Turning to religion: NGO accountability in a faith-based development organisation

ABSTRACTSecular and faith-based NGOs are significant non-state service providers in the developing world, yet limited research has been conducted comparing their motivational factors. This paper considers the motivations driving the work of Christian faith-based organisations (FBOs) and secular NGOs working with women and children in Cambodia. The qualitative research design included 41 interviews, with respondents from thirteen FBOs and twelve secular NGOs. The paper makes two substantive arguments. First, faith-related motivations were expressions of the ways in which religious faith infused FBOs in the study. Second, the development context in which the organisations worked led to a clear distinction between FBOs and secular NGOs. The paper makes a theoretical contribution about the importance of considering the convergence of both the development context and the infusion of faith in FBOs when examining similarities and differences between these two types of organisations.

This article analyses the faith-based NGO sector in Canada, particularly its relationship to Canada's public development agency, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), using data on CIDA project expenditures over six years (2005–2010) and registered charity information filings. Faith-based NGOs constituted about one-quarter of all NGOs receiving CIDA funding, and received about one-third (about CAD100 million per year) of CIDA program and project funding to Canadian NGOs. Faith-based NGOs received a third of their CIDA support for humanitarian relief programs, compared to only a fifth for secular NGOs, and served less as channels for official bilateral programming. They were also less dependent on CIDA funding, raising a greater proportion of their revenue directly from the public. Résumé Cet article s'intéresse aux ONG confessionnelles canadiennes, plus particulièrement à leurs relations avec l'Agence canadienne de développement international (ACDI). À cette fin, la recherche a examiné les données sur les dépenses consacrées aux projets par l'ACDI de 2005–2010 ainsi que les déclarations des organismes de bienfaisance enregistrés. Les ONG confessionnelles comptent pour le quart de toutes les ONG qui reçoivent des fonds de l'ACDI; elles ont reçu le tiers des fonds de l'Agence pour les programmes et les projets versés aux ONG canadiennes, soit environ 100 millions de dollars chaque année. Le tiers des fonds ainsi reçus visait l'aide humanitaire, comparativement à un cinquième pour les ONG laïques. En revanche, les programmes d'aide bilatérale passaient moins souvent par les ONG confessionnelles. Enfin, les ONG confessionnelles recevaient une plus grande part de leurs revenus du public et étaient donc financièrement moins dépendantes de l'ACDI.

<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).

Faith-based organizations are major providers of welfare services in Australia. Many of these services receive much, if not all, of their funding from the state, which brings expectations that services will be provided to all members of the community irrespective of their religious beliefs, rather than just to members of a particular religion. Furthermore, in order to deliver contracted services, faith-based organizations often need to employ staff who are of another or no religion. It is perhaps not surprising that the distinction between faith-based and secular organizations is sometimes questioned, and is a concern within some faith-based organizations. Drawing on interviews with 20 Australian social workers who were or had been employed in faith-based organizations, this paper examines a range of ways in which organizational spirituality manifests itself in the workings of faith-based welfare organizations that receive state funding. Expressions of organizational spirituality reported by research participants include strategic directions, processes associated with staff recruitment and induction, employment conditions and philosophies underpinning service provision. Nevertheless, in some organizations, expression of organizational spirituality seems to occur on an ad hoc basis, such that some staff were not sure if they were working in a faith-based organization. As to how faith-based organizations express their spirituality when receiving state funding that requires ostensibly secular service delivery is not just an issue for welfare agencies but also for many providers of a wide range of health, social care and education services in many countries. Hence, this paper addresses challenges that go beyond the boundaries of professional disciplines or national borders.

Established within the Faculty of Theology at the University of Stellenbosch in 2001, the Unit for Religion and Development Research (URDR)3 has embarked on a major initiative to research the social development needs of local communities and empower the faith-based organisations (FBOs) – churches and faith-based NGOs – in those communities towards self-reliant sustainable social development activity and outcomes (URDR web page). In particular, the work of the Unit proceeds from the understanding that resolving the majority of problems related to poverty in South Africa lies in carrying out two steps. The first is that one needs to gather data on the problem, and the problem must have a human face. The second step is networking, empowering and motivating all relevant parties in a society to address the problem. This problem can be solved only with strong input from grassroots level, where local communities are part and parcel of a participatory action process (Hendriks, Erasmus &amp; Mans, 2004:381).

This article presents practitioner-focused insights into the work of local faith-based organisations (FBOs), drawing on recent research in Oxfordshire, England. In particular, the article identifies key features relating to: the internal workings of FBOs, particularly the importance of formalised governance structures; issues that impact on FBOs’ relationships with external partners; and the role of the wider policy context in determining how the work of these organisations, and their faith basis, are viewed and valued. The article proposes a number of ways in which local FBOs can be supported moving forward: practitioners, policy makers and FBOs need to work together to establish foundations for productive partnership working into the future; best practice needs to be shared and support given to help FBOs to establish robust governance structures; and policy, research and practice will all need to come to a better understanding of the distinctiveness of FBOs.

PurposeThis study investigates non-government organisations' (NGO) current accounting and reporting practices in a developing economy context (Mauritius) and argues the case for reforms to enhance their transparency and accountability.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis of a sample of NGO annual returns was carried out followed by interviews with NGO officers and actors on the state of accounting and reporting practices in Mauritius. The authors analyse the data from a public accountability perspective.FindingsThe content analysis revealed poor accounting and reporting practices by Mauritian NGOs. Based on interview insights, the authors find that these poor practices arise due a lack of (1) NGO-specific accounting standards, (2) engagement with narrative reporting, (3) properly trained NGO officers and (4) proper monitoring and control. Some of the interviewees expressed their support for introducing online filing systems and accounting requirements that are commensurate with NGO size, improving regulatory oversight, while ensuring that NGO accounts are made available to the public.Originality/valueWhile there are many calls for better NGO accountability and transparency in developing economies, little is known about the state of accounting and reporting mechanisms (and regulatory framework thereof) that could provide the basis for relevant reforms towards enhancing accountability. Considering the opacity of NGO information in Mauritius and recent concerns about money laundering practices and the perceived ineffectiveness of regulatory oversight, this first national assessment of accounting and reporting practices sheds light on current challenges and formulates locally appropriate recommendations for the sector.

This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of the feasibility and effectiveness of development interventions in situations of chronic violence, paying particular attention to the capacity and room of manoeuvre of intervening organisations in contexts where illicit groups have built up a power position. It analyses the interventions of two faith-based NGOs (FBOs) that aim to reduce violence and promote community development in selected gang-controlled neighbourhoods of the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador (AMSS). Based on a literature study and data from fieldwork in several municipalities of the AMSS, it focuses on the ways the organisations navigate in extremely complex contexts. It is argued that the factors that contribute to the capacity of the FBOs to work in gang controlled neighbourhoods include their evangelical identity, the acceptance by and independence from gang and government, their longer-term engagement in selected neighbourhoods, and the combination of social interventions that have a local impact (education, healthcare) with the promotion of moral values. The paper also discusses some of the dilemmas and limitations of these kinds of approaches.

Large-scale health emergencies like COVID-19 oftentimes result in widespread humanitarian impacts. Due to their long-standing relationships and involvement within local communities, along with extensive networks and support from faith-affiliated institutions, faith-based NGOs carry a unique advantage in reaching the most vulnerable during such crises. The Adventist Development &amp; Relief Agency’s (ADRA) experience during its global COVID-19 response showcases how keeping a local presence in-country and fostering partnerships with affiliated faith institutions and constituents can result in a wide reach of programming. By providing dedicated personnel and small seed-funding, developing a flexible global strategy involving strong business continuity plans and emphasis on its faith base, and supporting the sharing of information and lessons learned among local offices, faith-based NGOs are capable of quickly delivering life-saving interventions to vulnerable communities. ADRA and the affiliated Seventh-day Adventist Church have proved during the first year of COVID-19 that they are stronger together, highlighting the importance of utilizing a faith base when implementing humanitarian interventions.

The U.S. government plays a vital role, alongside private organizations, in aiding the world's poor. Faith-based organizations, especially those receiving federal funding, need to understand the climate in which they work, including competing funding motivations and clashing domestic political agendas. The recent shift toward soft power will bring new opportunities for foreign assistance, and NGOs will play a vital role in raising funds and executing programs. As faith-based NGOs and USAID continue to work together, the next president should engage religious leaders, make earmarks more transparent, and establish a new cabinet department for international aid.

State intervention in education throughout much of the world is a relatively recent phenomenon. In general, it is associated with the foundation of modern industrial nations. The models of state education usually adopted, however, derived many of their characteristics from the dominant providers for centuries, namely, faith-based organizations. These have included, but have not been restricted to, organisations from the Judaeo-Christian tradition and Islam. Along with providing schools on the home front, outreaches were also developed to service emigrant communities, and to assist in the missionary work of evangelization. This latter work continues today along the traditional pattern of running schools, technical and vocational education and university education, as well as hospitals and social-care facilities in long-established mission settings. In more recent times, however, faith-based organizations, like individual-country aid agencies, multi-lateral organizations and NGOs, have also been responding to various crises situations around the world, including those generated by famine, climate, disease, and conflict and post-conflict. The general focus of this chapter is on the work of faith-based organizations in a particular form of post-conflict setting, namely, that of ‘post-new-war’ societies. This notion of ‘new wars’, coined and elaborated on by Kaldor in her recent pioneering research at the London School of Economics and Political Science, refers to those wars which have their origins in the informal wars of the second half of the twentieth century and have become most prominent in recent decades with the disintegration of authoritarian states. Thus, ‘post-new-war’ societies relates to such post-military conflict zones as Iraq, Northern Ireland, Lebanon, Kosovo, Solomon Islands and Rwanda, to mention just a few. Specifically, the chapter provides a brief outline of the historical background to the outreach work of faith-based organizations, particularly through schools; broadly portray the ways in which faith-based organizations have become involved in various crisis situations around the world; elaborates on the nature of ‘new wars’ and ‘post-new-war’ societies as one type of such crisis situations; considers the recent emphasis in the academic literature on the importance placed by academics and multi-lateral organizations on the role of education in post-new war settings; illustrates a variety of initiatives undertaken by faith-based organizations in the provision of education, particularly schooling, in ‘post-new-war’ societies and draws on the small, but significant, body of work which has been undertaken in the field to date, which should be instructive to leaders of faith-based schools (and of state schools and schools run by non state secular organizations also) in their decision-making, particularly with regard to leading learning.

This paper examines the research and conceptual literature about the role of faith-based organizations in community development. For the most part, there are relatively few community development studies about faith-based community development groups. This qualitative study explores two research explorations: First, how do Christian faith-based community development organizations in Kentucky perceive and employ the concepts of solidarity and agency (capacity building) in their work. Second, how do they perceive their role in the context of a systems approach to community development as measured through the Community Capitals Framework (CCF) which includes the application of seven capitals in planning and implementation: Natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial and built capitals. While the organizations in our research initiative employ many of these major concepts we learned they do not have an explicit understanding of these approaches. This study also suggests there are also spiritual and emancipatory capitals which merit further investigation as part of a systems approach. The article includes several recommendations about strengthening the potency of faith-based community development organizations through a more explicit understanding of the concepts of solidarity and agency and the community capitals framework and potential partnerships with government and other non-governmental organizations.

This study examined how organizations' faith identity, perceived organizational support for spiritual practices, and perceived ability to implement those practices predict wellbeing and professional quality of life among child welfare professionals. A total of 262 professionals working with vulnerable children and families completed standardized measures. Results indicated that branding as a faith-based organization alone did not predict well-being outcomes. However, perceived support for spiritual practices was associated with higher life satisfaction and lower burnout, and perceived ability to engage in spiritual practices predicted greater resilience and compassion satisfaction. Results also indicate that both religious commitment and perceived personal capacity to enact spiritual practices were associated with higher life satisfaction, resilience, compassion satisfaction and lower burnout. Findings highlight the importance of tangible, accessible spiritual support over formal organizational identity alone. They also suggest that the capacity to enact spiritual practices is essential to receiving their benefits.

In communities throughout the developing world, faith-based organizations (FBOs) focus on goals such as eradicating poverty, bolstering local economies, and fostering community development, while premising their activities and interaction with local communities on theological and religious understandings. Due to their pervasive interaction with participants, the religious ideologies of these FBOs impact the religious, economic, and social realities of communities. This study investigates the relationship between the international FBO, World Vision International (WVI), and changes to religious, economic, and social ideologies and practices in Andean indigenous communities in southern Peruvian. This study aims to contribute to the greater knowledge and understanding of 1) institutionalized development strategies, 2) faithbased development, and 3) how institutionalized development interacts with processes of socio-cultural change. Based on fifteen months of field research, this study involved qualitative and quantitative methods of participant-observation, interviews, surveys, and document analysis. Data were primarily collected from households from a sample of eight communities in the Pitumarca and Combapata districts, department of Canchis, province of Cusco, Peru where two WVI Area Development Programs were operating. Research findings reveal that there is a relationship between WVI’s intervention and some changes to religious, economic, and social structure (values, ideologies, and norms) and practices, demonstrating that structure and practices change when social systems are altered by new social actors. Findings also revealed that the impacts of WVI’s intervention greatly increased over the course of several years, demonstrating that changes in structure and practice occur gradually and need a period of time to take root. Finally, results showed that the impacts of WVI’s intervention were primarily limited to those most closely involved with the organization, revealing that the ability of one social actor to incite changes in the structure and practice of another actor is associated with the intensity of the relationship between the social actors. The findings of this study should be useful in ascertaining deductions and strengthening understandings of how faith-based development organizations impact aspects of religious, economic, and social life in the areas where they work.

Local resource mobilization is explored as facilitated by a faith-based NGO in rural Bangladesh communities. The study aimed to understand the organization’s impact on community development through local resource mobilization. Employing a mixed-method approach, data were gathered through face-to-face interviews, focus group discussions, in-depth case interviews, and key information interviews. The study revealed positive outcomes among participants, with 70% reporting favorable learning experiences from the NGO’s training programs. The program significantly contributed to increase income generation, evidenced by loan repayments and grant utilization for income-generating activities. The research also identified limitations and external factors that affected community income enhancement, emphasizing the importance of comprehending the local context. These findings have policy implications, guiding rural development experts, practitioners, development organizations, and policymakers. Understanding faith-based NGOs’ strategies and their impact on local resource mobilization will enable stakeholders to design initiatives fostering sustainable community development in rural Bangladesh.