Advocacy Non-governmental Organizations Research Articles

Civic space and its effects on advocacy Non‐Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Tanzania

AbstractGlobal trends show that the civic space is shrinking. Specifically, civic space for Civil Society Organizations draws more attention. The shrinkage is caused by increased authoritarianism and democratic backsliding. Experience shows that advocacy based Non‐Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are more affected. The situation in Tanzania is comparable to other parts of the world. However, literature in Tanzania does not establish experiences to characterize the civic space of advocacy NGOs and does not explore the effects of existing civic space on advocacy NGOs. Drawing on Tanzania, this study examines NGOs experience and the effects of civic space on their roles. This study is anchored in interpretivism and case studies, following a qualitative path. Four NGOs and 10 activists were included. Interviews and documentary reviews were used to collect data, and a thematic approach was used to analyse the data. The findings reveal that the civic spaces for advocacy NGOs is changing, unpredictable and contested. There has been negative and positive experiences due to change of political regimes. This causes advocacy NGOs to fail to have long‐term plans, increased fear, loose focus and fail to emerge as strong democratic institutions. NGOs must push for, and the government should accept constitutional, and legal changes to ensure NGOs effective functioning. This specific focus could be extended to other parts of Africa, Asia and Europe, where advocacy NGOs face the same challenges.

Advocacy non-governmental organizations (NGOs) resiliency to shrinking civic space in Tanzania

PurposeThe world is experiencing democratic backsliding such that the situation is down back to 1986. This has resulted in the global shrinking of civic space for civil society organizations (CSOs). NGOs engaging in advocacy activities are seen to be among the CSOs affected. Using four NGOs cases from Tanzania, the study contributes to the civic space debate by uncovering how advocacy NGOs become resilient.Design/methodology/approachThe study is anchored in interpretivism and a cross-sectional case study design, following a qualitative approach path. Data were collected through interviews and a documentary review.FindingsResults show that several strategies such as complying, building community back-up, collaboration, strategic litigation, using digital media and changing the scope are applied. However, strategies face obstacles including scope limitations, expected democratic roles, high cost, changes in the scope and being outsmarted by the government, and hence their effectiveness is questionable.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focused on advocacy NGOs. More studies can be conducted for other advocacy-related CSOs on how they become resilient.Practical implicationsWhile NGOs are allowed to exist in the country, their freedom continue to be curtailed. Even the effectiveness of resiliency becomes temporary and depends on the political will of the existing regime.Originality/valueTanzania NGOs have to build strong bonds with citizens, expand the scope of strategies and use deliberative democratic principles to educate the government to change laws and tolerate plural political culture. Also, NGOs in other countries with confined civic space can apply the same.

Pediatric cardiac NGOs: collaboration and coordination

: The steep decline in global childhood mortality has revealed an increasing contribution of congenital heart disease to infant mortality and increases the need to make it a health care priority in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) access to appropriate, quality pediatric cardiac care. Pediatric cardiac non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been working to address barriers to pediatric cardiac care for over 50 years. This review describes different NGO programmatic models, the challenges of the NGO landscape, and offers opportunities for collaboration. Collaborative NGO advocacy based on an agenda rooted in equity and human rights and supported by improved outcomes data, can establish the legitimacy of pediatric cardiac NGOs with policymakers and donors, bring new opportunities for many and save many lives. Whether that is technical assistance and advising on international best practices, strengthening local clinical capacity, or building advocacy skills with patient and family organizations, NGOs can leverage their unique strengths to increase sustainable and equitable access to pediatric cardiac care across the world. Justice and equity focus and linking health to human rights are important synergies for NGOs to assure better health for children in need of heart care.

The Power of Specialization: NGO Advocacy in Global Conservation Governance

AbstractOrganizational ecology has attracted growing interest in global governance research in recent years. As a structural theory, however, organizational ecology has overlooked how organizations may shape the organizational environment by their own choices. Bridging the insights of organizational ecology and the study of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), I argue that the organizational choice of specialism (as opposed to generalism) increases the power of NGOs to influence an environmental condition—issue salience—by targeting a small but engaged segment of the public. Focusing on wildlife conservation governance, I collected new comprehensive data on NGOs and issue characteristics (2008–2015). My empirical analysis shows that specialist NGO density is strongly associated with issue salience. I further examined causal processes in the case of pangolin conservation advocacy, in which specialist NGOs first raised issue salience and generalist NGOs followed. The findings suggest a division of labor among NGOs and challenge a conventional view that the power of NGOs is concentrated in a small number of prominent organizations.

NGOs as Multinationals’ Value Creation Partners for Sustainability in Emerging Markets

We analyze how multinationals implement sustainability projects in emerging markets to address the lack of provision of public goods by the government. In this theoretical paper, we propose a framework that explains how multinationals redefine their partnerships with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in emerging economies by embracing NGOs as value creation partners, helping multinationals internalize the externalities derived from their activities. Specifically, we suggest that foreign multinationals collaborate with the three types of NGOs (service, regulatory, and advocacy) to enhance the effectiveness of three types of value creation strategies (action, control, and information). Second, building on an extended resource-based view, we argue that relative balance between the multinational and the NGO in sustainability resources (expertise, credibility, and passion) drives the selection of three types of multinational-NGO partnerships (commissioning, co-developing, and sponsoring). In commissioning, the foreign multinational designs sustainability projects and employs NGOs to implement them. In co-developing, the foreign multinational collaborates with NGOs to co-design and co-implement sustainability projects. Finally, in sponsoring, the foreign multinational provides funds for sustainability projects designed and implemented by NGOs. These ideas can help guide research on this important and understudied mechanism for multinationals to improve the impact of their sustainability projects.

Participation without Contestation: NGOs’ Autonomy and Advocacy in China

AbstractHow do non-governmental organizations (NGOs) advocate public policies? What impacts their advocacy strategies? Although scholars have addressed these questions in a democratic context, less is known about NGO advocacy under powerful authoritarian regimes. Using China as a case study, we develop an institutional explanation of NGOs’ policy advocacy patterns and explore the impacts of NGO autonomy. Using a unique dataset of registered NGOs in three Chinese provinces, we find that NGOs with more autonomy tend to conduct direct negotiations with the government more actively (more political advocacy). However, these more autonomous NGOs are likely to be more hesitant to mobilize society from the bottom up (less social advocacy). These findings enrich our knowledge of social actors’ roles in the policymaking process in China.

The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in South Africa with Specific Reference to Rural Development

The study aims to examine the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) because there is no discussion of poverty, equality, or development today that will be complete without considering the role of NGOs. NGOs are visible, respected, and entrenched in part of many societies. The successes of the NGOs in providing health care, education, economic opportunities, and human rights advocacy to millions of people, shows diversity in terms of their organizational form, structure, and culture. The decentralization of governments and scaling back of social spending advocated by international financial institutions and large aid-donor organizations throughout the last decades have created considerable space for NGOs and made them key figures in a wide range of social sectors. The findings of the study are that NGOs range from service-oriented, community-based initiatives operating around only one project to advocacy NGOs, intermediary NGOs to developmental NGOs. The key finding is the identification of ten successful NGOs, which play a significant role in developing communities in South Africa. The study found out the structures, significance, challenges, and benefits of NGOs in developing countries. The researcher has used the conceptual approach and relied heavily on secondary sources to get the relevant literature to achieve the overall goal of the study.

Negotiating Organizational Access as a Multifaceted Process: Comparative Research Experiences With Three Advocacy NGOs in Kenya

Although research with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) has become an established practice, the process and politics of gaining access to such organizations often remains implicit in methodological literature on qualitative research. Drawing on a systematic comparison of research experiences with advocacy NGOs in Kenya, this article discusses organizational access as a multifaceted process. Based on three case studies that were comparable in set-up and context but yielded different outcomes, we argue that the process of obtaining and maintaining access to NGOs is influenced and shaped by researcher positionality, internal and external gatekeepers, organizational characteristics and research topic, and that these factors should be studied in interaction rather than in isolation. Taken together, these factors determine the process of obtaining and maintaining research access, and consequently the outcome of ethnographic fieldwork with NGOs.

How Strategic Decisions Impact the Success of Local Advocacy Interventions at Greenpeace

International advocacy non-governmental organizations (NGOs) represent key actors of global governance. In this paper, we depart from the current paradigm that considers these NGOs as stakeholders to businesses and governments to investigate how they make decisions concerning their advocacy interventions. Our contribution is twofold. First, we develop a framework that explains how the national and regional organizations (NROs) at Greenpeace strategize their interventions. Second, we adopt a set-theoretic approach to investigate how the decision points associated with an intervention impact its success. Our findings show that the success of interventions largely depends on the choice of targets and tactics in relation to the particular context of an intervention. Our study calls for a greater understanding of the strategic management of international advocacy NGOs.

Nonstate governance of solar geoengineering research

As climate change’s risks have grown and limits to primary responses become evident, solar geoengineering (or solar radiation modification) has risen in prominence as a potential complementary response. Widespread calls for expanded research have raised objections, based on anticipated links to potential future deployment and potentially harmful interactions with other climate responses. The unique concerns raised by solar geoengineering may warrant governing associated research with more care or scrutiny than other areas, but states have not engaged the issue. Given this, we analyze the potential for nonstate actors to provide governance functions needed to enable, control, and legitimate near-term, small-scale solar geoengineering research. Drawing on the theory of regulatory processes and nonstate actors as well as evidence from other issue areas, we describe six types of nonstate actors in terms of their capacity, knowledge, and interests relevant to governing solar geoengineering research: researchers themselves, the universities or other institutions that employ them, funders, academic publishers, professional societies, and advocacy nongovernmental organizations. We conclude that suitably configured collaborations among these actors can meet the additional governance needs of near-term solar geoengineering research. We consider potential limitations to nonstate governance related to legitimacy, effectiveness, and capture, and conclude that these are not severe under present conditions, but could become stronger if research grows toward deployment. Nonstate governance may even be preferable to state regulation of small-scale scientific activities, offering more flexible early exploration of options with the possibility of later transition into more state-led and legalized governance arrangements.

Nonstate Governance of Solar Geoengineering Research

As climate change’s risks have grown and limits to primary responses become evident, solar geoengineering (or solar radiation modification) has risen in prominence as a potential complementary response. Widespread calls for expanded research have raised objections, based on anticipated links to potential future deployment and potentially harmful interactions with other climate responses. The unique concerns raised by solar geoengineering may warrant governing associated research with more care or scrutiny than other areas, but states have not engaged the issue. Given this, we analyze the potential for nonstate actors to provide governance functions needed to enable, control, and legitimate near-term, small-scale solar geoengineering research. Drawing on the theory of regulatory processes and nonstate actors as well as evidence from other issue areas, we describe six types of nonstate actors in terms of their capacity, knowledge, and interests relevant to governing solar geoengineering research: researchers themselves, the universities or other institutions that employ them, funders, academic publishers, professional societies, and advocacy nongovernmental organizations. We conclude that suitably configured collaborations among these actors can meet the additional governance needs of near-term solar geoengineering research. We consider potential limitations to nonstate governance related to legitimacy, effectiveness, and capture, and conclude that these are not severe under present conditions, but could become stronger if research grows toward deployment. Nonstate governance may even be preferable to state regulation of small-scale scientific activities, offering more flexible early exploration of options with the possibility of later transition into more state-led and legalized governance arrangements.

The impacts of agroforestry on agricultural productivity, ecosystem services, and human well-being in low-and middle-income countries: An evidence and gap map.

The impacts of agroforestry on agricultural productivity, ecosystem services, and human well-being in low-and middle-income countries: An evidence and gap map.

Toward Political Change: Transnational Advocacy Network for Gendercide Issue in the People’s Republic of China

This article examines the activism process in the People’s Republic of China-(PRC) by substantial local civil state actors and local Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in eradicating the custom of gendercide. Gendercide, which determines as gender-based genocide was getting worse after the adoption of the One-Child Policy in 1970s. Thus, this research tries to explain Chinese NGOs advocacy process in building the Transnational Advocacy Networks (TANs) to deliver the case of gendercide in the PRC using the ‘Boomerang Pattern’. Besides analyzing the role of local NGOs, the authors also examine the United Nations (UN) and the European Parliament, hand in hand with the United States (US) as the state actor which involves in the advocacy process. The finding of this research are: 1) Domestic NGOs have carried out numerous actions against the Chinese government by filling the lawsuit of forced abortion to the court and protection by giving a safe house for pregnant women; 2) TANs is created when the domestic NGOs build a network with other INGOs to advocate this gender-based genocide in the PRC; 3) INGOs force the United States, the UN and the member in European Parliament to response the PRC’s government by giving a condemn. As a result, these advocacy works can affect the gendercide policy though influencing the Chinese government’s process of decision making. The policy changed into ‘two-child policy’ from ‘one-child policy’. Keywords: gendercide, transnational advocacy networks, People’s Republic of China.

The accountability of advocacy NGOs: Insights from the online community of practice

Advocacy non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play an important role in society by keeping in check the power of corporations and governments and uncovering rights violations. They differ from other NGOs in terms of their agenda, funding structure and the stakeholders they serve, and operate in a context characterized by increasing demands for transparency, accountability and responsible advocacy. This study examines how the accountability agenda of advocacy NGOs is shaped by the need to maintain independence, preserve values and keep reputation unsullied when faced with financial and legitimacy pressures. A netnography method is employed to analyse the discussions taking place in the NGOs’ online community of practice to understand the implications of the accountability challenges faced by advocacy NGOs through the perceptions of NGO professionals. The study reveals that the accountability agenda of advocacy NGOs is determined by the interrelated threats of financial vulnerability, potential loss of independence, legitimacy challenges and the high level of public scrutiny. The findings highlight that imperfect accountability mechanisms (e.g. financial reporting and performance management systems) hinder the ability of advocacy NGOs to demonstrate their accountability.

Effects of an Advocacy Trial on Food Industry Salt Reduction Efforts-An Interim Process Evaluation.

The decisions made by food companies are a potent factor shaping the nutritional quality of the food supply. A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) advocate for corporate action to reduce salt levels in foods, but few data define the effectiveness of advocacy. This present report describes the process evaluation of an advocacy intervention delivered by one Australian NGO directly to food companies to reduce the salt content of processed foods. Food companies were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 22) or control (n = 23) groups. Intervention group companies were exposed to pre-planned and opportunistic communications, and control companies to background activities. Seven pre-defined interim outcome measures provided an indication of the effect of the intervention and were assessed using intention-to-treat analysis. These were supplemented by qualitative data from nine semi-structured interviews. The mean number of public communications supporting healthy food made by intervention companies was 1.5 versus 1.8 for control companies (p = 0.63). Other outcomes, including the mean number of news articles, comments and reports (1.2 vs. 1.4; p = 0.72), a published nutrition policy (23% vs. 44%; p = 0.21), public commitment to the Australian government’s Food and Health Dialogue (FHD) (41% vs. 61%; p = 0.24), evidence of a salt reduction plan (23% vs. 30%; p = 0.56), and mean number of communications with the NGO (15 vs. 11; p = 0.28) were also not significantly different. Qualitative data indicated the advocacy trial had little effect. The absence of detectable effects of the advocacy intervention on the interim markers indicates there may be no impact of the NGO advocacy trial on the primary outcome of salt reduction in processed foods.

The Advocate\u2019s Own Challenges to Behave in a Sustainable Way: An Institutional Analysis of Advocacy NGOs

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are increasingly important drivers for businesses’ self-regulation to operate in a sustainable way. We shift the perspective on NGOs from focusing on their advocacy role to focusing on their accountability for having sustainable internal operations. In a multiple case analysis, we explore the question ‘What are the drivers and barriers to sustainable conduct of NGOs that are sustainability advocates?’ Drawing on institutional theory, we obtain novel insights into the legitimacy-seeking motivations for sustainable conduct in the specific context of advocacy NGOs. We found that, affected by its mission, (1) the cultural-cognitive drive is particularly high, with sustainable conduct as an internally ‘taken-for-granted’ behavior, followed by (2) the normative drivers, with the balance between perceived vulnerability of needing to ‘walk the talk’ and the sense of immunity due to lack of external scrutiny, and (3) there are hardly any regulative drivers. Furthermore, these organizations face idiosyncratic trade-offs when balancing investments in their advocacy missions with investments in sustainable operations, reflecting ethical dilemmas. In a broader sense, this research elucidates the way advocates cope in situations of institutional complexity, with conflicting institutional demands between their mission and role-model function.

Exploring the framing power of NGOs in global climate politics

ABSTRACTThe Paris Agreement contains a separate article for loss and damage – an outcome that aligns with a central demand of many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) at COP21. By shifting to a justice framing of loss and damage, NGOs were able to expand their mobilization and, in turn, enhance their influence. While it is not claimed that NGO advocacy was sufficient to produce the outcome, pathways by which issue framing can support increased NGO influence via persuasion and coercion are illustrated. First, the justice frame garnered additional media attention and raised the stakes should states fail to include the issue in the Paris Agreement. Second, the climate justice frame helped forge alliances with vulnerable countries and within civil society that enhanced bargaining. The findings contribute to theory building in NGO politics, connecting framing shifts to important outcomes in the global governance of climate change.

Addressing female sex trade human trafficking in Japan through NGO advocacy networks

Even though Japan has become notorious for trafficking women from other countries, advocacy networks among non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are forming. Such networks can potentially bring about changes in policy, further advance responses to victims, and stem the flow of exploited people to Japan. This study examines how advocacy networks are forming in Japan to address human trafficking both within Japan and between Japan and other nations. Findings show the unique conditions influencing the emergence of such networks, as well as mounting challenges NGOs face as network members, especially in working with NGOs outside of Japan.

Nonprofit Policy Advocacy under Authoritarianism

Abstract Despite the increasing volume and significance of research on nonprofit advocacy, most studies have focused on the phenomenon only in Western countries. This article expands the scope of the literature by examining the advocacy activities of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in authoritarian China. This article focuses on three aspects of advocacy behavior: advocacy investment and use of insider and outsider tactics. Data analyses of an original nationwide survey of 267 environmental NGOs and semistructured interviews with 30 highlight how resource and institutional factors—government funding, government affiliation, foundation funding, and peer collaborations—shape NGO advocacy in China. The findings also suggest ways in which institutional actors may enhance NGOs’ capacity for policy advocacy.

The Contribution of Advocacy NGOs in Governance through Cultivating of a Participatory Culture: Case Studies in Hong Kong

A vibrant civil society, composed of active non-governmental organizations (NGOs), has always been identified as an important factor for governance. This paper reports a pilot study using semi-structured interviews to find out the contribution of advocacy NGOs in the of Hong Kong. It points out that the NGO's conception of good in the Hong Kong context, as revealed by the findings, comprises inter alia: legitimacy obtained through democratic elections, ability to realize the autonomy of the HKSAR, and proper checks and balances not just within the government but also about the possible domination of business interest in the government's policy making process. It further reveals how NGOs can contribute to governance by nurturing a democratic culture through civic education in schools. Hopefully this paper can be of reference value to the international audience as it reflects how the worldwide criteria of good are reflected in the context of Hong Kong, a special administrative region with a high degree of autonomy where the building up of a truly democratic government is yet to be realized.