Advantages and Disadvantages of NGOs

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION AS MAJOR POLITICAL ACTOR IN GLOBAL SOUTH

The south-based NGOs that provide services either to the rural poor or to basic level membership organizations and institutes and also with local branches of international NGOs that enjoy varying levels of autonomy. NGOs are therefore primitive from historical or formal and informal membership organizations such as framers’ associations. Even within this, there exists wide range of origins and philosophy.

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The majority of NGOs is miniature of major NGOs structures with minor lines of communications and is therefore capable of responding accessibility feasibility and rapidly to its client’s requirements. They are also predefined by a work ethic conductive to generating sustainable processes and impacts of development in various fields. NGOs also presence in remote locations, where it is difficult to keep government staff in post.

Role of NGOs

Limited technical capacities and relevant small resources bases may characterize some of NGOs. NGOs sometimes may have limited strategic manner and weak linkage with other players in development. NGOs may have limited managerial and organizational capacities. In some countries, the relationship between NGOs and government may involve political, legal, ideological, and administrative constraints.

NGOs in international processes perform many functions like settings agendas, Negotiation outcomes, conferring legitimacy and implementing solutions.

Some of its major roles are as follows:

1. Supporting aspects: Demonstration ad pilot projects: NGOs have the advantage of selection particular places for new projects and specify and as well as improved projects and also advancing the length of time which they will be maintaining those projects and tackle some shortcomings that government projects overcoming some of shortcoming that governments face in this manner.
2. Faciliatiate communication: NGOs also can facilitate communication between people and government.
3. Evalaution and Research: Improved and innovative activities need to be carefully documented and shared effectively and specifically monitoring would accessible for the sharing of final results with people and with the project staff.
4. NGOs also play and important role in advocacy manner that it is implement the governmental programs from criticism to advisable form.

NGOs also play an important rule nationally and internationally indeed have a typical rule in helping and encouragement for governments to taking the actions for which they have given endorsement internationally.

As actors in an global civil society

As actors in a global civil society, NGOs can help to recreate a countervailing force to the process that can excluded people by re-distributing assets and opportunities, injecting social values into market processes, and holding economic institutions to account for their actions. This represents the cutting edge and implementations of innovation of much NGO work today and also for the future.

NGOs also represent issues and its own views in the dynamics of the developmental processes.

The UN Secretary –General in 1995 said:

“NGOs are a basic element in representation of new world. In all continents of world NGOs are spreading in number rapidly. And this is inseparable from the aspiration to freedom and democracy which today animates international society. From the standpoint opinion and the mobilizing powers of NGOs”.

NGOs are also facing challenges to generate themselves to work in more global and strategic tracks in future. In a sense this is what NGOs are already doing by integrating micro level actions in their sense projects and advocacy activities in exact way.

NGOs must create form of concrete innovations at is grass-level to connect with enforcement that can be easily influence the shape of poverty, violence and many other exclusionary violent behaviors and also capture the world of knowledge.

Role of NGOs in development cooperation

The basics of non-governmental organizations remain the same: to provide basic services to those who need them. Many NGOs have demolished their ability to reach poor locality for working in an accessible areas and innovate areas or in other hand achieve things better than by official organizations and agencies. Many non-governmental organizations have an ability to reach poor people, work in inaccessible areas, innovate, or in other ways achieve things better than by official agencies. Many non-governmental organizations have closest linkage with poor group of people. Non-governmental organizations resources are largely additional; they complement the development effort of others, and they can help to make the development process more feasible, translucent, transparent, participatory and accountable. Non-governmental organizations not only “fill the gaps “but they also act as a response to failures in the public and private sectors in providing basics services.

Relationship of NGOs

A healthy relationship is only conceivable when both parties (government and Non-governmental organizations) share same objectives. If the governmental commitment to innovating the provision of turban services is weak or low level, Non-governmental organizations will always find dialogue and correlation or even counterproductive.

When government has social agenda and where Non-governmental organizations are more effective, than there is the potential for strong, collaborative relationship found in both of them.

However, the mutual distinct jealousy also appears to be deep-rooted.Governemts fear that NGOs threaten national security and can erode their power. And Non-governmental organizations mistrust over the motivation scenarios of officials and also of government.

Though many of the strategic Non-governmental organizations are overcoming their inhibitions and are seeking closer collaboration with governments.

To support these roles and relationships, Non-governmental organizations will need to develop a range of new and improve skills and competitive in learning, mediation dialogue bridging, maintaining and influencing. Now focus of Non-governmental organizations is on narrow management issues acquiring skills valued by donors, and formal or traditional concepts of lobbying, need to be replaced by capacities wide range and include the ability to listen, learn and team work at both locally and also globally.

The balance of power Non-governmental organizations in world is very hard to shift as we found and organizing this conference. Non-governmental organizations paly high level legitimacy and accountability to mount, fatally undermining the credibility that NGOs will need if they are to play in global debates.

Modifications and Sustainability

Most Non-governmental organizations shows themselves as catalyst for change and as well as an actor affected by exclusive changes, such as the capacity development.

In terms of type of activities andabout the receiver of Non-governmental organizations efforts. Whereas the object of capacity development efforts by Non-governmental organizations formally orusually has been civil society itself through a focus on the community. For change, action and intervention need to change. According to one author, capacity development hints radical changes in Non-governmental organizations action, “leading to a significantly reduced role in problem identification, design and use of interventions and greater focus on help (in doing something), strategic inputs and supporting processes aimed at strengthening developing country capacity. Functionally, this means a move away forming projects’ to investments in developing country program and less reliance ontechnical assistance”(Gordjin, 2006: 14 ). Equally, Uvin at al. suggest that Non-governmental organizations canreadjustand expand their action by using their knowledge through activities such as training, information sharing,company that helps business and advice in order to “promote changes in other institutions whocorrect (should) include (s) the provisions of such support services”, that is, government (2000: 1414-1417).

Criticism /Disadvantages of Non-governmental organizations

There has additionally been reproval on how Non-governmental organizations have utilized their funding and other monies received or raised. There is additionally disparity between Non-governmental organizations in the north and Non-governmental organizations in the south between their viewpoints and conceptions in which to implement programs in cognation to development and human rights discretely. By endeavoring to amalgamate these two discourses across the globe can engender quandaries of fragmentation of conceptions and programs. If fragmentation were to occur it would be the antithesis intention of Non-governmental organizations that were endeavoring to cumulate human rights and development into kindred programs.

Issa G. Shivii is one of Africa’s leading experts on law and development issues as an author and academics. His critique on Non-governmental organizations is found in two essays. “Silence in Non-governmental organizations discourse: The role and future of Non-governmental organizations in Africa”

Another reprove of Non-governmental organizations is that they are being designed and utilized as extensions of the mundane foreign policy instruments of certain Western countries and groups of countries.

There has withal been inundating disaster of Non-governmental organizations utilizing while lies or misinformed advice to enact their campaigns. In other words, Non-governmental organizations have been quite nescient about critical issues because, as chief scientist at Greenpeace Doug Parr claims, these organizations have lost their efforts in being authentically scientific and are now more self-intrigued. Rather than through science so as to be rationally and efficaciously practical, Non-governmental organizations are now abusing the utilizations of science in order to gain their own advantages.

Human Rights and Non-Governmental Organizations:

(Some Channels for Non-governmental organizations Participation in international organizations)

Some of the Case studies are as following:

1. Non-governmental organizations representatives can be on a national delegation to an international conference to advice delegates from their government (Cairo Population Conference in 1994);
2. Representatives from Non-governmental organizations can be included on a national delegation to an international conference to represent the NGO and conduct negotiations (International Labor Organization);
3. NGOs can send delegates to semi-public international conferences (IUCN has a membership that includes 699 BGOs as well as states and government agencies);
4. An international organization can set up an advisory group that includes experts from NGOs, who do not represent the Non-governmental organizations (UN Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters);
5. An international organization can give Non-governmental organizations an opportunity to participate (not necessarily in a negotiating role) in an official conference to draft a teat (ECOSOC);
6. An international organization can give NGOs an opportunity to participate in preparatory committees for an international conference (Rio earth summit in 1992, Johannesburg summit on sustainable development in 2002);
7. An international organization can hold a special session to give Non-governmental organizations an opportunity to make presentations (General Assembly on sub-Saharan Africa in 1986);
8. It’s also cover some main areas i.e. Women’s economic empowerment, in achievement gender equality.

Organizational Implication:

Some implications are as follows in the aspect of Non-governmental organizations field:

1. How to create and move genuinely inclusively civil society at every level of world system.
2. How to hold other organizations accountable for their actions and ensure that they respond to social and as well as environmental requirements?
3. How to insure and improve that international regimes are both implemented effectively and work for the benefit of needy people and also for poor communities?
4. How to approve that profit made at global field are translated into concentrate benefit at the base roots.

The above challenges raise major questions about how Non-governmental organizations organize and improve themselves to work in more and more global aspects worldwide and also some improvement in the way for future.

Conclusions

NGOs play an increasingly important role in the development. Non-governmental organizations can bridge the gap between government and community. Community based organizations are essential in organizing poor people, taking major action and representing the interests of their members in dialogue between Non-governmental organizations and government.

On the other hand, Non-governmental organizations are better at facial thing and supply the inputs into monumental and management, also mediating between people and the wide political party, internetworking information and policy reform.

By enabling framework of laws, economic and political methods and conditions the State can play and perform a fundamental role in helping Non-governmental organizations and as well as for CBOs.

Non-governmental organizations may have limited organizational and managerial capacities. In some of the countries, the relationship between NGOs and government may involve legal, administrative and some political entities. Sometimes questions arise concerning the motivations objectives of Non-governmental organizations, and the degree of flexibility NGOs accept for the it’s final impact of policies and also positions they advocate.

The variety of activities in which Non-governmental organizations participate has increasing rapidly since the 1980s, witnessing particular expansion in the 1990s.This has been presented Non-governmental organizations, specifically those that operate at pressure of centralization and decentralization. By centralization Non-governmental organizations, particularly those that operate at international level, they can easily assign a common theme or set of goals. Intervarsity it is also advantageous to decentralize as these increases the chances of an Non-governmental organizations behaving flexibility and effectively to localized issues.

The strength of Non-governmental organizations , operating at the field level, it’s their ability to create close links to local communities, and to engender community ownership and participation in improvement at developmental effort.

References:

1 - Source: Charnovitz, Steve. 1997. “Two Centuries of Participation: Non-governmental organizations and international” Michigan Journal of International Law18 (2): 281-282

2 - Role of Non-governmental Organizations in development cooperation Research paper, UNDP/Yale Collaborated Programme, 1999 research Clinic, New Haven 1999: Olena P. Maslyukivska

3 - NGO funding & Policy: INTERACT-NGO Research Programme, 2001

4 - Aid, NGO and Civil Society: Eldis, 2003

5 - Edwards, M. (1997) Organizational learning in NGOs: what have we learned? Public administration and development 17 (2), 235-50.

6 - World Bank (1991 1b), Trends in developing countries 1991. Washington, DC: World Bank.

7 - Palagumi Sainath, Everybody Loves a Good Drought; Stories form India’s Poorest Districts, (Penguin Books, 1996), p.42