NGOs and Organizational Change
NGOs and Organizational Change
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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 analyses 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. Ebrahim shows that systems of reporting, monitoring, and learning play essential roles in shaping not only what NGOs do but, more importantly, how they think about what they do. The book combines original case studies and research with an extensive review of literature. It draws from multiple fields including organizational behaviour, social and critical theory, civil society studies, and environmental and natural resource management.
- 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 of Managing for Change: Leadership, Strategy & Management in Asian NGOs
'Alnoor Ebrahim also examines two Indian NGOs, but his imaginative monograph NGOs and Organizational Change: Discourse, Reporting, and Learning focuses more on the interaction between internal management and the international networks of donors. He shows that the traditional view of NGOs depending on donor monies should be revised to reflect the reality that the funders are equally dependent on the NGO information and successes.' Development and Change
'This book's creative critical (re)constructions of global accountabilities are extremely welcome. 'Accountability' is so ascendant in contemporary global governance, perhaps even aspiring to the kind of pivotal position once held by 'sovereignty' in Westphalian world politics. These authors show us how the new discourse can enable rather than frustrate societal betterment.' Jan Aart Scholte, Co-Director, Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation, University of Warwick
Product details
May 2005Paperback
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.
