Partnerships and the Good-Governance Agenda: Improving Service Delivery Through State–NGO Collaborations

Abstract

First under the Millennium Development Goals and now under the Sustainable Development Goals, partnerships for development, especially between state and NGOs, remain a valued goal. Partnerships are argued to improve provision of basic social services to the poor: the state is viewed as providing scale, with NGOs ensuring good governance. Close study of three leading partnership arrangements in Pakistan (privatization of basic health units, an 'adopt a school' program, and low-cost sanitation) shows how state-NGO collaborations can indeed improve service delivery; however, few of these collaborations are capable of evolving into embedded partnerships that can bring about positive changes in government working practices on a sustainable basis. In most cases, public servants tolerate, rather than welcome, NGO interventions, due to political or donor pressure. Embedded partnerships require ideal-type commitment on the part of the NGO leadership, which most donor-funded NGOs fail to demonstrate. For effective planning, it is important to differentiate the benefits and limitations of routine co-production arrangements from those of embedded partnerships.

Combinations of Conditions for Network Effectiveness: A Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis of 37 International Development Intervention Cases

“…In this case, there were committed local partners who skillfully communicated with key local politicians and beneficiaries. Consistent with previous literature (Bano, 2018 ), for NGOs it is important to have extensive knowledge of and connection with governmental bureaucrats to effectively implement development projects by making partnerships.…”

“…Collaboration in international development has emerged in various forms and at different levels, from cross-national efforts such as coordination of international aid rules and principles among donors and recipient countries, led by international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC) or World Health Organization (WHO), to national or sectoral practices such as South–South cooperation (Marcondes-Neto, 2014 ; Mawdsley, 2017 ) and public–private partnerships (PPPs). Noting that relationships between participants in most international development projects are a “complex web” of donors, implementers, and beneficiaries in both developed and developing countries (Diallo & Thuillier, 2005 ; Khang & Moe, 2008 ; Youker, 1999 ), scholars and practitioners contend that successful project implementation is not possible without effective management strategies for collaborative networks (Bano, 2011 , 2018 ; Brinkerhoff, 2003 ; Haque, 2004 ; Kamya et al, 2017 ; Pfeiffer, 2003 ; Shin et al, 2017 ).…”

State‐oriented service‐delivery partnership with civil society organizations in the context of counter‐terrorism in Nigeria

“…They argue that, for CSOs to be effective, they must move beyond the supply‐side approach, which entails providing social services, to the demand‐side, which involves political advocacy and a good governance mechanism that is premised on transparency and accountability of public officials to citizens who are marginalized and vulnerable (Clark, 1991; Edwards & Hulme, 1992; Tandon, 1992). It is hoped that state–CSO relations will be based on “mutual respect, acceptance of autonomy, independence and pluralism of NGO opinions and positions”, but in practice they are characterized by lack of trust or mutual suspicion (Bano, 2018; Clark, 1995, p. 595). States fear that the growth of CSOs threatens their own grip on power (Fowler, 1992).…”

Collaboration between the government and nongovernmental organizations in providing health-care services

“…Moreover, they are less influenced by the political decisions of the governments, show higher operational flexibility, are more committed to implementing programs and achieving defined goals, and are more accountable to various needs of communities. [ 2 3 11 16 17 ] Altogether, these characteristics have rendered NGOs to be always in the focus of planners and decision-makers as invaluable tools to promote the health of society. [ 2 ]…”