The Management of Non-Governmental Organizations

This is a new, updated edition of a book first published in 2001. It has particular relevance to a world where international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have increasing roles in fighting poverty, and are seen as important within civil society. It focuses on the management of NGOs that work in the field of development and poverty reduction in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, and also in the nations that were formerly part of the Soviet Bloc.

After an introductory chapter that discusses the history of NGOs’ rise to prominence and the growth of interest in NGO management, the remaining chapters are organized in two sections. The first is on the theory of NGO management and has three chapters. Chapter 2 explores some of the different contexts and the diverse ways in which NGOs have developed, and which help explain their diversity. Chapter 3 discusses the relationship between NGOs and development, including the influence on NGOs of changing frameworks and institutions among the official donor agencies and development banks. Chapter 4 discusses how the concept of management can best be applied in development NGOs.

The second section has four chapters on different aspects of the practice of NGO management. Chapter 5 reviews the main roles of most NGOs – services and advocacy – and what links exist or might be developed with policy processes. Chapter 6 discusses NGOs’ relationships with the other key actors, namely communities, the state and other development agencies. One particular difficulty that is discussed is how NGOs can manage multiple accountabilities. Chapter 7 discusses the complex organizational issues that development NGOs face and issues relating to capacity building and organizational learning. Chapter 8 presents some conclusions. Each chapter has a series of boxes, many of them case studies of particular NGOs. The book also has a substantial bibliography, a glossary and an appendix giving details of some useful NGO management websites.