NGOs, Social Development and Sustainability
By YVONNE ASAMOAH
Revised and Posted Friday September 12, 2003

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a significant role in the social development process in all regions of the world. They are particularly critical in circumstances where State funds are limited, political situations are fluid, natural disasters resulting from both predictable and unpredictable environmental circumstances occur, ethnic strife is rampant, and the level of per capita income severely restricts the ability to purchase needed goods and services – social, educational and economic.

Many of the world’s poorest countries are the hardest hit by conditions described above. In addition, gross human rights violations continue worldwide, and silent killers resulting from poverty and its consequences still stalk millions.  

Fortunately, a host of local, national, and international NGOs operating throughout the world have made tremendous strides in helping nations meet and sustain their development objectives in the face of momentous challenges. They have helped to facilitate achievements in basic human development as measured by the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) (UNDP 2000). They have also been on the front lines in the fight for human rights, equality, freedom, and social justice. They will certainly play a key role in the implementation of the goals outlined in the Millennium Development Compact plan of action to end human poverty (UNDP, 2003).Areas targeted for achieving sustainable growth – governance, health, education, infrastructure, and access to markets -  are areas in which NGOs are already working. Mobilizing grass-roots support (in this case for the Millennium Development Goals) is already a major component of the mission of many successful NGOs.   

A nation need not be poor to benefit from the contributions made by NGOs. While individual governments are responsible for meeting the needs of its citizens, there is a limit to what central government is willing and able to do in both rich and poor countries. NGOs play a vital role in complementing government efforts in meeting human need in nearly all countries. Very few countries have reached the ideal of sustaining the human condition at an optimal level, whatever the GNP and other indicators of wealth, through dependence on government action alone. NGOs help fill in the gaps while systematically prodding government will and the collective conscience.

“Non Governmental Organization” is a term that encompasses a wide range of similar and dissimilar organizations. NGOs are private and pursue a variety of activities that enhance the general welfare of the communities they serve. They may be secular or religious, and often work in tandem with national and local governments, regional groupings and/or international bodies. One of their major strengths, however, lies in their ability to maintain institutional autonomy and political neutrality. These two factors are more important for some NGO’s than others, and not always possible to attain. Government/NGO collaboration is both a common and desirable feature in many international development programs organized under foreign aid initiatives or by foreign aid donors. Maintaining institutional autonomy and political neutrality in some of these cases is a tremendous challenge. Failure to maintain autonomy and neutrality may severely jeopardize goal achievement, threaten the stability of an already unstable situation, and compromise the NGOs legitimacy to work in given countries.

Unfortunately, if governments or warring factions implicitly or explicitly expect and insist upon political allegiance, NGOs face the dilemma of either violating their position on neutrality or failing to provide needed services to citizens who are victims of a conflict they did not generate and are powerless to control. Examples of this in the world today are abundant   Indeed, some international NGOs administering emergency assistance in trouble-torn countries have been asked to leave for political reasons. Others have left because the safety of their personnel could not be guaranteed, or because their neutrality or sovereignty was threatened thus compromising their stated mission. Non-secular NGOs may have a more difficult time maintaining political neutrality in a country torn by ethnic and/or religious strife.

Characteristics that differentiate the range of organizations operating under the NGO banner include:  size, organizational structure, nature of national and international affiliation, mission, operational program areas, geographic location, administrative efficiency, accountability, financial resources and funding sources, level of coordination with government and other NGOs, and membership criteria. Strategies used range from grass roots/local community organizing, education, leadership development, policy development and implementation, empowerment through local and national coalition building, to human rights and social justice promotion and monitoring.   

Target populations include specific categories of the poor and disenfranchised; age and gender-specific groups; selected occupational groups (e.g. farmers and fishermen); and persons adversely affected by disease, natural and man-made disasters, ethnic strife and forced migration. Many NGOs work together as a team locally and nationally, especially in programs aimed at poverty alleviation, sustainable development, and disaster relief. They may be a part of a larger effort coordinated by an international body such as the United Nations and its specialized agencies (UNICEF, WHO, UNHCR) or by multinational organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, Oxfam, Save the Children Federation, and Medecins sans Frontieres. Large NGOs have offices in many countries, employ paid staff, and do organized fund-raising. They often cut across populations and are multi-task oriented if their mission includes relief and humanitarian aid, social development, advocacy, education, and empowerment, health care and general welfare promotion. NGOs specializing in technological innovation are invaluable team members for many social development projects. Small NGOs may depend entirely on voluntary efforts for program implementation and membership contributions for funding, which may limit their impact. 

The major advantages of NGOs include their flexibility, ability to innovate, grass-roots orientation, humanitarian vs. commercial goal orientation, non-profit status, dedication and commitment, and recruitment philosophy. Many are made up of volunteers so deeply committed to the NGOs mission that they are willing to undergo considerable hardships and no monetary compensation in order to carry out that mission. In addition to supporting innovation, NGOs may serve as pilots for larger anticipated projects, help to motivate and involve community based organizations whose constituents may be the primary beneficiaries of a larger project, serve as advocates or ombudspersons, and are in a unique position to share communication both horizontally and vertically. A close look at the implementation strategy of any given country’s development plan will reveal the nature and extent of NGO activity in relation to its current circumstances. Relief for families and children affected by the AIDS pandemic, local social development, environmental protection, gender equality, the protection of children’s rights and freedoms, and promoting the positive and fighting against the ill effects of economic globalization, feature prominently in the list of NGO activities throughout the world today.

Drawbacks in partnering or working with local, national, and international NGOs, to some extent, are the mirror image of the advantages cited above. In addition, disadvantages cited in the literature concerned with sustainable social development, and as reported from the field, include: over-zealousness, restricted local participation, inadequate feasibility studies, conflicts or misunderstanding with the host partner (usually resulting from a poorly negotiated contract and lack of safeguards), inflexibility in recruitment and procedures, lack of adequate funding to complete or sustain projects, inadequately trained personnel, turf issues, lack of transparency, inadequate or non-existent evaluation component and research expertise, inability to replicate results, and cultural insensitivity.  Many NGOs operating on a restricted budget fail to include a feasibility and evaluation component. This has been shown repeatedly to be a serious and costly omission. 

With regard to cultural insensitivity, national (if the country is multi-ethnic) and international NGOs have a responsibility to ensure that the services provided are suitable to the population being served. While this appears to be obvious, some projects involving NGOs operate on the “one size fits all” model. Cultural sensitivity and cultural relevance are particularly important when matters of health and welfare are concerned. An ethnic group’s response to illness, wellness, tragedy, natural disaster, and up-rootedness is embedded in its cultural and religious beliefs and practices. For example, if mass relocation of a population is necessary to meet an important development goal, cooperation may depend upon how local deities are accommodated in the relocation process (see, e.g. Ghana’s classic relocation strategy during the Volta River Project in the 1960’s). An excellent field example involving the importance of understanding local culture in a relief effort also occurred in Ghana during the mass exodus of Ghanaians from Nigeria in the l980s. Many international NGO personnel arriving on the scene to dispense humanitarian aid were surprised at the lack of relief camps at the border. The NGO supplies included equipment generally found to be essential in such camps. Relying on the existence of a strong extended family system characteristic of this country, the government put in place a plan for transporting incoming nationals immediately to their hometown or location of ethnic origin.  This avoided the hardship and squalor usually associated with emergency squatter arrangements, and placed the initial responsibility for resettlement on the returnees’ families and community. The NGOs then had to re-evaluate the role they needed to play in this cultural context.

Efforts to manage the AIDS crisis in many countries hit by this pandemic would not be successful without the dedication of local, national, and international NGOs. Local NGOs have played a vital role in tailoring government and private response to the cultural practices of local populations. The extent to which information and efforts to change behavior are geared to the cultural beliefs of the local population can make or break a development, relief or prevention program. Because many development programs – especially health - focus on KAB (knowledge, attitude and behavior), it is critical at the design stage to understand the psychological components of attitude development and change within a given cultural context. International NGO’s with national and local counterparts have the advantage of input and feedback from their local affiliates in designing culturally appropriate programs. This input should not be overlooked or minimized.

Countries have different criteria for official recognition of NGOs. It must be noted that not all NGOs listed on websites in various countries meet even the country’s definition of an NGO, and would not meet either formal or informal international criteria. Many countries require NGOs to register - partially for monitoring their non-profit status. This registration procedure also helps potential donors and relief agencies to identify suitable NGO partners.

Criteria, processes and procedures that are likely to maximize success and sustainability of projects, as identified by individual NGOs, partnering agencies or organizations and financial institutions  (see, e.g. Global Development Research Center, 2003; World Bank, 1995) include: 

1) selecting the appropriate NGO through careful identification and review of relevant criteria, outlining a selection process based on project specific needs, assessing the NGO’s organizational capacity based on its track record and not its stated goal, and maximizing transparency in the selection process; 

2) seeking NGO input during all phases of the project including project and site identification, feasibility study, design, implementation and evaluation;

3) awareness of time issues, including need for extra start-up time; preparation for time lags and the risks they pose to the participatory process; unavoidable timeframe changes due to acts of nature, delivery delays, technical mishaps and failures (too often underestimated); and awareness of the capacity of all participants to meet stated deadlines;

4) building in community input in the early stages, establishing an effective feedback process, identifying important levels and modes of communication that are culturally relative and sensitive, establishing a periodic review process, and establishing flexibility in adapting structures, procedures, activities (and possibly goals) in light of changing or unforeseen local conditions;

5) clarifying funding arrangements by establishment of and agreement on mutually acceptable fees, overhead costs, re-imbursements, cost sharing, advance payments, donation of project equipment, and nature of in-kind contributions. 

In some countries, proposed international collaborative projects, especially those that include a research component and/or involvement of local populations, need approval from the national body responsible for monitoring research or projects in the country. This is designed to protect the citizenry from obtrusive intrusion of their privacy, to ensure that the research goals fit the country’s social development plan and are in the best interest of the country, to protect the data base, to validate the competency of the research team, and to ensure that results are shared with the appropriate local personnel. This oversight function is often performed through a university, by a government or quasi-government sociological/economic/demographic institute involved in local social development or by an organization designated by the government. 

A clear contract setting out terms of agreement, taking into account the above-listed criteria, processes and procedures and other relevant issues, is essential. Government/NGO collaboration may not be appropriate in all situations. In cases where formal contracts are problematic, a Memorandum of Understanding or alternative forms of contract may be substituted. Attention to NGO capacity building, training of relevant staff and involvement of relevant local, national and international NGOs require consideration. An NGO liaison person may a valuable asset.

Some countries have hundreds of NGOs with or without national and international affiliation. Many international NGOs are in consultative status with UNICEF and belong to the NGO Committee on UNICEF. The author highlights below the UNICEF/NGO partnership because of its success, relevance to a vulnerable population worldwide, adherence to criteria and procedures outlined above for partnership development, and its documentation in the literature.

The United Nations recognizes the vital role that civil society organizations play in partnership with governments, UN agencies, and others. A recent example of this type of partnership was reflected in the General Assembly Special Session for Children held at United Nations headquarters in 2002. More than 1700 NGO representatives from 88 different countries attended the Special Session. The NGO Steering Group and the NGO Committee on UNICEF commended the work of NGOs in the lifesaving achievements for children since the coming into force of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Holding governments accountable for the existence of conditions inimical to the welfare of children, seeing that children have a “first call” on distribution of national resources, protecting children from HIV/AIDS, sexual exploitation, war and other violence, attaining equality for the girl child and women, monitoring National Plans of Action and the implementation of the Outcome Document in relation to the UNCRC, and promotion of the Global Partnership for Children and Adolescents are recognized as vital NGO activities (NGO Committee on UNICEF, 2000, 2002).  United Nations reports resulting from world summits, special sessions and conferences on social development, women, the environment, human settlements, population, trade, the elderly, armed conflict and peace-keeping operations, and their follow-up meetings also highlight the importance of the role of NGOs, including many that are not in partnership with the United Nations. There is a global NGO community network website for non-governmental organizations associated with the United Nations. It provides up-to-date information on United Nations Department of Public Information briefings, United Nations meetings and conferences, and news related to issues before the General Assembly.

For persons interested in the formal study of NGO management and development, there are short and long-term term courses given within and outside university settings around the world. Some courses target NGO staff members; others target NGO government partners. Courses are aimed at both the experienced and the novice. Prominent themes include program/project and policy development, human resource development, fundraising and financial management, lobbying, setting action agendas, conflict resolution, data collection and management, monitoring and evaluation. Some programs include creative educational and training collaborations across national boundaries. Information is available on NGO web sites.

It has been established that NGOs can make and have made invaluable contributions to the social and economic development process of various countries. The successes and challenges of NGO partnerships have been demonstrated and documented in country-specific and international social/economic development reports and journals related to social development. Because of this documentation, individuals, agencies, governments, and financial institutions wishing to work with NGOs now have clearer guidelines for achieving success and avoiding the mistakes of the past. Continued efforts by ForeignAid Ratings to develop international criteria for rating and listing NGOs should make national and local partnering more efficient and effective.  

REFERENCES

NGO Committee on UNICEF.  Statement to UNICEF Executive Board, June 2002.

NGO Committee on UNICEF Working Group on Education.  Pre Millennium Forum    “The Global Partnership for Children and Adolescents,” New York, May 21, 2000.

NGO Steering Group of NGO Committee on UNICEF. Report of NGO Activities at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children, 2002.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Human Development Report 2000.

            New York:  Oxford University Press.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Human Development Report 2003.              New York:  Oxford University Press.