NGOs and development assistance: A change in mind-set?

Global Labour‐Standards Advocacy by European Civil Society Organizations: Trends and Developments

“…These limits have to do with weak or asymmetrical adoption of private governance by the industry, unfavourable national institutions at the point of production and constraints stemming from the organization of production itself (Locke et al 2008). Meanwhile, changes in intergovernmental organizations, in the relationship between funders and CSOs and the recent economic downturn all create new opportunities and constraints for promoting new forms of global labour governance (Smillie 1997).…”

Non-governmental organizations, strategic bridge building, and the “scientization” of organic agriculture in Kenya

“…This is quite surprising given that a great deal of the social science literature on NGOs focuses on linkages (e.g., Bratton, 1990;Farrington, 1992, 1993;Farrington et al, 1993;Wellard and Copestake, 1993;Hulme and Edwards, 1997;Edwards and Fowler, 2002), accountability (e.g., Edwards and Hulme, 1996;Chaplowe and Madden, 1996;Fowler, 1997;Smillie, 1997), mediation (e.g., Keengwe et al, 1998;Markowitz, 2001;Carey and Richmond, 2003), and multilevel negotiation (e.g., Thomas-Slayter, 1992;Jasanoff, 1997;Igoe, 2003). Thus, a significant contribution of the present study is my analysis of NGOs as boundary organizations.…”

“…NGOs are now widely believed to have a comparative advantage over state-led and market-led strategies in promoting grassroots social and economic development in the global South. They are perceived to be more flexible, more innovative, more participatory, more cost-effective, closer to the poor and marginalized segments of the population, more familiar with local environmental conditions, more sensitive to community values, more aware of gender issues, less bureaucratic, and less corrupt (see, e.g., Fowler, 1991;Chaplowe and Madden, 1996;Smillie, 1997;Markowitz, 2001;Makoba, 2002). For these reasons, many international donors prefer to channel development aid through NGOs rather than state institutions.…”

Institutional Support for the Tourist Industry in Post-Socialist Europe: A Comparison of Bulgaria and Romania

“…The growing preference for funds for official development spending to be channelled towards NGOs and away from government-led programmes (Clarke, 1998;Smillie, 1997;Vakil, 1997) has led to a proliferation of organizations variously labelled as 'non-government'. Throughout the development sector worldwide, changes have occurred in political processes that render nation states no longer the only legitimate sources of authority in civil society.…”