Enhancing data justice in community‐led conservation: A case study from Indonesian Borneo

Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) are one of the most trusted and visible institutions recognized by community, Nepal government, donors and development stakeholders in Nepal. Nepal government has given authority to Social Welfare Council (SWC) to create favourable environment for NGOs to work effectively in the field. The study was conducted in Karnali Zone, Midwestern Development Region of Nepal where Nepal government and donor communities have highly prioritized to address people’s needs. The objective of this research was to explore the contribution of Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs) in Karnali Zone, Nepal. The study was qualitative based with an explorative and descriptive approach. The study had collected the opinion of beneficiaries, NGO board and staff members, government and civil society representatives. Purposively qualitative research instruments were administered to generate the information i.e. key informants interview, focus group discussion, case studies and observation were done for data collection. Instruments were self-reported semi-structured. A total 45 interviews (beneficiaries - 20, NGOs board - 5, NGOs staff - 5, Civil society representative – 5 and Government Official – 10), 15 focus group discussions were conducted and 15 case studies were collected. NGOs contributed to enhance the knowledge of health service utilization, promotion of education, child rights and women empowerment as well as impact of climate changes. NGOs also contributed to develop the infrastructures; schools building, road, building drinking water’s tank and sanitary units. It was also observed that some NGOs were working from 'need based approach' and some were working from 'right based approach'. NGOs had made significant contribution in change and development of Karnali Zone in relation to the up-lift of socio-economic status of community. Joint collaboration between the like-minded organizations was needed to reduce the duplication of activities and will be effective to provide the services in hard to reach areas of the Karnali Zone.

The endings of journeys: A qualitative study of how Greece’s child protection system shapes unaccompanied migrant children’s futures

HIV/AIDS is a major public health and social problem worldwide, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played an irreplaceable role in HIV/AIDS prevention and control. At the present time, however, NGOs have not fully participated in HIV/AIDS prevention and control in China. As an emerging focus on international academic inquiry, social capital can provide a new perspective from which to promote the growth of NGOs. The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) recommends creating regional policies tailored to multiple and varying epidemics of HIV/AIDS. In order to provide evidence to policymakers, this paper described the basic information on NGOs and their shortage of social capital. This paper also compared the actual NGOs to "government-organized non-governmental organizations" (GONGOs). Results indicated that i) Chinese NGOs working on HIV/AIDS are short of funding and core members. GONGOs received more funding, had more core members, and built more capacity building than actual NGOs; ii) Almost half of the NGOs had a low level of trust and lacked a shared vision, networks, and support. The staff of GONGOs received more support from their organization than the staff of actual NGOs. Existing intra-organizational social capital among the staff of NGOs should be increased. Capacity building and policymaking should differentiate between actual NGOs and GONGOs. The relationship between social capital and organizational performance is a topic for further study.

<i>For the Love of God: NGOs and Religious Identity in a Violent World</i>. By Shawn Teresa Flanigan. Sterling, VA: Kumarian Press, 2009. Pp. 184. $75.00 (cloth); $24.95 (paper).

Empowerment approaches to gender-based violence: women's courts in Delhi slums

A field study focused on a Western-led Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) intervention into Pakistan’s soccer ball industry is used to explore the dynamics surrounding local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) staff charged with implementation. Those dynamics include the post-colonial conditions pervasive in Third World contexts that frame the perception, interpretation, and reaction to Western interventions. NGO staff must navigate these conditions, which impel them into multiple subject positions and contradictory rationalities resulting in unsatisfactory experiences. Like many Western-led interventions resting on universalistic, paternalistic, de-contextualizing, and atomistic assumptions, this one brought negative unintended consequences. This leads to a suggested reconfiguration of CSR from a post-colonial perspective insistent on an inclusive ‘bottom-up’, ‘reversed engineered’ approach, wherein CSR problems are traced back to Western multinational corporations’ policies and practices.

A much neglected area of research concerns the reintegration of formerly sex trafficked women. Very little is known about Nepalese women’s experiences following their return from brothels in India to their families in Nepal. This research explored the reintegration experiences of twenty formerly trafficked Nepalese women who were released, rescued or had escaped from Indian brothels and returned to live in Nepal. The study sought to answer two questions: how do women survivors of sex trafficking experience reintegration; and what are the barriers and the supporting factors that facilitate reintegration. The data was collected through in-depth interviews. At the time of interview the participants were living in one of three different settings: with their families in a rural village; independently or with their husbands in Kathmandu; or in rehabilitation centres run by anti-trafficking Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Kathmandu. Qualitative data analysis revealed that despite the participants sharing the same identity as a returnee from sex trafficking, reintegration is not a uniform experience. The proposition that reintegration is a unique experience is demonstrated in three case studies. At the same time the women in this study shared a number of common experiences. For instance, the effects of the abuse which women experienced in the brothels continued to impact the women’s day to day living long after their return. Most of the twenty women who returned to Nepal with the support of NGOs perceived that many of their choices were governed by NGO staff and they therefore lacked autonomy. While waiting to return to their families, these women reported NGO practices such as being sent for HIV tests without their consent, being pressured to take legal action against their traffickers and disclosure of their trafficking history to their families. These practices violated their rights to self-determination. A few women who returned independently from India to Nepal were able to exercise some autonomy in planning how and when they would return to their families and how they would present themselves to their families. However, the journey home to Nepal for some independent returnees was unpredictable and unsafe in comparison to those women who were assisted by NGOs. The majority of the twenty returnee women were welcomed by their parents. Nevertheless, all participants who had returned to their home and community were vulnerable to prejudice and discrimination, particularly from community members. The discriminatory practices meted out by community members constitute a denial of basic social or civil rights of access to facilities, and inclusion in society. Some women’s experiences further suggest that NGOs played a negative role in their reintegration largely due to NGO staff failing to adequately assess a returnee’s family situation and lack of follow up and support for the women once they returned home. Community discrimination, lack of access to health facilities and HIV/AIDs medication, and limited job options other than agriculture labouring were the key factors that led women to leave their family and village to live in NGOs or independently in Kathmandu. Just five women were living in their village at the time of interview. Notably, none of the women who had returned home with the assistance of NGOs were living in their home or village at the time of interview. The long term experiences for those women who remained living in their village included developing strategies to cope with villagers’ discriminatory practices, finding a marriage partner and coping with health issues and low income. For independently living women in Kathmandu, many were vulnerable to sexual abuse and struggled to become involved in adequately paid employment in the early days. However, over time most found paid employment and some married a man of their choice. For the women who were living in NGOs, most lacked confidence in finding a job outside the NGO and living independently even though they had undertaken several NGO skills training courses. Many expressed concern about their wellbeing should an NGO where they were living terminate its current support. As numerous NGOs are involved in assisting women in their repatriation, rehabilitation and reintegration, the findings suggest that anti-trafficking NGOs need to take a victim centred approach to assessment of women’s circumstances and pathways to reintegration. Moreover, there needs to be a greater focus on changing discriminatory societal and community attitudes towards returnee women. The study findings suggest that while women’s individual resilience plays an important part in successful reintegration, the main focus for change should be at the structural level. Existing deeply entrenched patterns of discrimination against women generally, and sex-trafficked women in particular, must change if Nepalese women are to be included as equal citizens in the social, cultural and economic life of their country.

Inequitable gender norms in societies and communities negatively contribute to women's sexual and reproductive health. While the need for change in gender norms is well recognized, the task is highly challenging in terms of intervention design, implementation and assessment of impact. This paper describes a methodology for identification of gender norms, the design of community level intervention, community participation and the assessment of intervention impact in a low income, predominately Muslim community of 600,000 people in Mumbai, India. Formative research focused on in-depth interviews with women, men and couples yielding gender normative statements and assessment of community resources to facilitate change. A Gender Equity Scale (GES) based on this formative research was developed and administered annually for a three-year period to random, cross-sectional samples in the intervention and control communities, and to community based, non-governmental organizations (NGO) staff and Imams (religious leaders) in the intervention community. NGO staff disseminated gender oriented messages to their female constituency through their regular outreach activities and through special events and festivals in the community. Imams disseminated gender messages through lectures on social issues for men attending Friday prayers. The results showed that the NGO staff and Imams, assumed more gender equitable attitudes across time. The intervention was associated with a significant improvement in attitudes towards gender equity in the intervention relative to the control community. Men showed a dramatic change in more positive gender attitudes, while women lagged behind in their GES scores. The meaning of these results are explored and the implications assessed for the generalizability of the methodology for other countries, cultures and communities.

University faculty and Extension educators sought to use school gardens in Burundi, Africa, as a means of reducing food insecurity, teaching positive youth development, and increasing experiential learning for Burundian students. Washington State University personnel used videoconferencing to provide training to Burundian nongovernmental organization (NGO) staff on the Cultivating Learning with School Gardens curriculum. The NGO staff then trained teachers in pilot programs at four Burundian schools, where first harvests occurred in May 2016. An agricultural consultant also helped with the gardens. Suggestions for implementation of this school garden curriculum in other countries are provided.

Conservation practitioners' perspectives on decision triggers for evidence‐based management

BackgroundThere has been growing interest in the contribution of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to international health research. One strength that NGOs may bring to research involves the potential value of service delivery experience for indicating relevant research questions, namely through their involvement in service delivery, NGO staff may be aware of frontline knowledge gaps, allowing these staff to identify questions that lead to research with immediate relevance. However, there is little empirical evidence on research agendas within NGOs to assess whether their service delivery experience does lead to relevant research or conditions that affect this. This article examines the identification and selection of research questions within NGOs to explore the role of their service delivery experience in generating relevant research agendas.MethodsThe article reports comparative case study research on four NGOs in Malawi, including two international and two Malawian organisations. Each NGO conducts research and undertakes service delivery and advocacy. Data collection included interviews, focus groups, observation and document review. Analysis involved thematic coding and use of diagrams.ResultsThe case NGOs’ experiences suggest that using service delivery to identify research questions does not always match NGOs’ aims or capacities, and does not guarantee relevance. First, NGOs do not want to rely only on service delivery when developing research agendas; they consider other criteria and additional sources of ideas when selecting questions they see as relevant. Second, service delivery staff are not always well-placed to identify research topics; indeed, involvement in hectic, target-driven service delivery can hinder input to research agendas. Third, NGOs’ ability to pursue questions inspired by service delivery depends on control over their research agendas; relationships with external actors and financial autonomy affect NGOs’ capacity to undertake the research they see as relevant. Finally, the perceived relevance of research findings varies between audiences and depends on more than the research question.ConclusionsThe findings suggest limits to the value and feasibility of a research agenda based on service delivery experience. Based on the analysis, the conclusion outlines strategies to support an effective role for NGOs’ service delivery experience in development of research agendas.

Good governance policies in international development require nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to translate their programs into documents that render NGOs knowable and accountable to their donors. Drawing on multisited ethnographic fieldwork in Ghana and Uganda, we examine the signatures on these documents and the labor of NGO staff to obtain the signatures of aid recipients. We argue that signatures serve as mechanisms that NGO staff use to make their good governance practices traceable and to deter donor suspicion of funding misuse. Staff dedicate significant energy to imagining how signatures may or may not trigger donor suspicion. We posit that despite NGO staff's anxiety over getting signatures right—present, matching, and signed by the correct person—signatures can only ever defer donor suspicion. Such suspicion cannot be eliminated because it is deeply entrenched in racialized logics that position Global North donors as holding expertise and African NGOs as susceptible to corruption. Because NGO staff worry about donor suspicion rather than what aid recipients communicate with their (lack of) signatures, even fake signatures can circulate just as well as authentic ones. Tracing the social dynamics of collecting signatures sheds light on the racialized injustices inherent in Africa's development systems.

BackgroundThe role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in health research has attracted growing attention. NGOs are important service providers and advocates in international health, and conducting research can help NGOs to strengthen these service delivery and advocacy activities. However, capacity to conduct research varies among NGOs. There is currently limited evidence on NGOs’ research capacity that can explain why capacity varies or indicate potential areas for support. We examined NGOs’ capacity to conduct research, identifying factors that affect their access to the funds, time and skills needed to undertake research.MethodsWe examined research capacity through qualitative case studies of three NGOs in Malawi, including one national and two international NGOs. Data were generated through interviews and focus groups with NGO staff, observation of NGO activities, and document reviews.ResultsAvailability of funding, skills and time to conduct research varies considerably between the case NGOs. Access to these resources is affected by internal processes such as sources of funding and prioritisation of research, and by the wider environment and external relationships, including the nature of donor support. Constraints include limited ability to apply for research funding, a perception that donors will not support research costs, lack of funding to hire or train research staff, and prioritisation of service delivery over research in funding proposals and staff schedules.ConclusionThe findings suggest strategies for NGOs and for donors interested in supporting NGOs’ research capacity. Above all, the findings reinforce the importance of initial capacity assessments to identify organisational needs and opportunities. In addition, the need for time and funding as well as skills suggests that strengthening NGOs’ research capacity will often require more than research training.

Recently emerged as transformative fundraising tools for development causes, crowdfunding platforms leverage the ‘feelingful ties’ that connect individuals in pursuit of non-governmental organisation (NGO) fundraising. Focussing on research conducted in 2018 with Indian platform LetzChange, this article frames crowdfunding platforms as ‘intimate technologies for development’, exploring how they leverage different forms of social and digital capital from their NGO partners to shape power relations within the development sector. By examining how crowdfunding platforms train local NGO staff to market their projects in digitally affective ways on social media, I demonstrate the influence of modern technological tools that recreate affective social bonds and social capital in digital spaces for the purpose of mobilising donors. I show how NGO staff must navigate the complicated landscape of social, digital and financial inequalities created within the crowdfunding process. Through analysis of specific digital fundraising practices, I reveal how LetzChange compels its NGO partners to invest emotional labour into crowdfunding campaigns, inevitably creating apprehension from staff around the depletion of social capital. I argue that affective digital practices like crowdfunding fall short of their inclusive aims and reinforce existing top-down power relations in the development sector by financially instrumentalising the interpersonal connections of NGO staff.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) played a pivotal role during the COVID-19 pandemic by being at the forefront of responding to the global upsurge in humanitarian needs. The purpose of this study is to find out the factors associated with stress among NGO staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study employed qualitative phenomenological research design and the data were collected using in-depth interviews from fifteen NGO staff. Thematic analysis technique was adopted for the data analysis. This study identified numerous stressors, including challenges of work-life balance, social isolation, and access to treatment facilities. Seven out of fifteen respondents stated that the extended hours they worked during COVID-19 had an impact on their ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance. The majority of the respondents felt anxious about getting access to treatment facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic due to higher treatment costs and limited treatment facilities. The respondents used a variety of coping mechanisms to deal with these stressors, including communicating and spending time with friends and family members, and engaging in fun activities such as watching movies, crafting, gardening, and reading. NGO staff’s daily lives and their mental health were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study recommends the need to assess the stress of NGO staff so that early measures can be taken by concerned NGO agencies, such as employers, to take proactive measures to mitigate their stress during pandemics or other emergencies.