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NGOs and Organizational Change

NGOs and Organizational Change

NGOs and Organizational Change

Discourse, Reporting, and Learning
Alnoor Ebrahim , Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
June 2005
Available
Paperback
9780521671576

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    The organizational dynamics of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become increasingly complex as they have evolved from small local groups into sophisticated multinational organizations with global networks. Alnoor Ebrahim's study analyzes the organizational evolution of NGOs as a result of their increased profile as bilateral partners in delivering aid. Focusing on the relationships between NGOs and their international network of funders, it examines not only the tensions created by the reporting requirement of funders, but also the strategies of resistance employed by NGOs.

    • Novel contribution to growing field of non-profit sector management
    • Based on original research in a range of European and North American aid agencies and detailed case studies of two of India's largest NGOs
    • Theoretically sophisticated with important practical messages

    Reviews & endorsements

    "Alnoor Ebrahim has written a fine study of the multilayered and interdependent relationships between NGOs and their funders that sheds new light on this complex terrain. His book makes an important contribution to the NGO debate." Michael Edwards, Director, Governance and Civil Society, The Ford Foundation

    "This book clears a lot of debris from the superficial received wisdom about Southern NGOs. It looks deeply into how and why organizations learn, or fail to learn, and how they manage donor relationships which aim to support, but too often restrict and constrain. NGOs and Organizational Change contains valuable and sometimes disturbing insights into the real life of Southern NGOs - for managers, students and supporters alike." Ian Smillie, Co-author, with John Hailey, Managing for Change: Leadership, Strategy & Management in Asian NGOs

    "...an original and refreshing account of the processes through which NGOs initiate and learn their developmental activities while managing their interdependence with donors." Nonprofit and voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nidhi Srinivas

    See more reviews

    Product details

    June 2005
    Paperback
    9780521671576
    192 pages
    228 × 153 × 17 mm
    0.315kg
    6 b/w illus. 1 map 7 tables
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • List of figures
    • List of tables
    • Acknowledgments
    • List of abbreviations
    • Introduction
    • 1. The making of NGOs: the relevance of Foucault and Bourdieu
    • 2. The NGOs and their global networks
    • 3. NGO behavior and development discourse
    • 4. Interdependence and power: tensions over money and reputation
    • 5. Information struggles: the role of information in the reproduction of NGO-funder relationships
    • 6. Learning in NGOs
    • 7. Challenges ahead: NGO-funder relations in a global future
    • Notes
    • References
    • Index.
      Author
    • Alnoor Ebrahim , Harvard Business School

      Alnoor Ebrahim is an Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School. His research and teaching focus on the challenges of accountability, performance, and organizational learning facing nonprofit and civil society organizations. He is also affiliated with Harvard University's Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations.