of their interventions. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is a mechanism enabling NGOs to demonstrate results, to be held accountable to donors and beneficiaries, as well as provide an opportunity for organizational learning and improvement. An analysis of how M&E is incorporated into refugee response plans and the M&E tools being utilized is provided. Employing the principal-agent theory, this research examines the donor- NGO relationship and how it shapes the M&E practices of NGOs active in the Syrian refugee response in Lebanon by presenting the perspectives of both donors and NGOs. Major findings indicate that M&E is both an external and internal function and considered to be of primary importance in project implementation. Adoption of results-based management (RBM) among donors reveals a focus on project outcomes and impact yet resources available to NGOs for M&E are limited and measurement of higher-level results remains a challenge.
Purpose
The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between different dimensions of organizational learning capabilities (OLC) and levels of social innovation in social enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical strategy adopted is a cross-sectional study based on primary survey data. Following a survey of social enterprises in South Africa, statistically analysis is conducted using regression analyses to test the study hypotheses.
Findings
The findings show that the OLC dimensions of knowledge conversion, risk management, organizational dialogue, and participative decision-making all have a significant and positive relationship with social innovation.
Research limitations/implications
In many emerging economies the notion of organizational learning appears to have considerable potential relevance, particularly as African countries are moving towards knowledge-based economies. By focusing on OLC it is anticipated that social enterprises can configure and leverage the different factors in ways that enable them to overcome the constraints of the complex and unpredictable environments and increase their levels of social innovation.
Originality/value
The article provides a pioneering empirical investigation into the impact that OLC has on levels of social innovation, in an under-researched emerging market context.
Purpose
Despite the growth in research on conditions for successful learning by organizations and the introduction of expanding practices and approaches, a progressive and shared understanding of the link between organizational learning and governance is currently missing. This paper aims to take a closer look at organizational learning from a governance angle alongside an institution’s strategic and performance improvement goals.
Design/methodology/approach
This article takes a reflective approach through which the author’s observations and experiences in guiding organizational learning efforts are presented.
Findings
The nature of participation and advances in learning how to participate in organizational learning are noted as areas for further inquiry. Dimensions such as desirability, discipline, decision-making, democracy and dividend are presented as critical elements through which organizational learning as governance can be better understood. This novel view of organizational learning is suggested to require more thoughtful and sensitive empirical inquiry and theory development, particularly in contexts with a history of less-than-good governance.
Originality/value
This viewpoint makes an original contribution to the literature by introducing a new lens through which a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the practices, processes and performance of organizational learning can be further pursued. The article invites researchers, practitioners and leaders in organizations to take another look at how knowledge generation and use is governed. This paper also positions developing and less-developed contexts as ripe and necessary fields within which organizational learning capacities should be explored and strengthened.
This article offers reflections on an unexpected outcome of a study of the distinctive 'twinning' method employed during the last two decades by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to promote sustainable organizational and institutional capacity building in developing countries. Twinning arrangements have produced impressive benefits at the level of professional/technical upgrading, but results at the level of sustainable capacity building have generally been less satisfactory. Consequently, Sida have speculated whether the notion of organizational learning might provide a productive framework for twinning projects. The article reports on what appears to be the 'discovery' of an evolving 'learning organization' in apparently unlikely circumstances, and examines the factors which might account for this. The broader implications of the 'discovery' are discussed, and the possible relevance of the notion of tacit knowledge is suggested.
Amidst criticism of the concept of “the learning organisation” there is a perspective which is both critical of, and open to, innovative ways of developing the notion of a learning organisation. This article contributes to this perspective by examining the learning practices of a feminist NGO which operates across Southern Africa. The ways in which this NGO has interpreted the idea of a learning organisation and put it into practice are an example of a bottom-up approach which is informed by humanism. The findings of this qualitative study demonstrate both innovative possibilities for organisational learning and potential pitfalls.
An optimistic assessment of the prospects for a new international order - acting as a counter-blast to global pessimism. The text explains how the international system operates, the pressures it faces and the changes it must undergo, and offers concrete ideas to re-frame international relations, foreign aid and humanitarian intervention, without using jargon or simplistic judgements.
A PDF version of this book is available for free in open access via www.tandfebooks.com as well as the OAPEN Library platform, www.oapen.org. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license and is part of the OAPEN-UK research project. By examining how NGOs operate in Southern India in the early 2000's, this book discusses the challenges faced by small, local NGOs in the uncertain times of changing aid dynamics. The key findings focus on what empowerment means for Indian women, and how NGO accountability to these groups is an important part of the empowerment being realised. The notion of community empowerment, in which the 'solidarity' of a group can be a path to individual empowerment, is discussed, as well as analysing how empowerment can be a useful concept in development. Based on case studies of 15 NGOs as well as in-depth interviews with 80 women's self-help groups, the book highlights the key features of effective empowerment programs. The author uses innovative statistical analysis tools to show how a key factor in empowerment of marginalised women is the accountability relationship between themselves and the supporting NGO. The book goes on to discuss the ways that NGOs can work with communities in the future, and recognises the limitations of a donor-centric accountability framework. It provides a useful contribution to studies on South Asia as well as Gender and Development Studies.
Sustainable development is currently said to be an overriding development goal, also for development assistance. It requires new approaches that challenge not only economic rationality but also bureaucracies in ways that encourage political pluralism and the participation by civil society. As the gap between rich and poor increases and as the pressures on already strained systems constantly increase, the legitimacy of the development industry has increasingly been called into question. Development processes are nonlinear `open' systems that are extremely fluid, in which continuous learning is the sine qua non of being able to respond and intervene effectively. But superficial learning is common within the development industry, because real learning implies change and challenge, and many development failures are due to institutional rather than technical problems. Somehow, agencies and managers have largely allowed the indications of new and better approaches or opportunities go undetected. They seem not to understand that building people's capacity to learn and make connections becomes more important than accumulating information about lessons learned in the past, and that it is more important to target interesting (positive or negative) experiences for learning instead of `averaging' experience across the board. A revamping of policies is urgently needed. This paper tries to provoke a more productive discussion about development assistance which goes beyond pervasive blind faith and thoughtless mantras and discusses some ideological and structural foundations that have prevented the development industry from making progress towards sustainable development. It analyzes what can be done and asserts that it is clear that, if sustainable development is to be supported and realized, it has to be built on the consent and support of those whose lives are affected. Promoting sustainability and understanding and tackling the roots of poverty is a challenge that requires unlocking material resources and allowing people to take part in social, economic and environmental decision making. There is a need to draw on more diverse perspectives and to cut across sectoral boundaries to counter the monovalent approaches that have dominated mainstream development assistance practice. To that end, there is a dire need develop frameworks that can help actors understand the real meaning of sustainable development
The purpose of this paper is to review international literature and to contextualise it to South Africa's water services institutions.
On the basis of the literature evidence, the following questions will be discussed:
• How is “twinning” to be conceptualised and operationalised
• What are the expected outputs and outcomes of implementation of the twinning approach
• How to draw the lessons from international literature for implementing a twinning approach in South Africa's water services institutions and exploit the benefits thereof
While it is often not feasible to measure success of an approach in a scientific fashion, this paper shows that this less- researched
approach can improve integrated strategic objectives of developmental water services and co-operative governance in South African spheres of government in general and water services institutions in particular. Inductively, it is recommended
that the hands-on support on developmental water services in South Africa provides an opportunity to explore and exploit the twinning approach benefits and outcomes thereof. Such benefits and outcomes include, inter alia, addressing WSAs and WSIs capacity constraints for implementation of developmental water services reforms as per national targets described in the Water Services Strategic Framework (2003) and other pieces of legislation pursuant to post-Apartheid local government developmental agenda (LGDA). Water SA Vol.31 (3) 2005: pp.335-344
International development policies inevitably encounter a conflict in their implementation, representing the gap between universal goals and grass-roots practice. The aim of this study is to explore and understand the significance of this gap, and to apply Knowledge Management (KM) principles as a lens to suggest bridging solutions. The research focuses on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which are a sub-section of the civil society. The study is unique as it takes a Southern perspective - the views and experiences of policy-makers, practitioners and beneficiaries in Kenya form the basis of the empirical research.
U sers of services judge the quality of services according to two criteria: firstly whether services assist them to achieve the outcomes they aspire to and secondly whether services are delivered in ways which empower them. The argument is made that for services to meet the aspirations of customers, customers themselves need to be involved in improving them. Recognising the importance of customers' judgements of service delivery has been embraced by the Batho Pele principles of putting people first, consultation and redress, as a culmination firstly of the desired effect of services on customers and the manner in which services are provided, as well as describing what the input-process-relationship should be between customer views and service quality. The principle of quality is consequently examined as aspiring to meet what customers expect, as opposed to merely meeting specifications. If quality management is approached as cyclical in nature, public institutions will realise that evaluation should be based on customer expectations, if they aim to become institutions that are truly responsive to people's needs. If public institutions in this way allow customer expectations to inform standards, the principle will be adhered to that quality is what the customer says it is.
The November, 2007, street vendor riots in Dakar, Senegal, were one of the country's most powerful expressions of political and economic disintegration in recent times. Almost equally striking was the absence from these events of Enda Tiers Monde, Senegal's oldest, largest, and most influential indigenous NGO and the champion of the "popular economy." This thesis uses the vendor riots as a window into the response of an organization, Enda, to changing institutional contexts (i.e. different political regimes) and emerging development challenges (i.e. informal street vendors and urban spatial access). In its thirty years of operation, Enda has made significant contributions to urban development in Dakar and in cities throughout the global south. These contributions include extending access to basic services and improving housing in slums, organizing and advocating for the urban poor, and training local leaders in participatory governance. However, as demonstrated by its lack of involvement and influence in events surrounding the vendor riots, Enda's role and relationship with both grassroots actors and national policy-makers has changed. This thesis demonstrates that different types of relationships between Enda and the state affect the organization's relationship with its base, and therefore Enda's legitimacy with and connection to both actors. I also argue that these changing institutional contexts have affected Enda internally.
https://www.esade.edu/itemsweb/wi/research/iis/Liderazgo_Social/Lideres_para_el_cambio_social.pdf
What are the implications for NGOs of the increasingly unpredictable environment in which they work? This article highlights lessons from the natural sciences and from private-sector management. If development is about the process of change, then we need a more refined analysis of what change is. Food crises and conflicts are about struggles over power and rights and are, therefore, but moments in continuing processes of change. Strategic intervention demands an understanding of such change if it is to trigger wider transformations. It also demands a different style of management and an increased degree of collaboration with other agencies.
There is a recognised tension between the development practitioner's need for timely intelligence on key topics, and the normal routines of academic development studies. Closing that gap involves, among other things, elaborating new ways of organising and doing research. This article, by an academic, is concerned especially with how to combine interactive rapid-appraisal methods with inputs from more conventional styles of research in ways that bridge the 'macro'-'micro' divide and shed light on national policy trends by exploring community and household responses. It describes two pieces of team research carried out in Tanzania and Zambia at the instigation of the Swedish official agency, SIDA.
Looks at conventional approaches to development studies and outlines some of the factors which underlie their failure to come to grips with the problems they seek to address. Looks at how development studies might be restructured so as to increase their usefulness, focusing on the methodology of "participatory' or "action' research and the practical issues surrounding its use. Questions whether such a restructuring is possible without much deeper changes in attitudes and values among academics and practitioners alike. -from Author
Over the past decade, the majority of development NGOs have been engaged in a systematic transition from an exclusively project-oriented approach to the work, to a concern with the broader processes of development and a determination to be more professional about their roles. Hence, NGOs have begun to make more systematic use of information for a wide range of purposes. Based on the experience of Save the Children (UK), this article examines the record of NGOs in this respect, identifies the barriers which prevent NGOs from using the information effectively, and explains how NGOs have tried to overcome these barriers. The article questions whether NGOs are any more successful than other institutions in linking information, knowledge and action, but concludes that certain characteristics of NGOs and NGO approaches do offer hope for the future.
An unprecedented rate of change is rapidly outdating traditional modes of policy thinking. New orientations are needed to deal with the growing interaction between global pragmatics which encompass emerging trends that diverge radically from anything previously experienced and intractable problems that do not respond to conventional solutions and future problematics which arise from the nature of the future and paradoxes underlying futures oriented thinking. Current policy thinking suffers from many incapacities and should give way to the search for a new holistic paradigm based on the twin propositions that the properties of the parts can only be understood through an understanding of the dynamics of the whole and that the dynamics of the whole may be greater than the summation of the parts. Several suggestions are made where to make a start. The new policy thinking must provide a common meaning, purpose and sense of direction. It must be anticipatory, considering both the probable and the improbable, looking both backwards and forwards. It must be crisis-prepared, innovative, multi-dimensional and capable of handling adversity, uncertainty, and complexity. Other components of governance must also be improved lest an oversized head develop on an undersized body. Meantime, hope is placed in a new type of learning that would allow for living with past mistakes and failures without being overwhelmed, one that would allow for change, perception, problem reformulation, unlearning and even debunking. It would involve questioning the appropriateness of ultimate purposes and goals, selecting new replacements, and identifying new means for achieving them.
Improved capacity to predict drought-induced famines has not led to a concomitant improvement in famine prevention. In a comparative study of five African countries, this article argues that the failure to translate more information into timely and appropriate response is explained by a myriad of institutional and - crucially - political obstacles. It is often negotiation over conflicting interests between donors and governments of recipient countries which determines the timing and level of famine response; the role of information becomes peripheral to much of the decision-making process. Policy implications of the study include better preplanning of response and decentralization of response capacity, as well as joint ventures between donors and governments to provide - and hence own - early warning information.
Dealing with a number of current development crises will ultimately require facing up to the challenge of democratization. The types of reform indicated involve complex organizational changes that the large official donors have little capability to address. The central leadership role must be assumed by organizations with the potential to serve as catalysts of institutional and policy change. Some NGOs have demonstrated the potential to serve in such roles and many others have the potential—if they chose to develop the necessary technical and managerial capabilities.
Incl. bibl., index, biographical notes on the contributors, list of abreviations
Bridging the micro±macro divide in policy-oriented research', Development in Practice Creating Social Capital: Nongovernmental Development Organizations and Intersectoral Problem-SolvingFood security: let them eat information
- Longman
- New London
- York
- D M Booth
- S Davies
- C Petty
Longman, London and New York. Booth, D. (1996). `Bridging the micro±macro divide in policy-oriented research', Development in Practice, 5, 294±304. Brown, L. D. (1994). Creating Social Capital: Nongovernmental Development Organizations and Intersectoral Problem-Solving. Institute for Development Research, Boston. Buchanan-Smith, M., Davies, S., and Petty, C. (1994). `Food security: let them eat information', IDS Bulletin, 25, 69±80.
The Management of Diversity in NGO Development Programmes, Centre for Development Studies
- R Davies
Davies, R. (1995). The Management of Diversity in NGO Development Programmes, Centre for Development Studies, University College, Swansea. Development Studies Association (1994). Report of a Workshop on the Academic-Practitioner Interface, Development Studies Association, Manchester.
The Critical Villager: Beyond Community ParticipationEducating ®eldworkers Educating for Real: the Training of Professionals for Development Practice
- E Dudley
- Routledge
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