David Lewis: Non-Governmental Organizations, Management and Development, 3rd edn

Abstract

In 2001 David Lewis, currently Professor of Social Policy and Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science, published ‘The management of Non-Governmental Development Organizations’. At the time, it was the first academic book providing in-depth coverage of the field of NGO management. Since then numerous changes have occurred in the global context of international development and new challenges have emerged for NGOs, underlining the continued importance of the topic. Similar to previous versions of the book, the third edition, retitled ‘Non-Governmental Organizations, Management and Development’, is about NGOs working in the field of development—as opposed to those working primarily in humanitarian or emergency relief. Drawing upon an extensive body of literature, Lewis provides an introduction to the issues and debates that are key to NGO operations. The book consists of three parts: The first part identifies and examines the different ways in which NGO management has been conceptualized in the past decades. Here the book introduces a conceptual framework for understanding NGO management, focusing on NGOs’ internal organization, their activities and their relationships—all within the context of the organizational environment. Part two examines various theoretical perspectives on NGO management against the background of development work. It sets out to understand why NGOs have come to be regarded as key actors in development and identifies a variety of approaches that can be used to understand their management challenges. The third part is concerned with the practical side of NGO management, examining the different dimensions of the conceptual framework in greater depth. The book ends with a