Service Delivery Should Not Be a Priority Focus for Non-Governmental Organisations Work - Essay Example

Service delivery should not be a priority focus for Non-Governmental Organisations’ (NGOs) work. Discuss with reference to relevant literature and examples The role of NGOs in the resolution of a series of social and political issues has been considered thoroughly by the international bodies. In this context, Meyer (1999, 12) found that ‘the late 1980s were also a time when the World Bank sought private sector solutions to development problems; and NGOs belong to the private sector and for this reason research was undertaken to explore such private-sector alternatives; The World Bank began to consider that NGOs might be something more than a political nuisance; they might also offer efficiencies in service delivery. On the other hand, the delivery of services as well as every other activity that would be possibly undertaken by the NGO’s should be based on a series of rules and ethics that could ensure the quality and the relevance of these activities around the world. It is for this reason that Lewis (2001, 1) supported that ‘for some NGOs the delivery of services will doubtless require a set of practices and techniques which could usefully draw upon public and private sector approaches; For NGOs involved in campaigning and networking, perhaps less of this material will be of value, and new approaches are needed’. In other words, in accordance with the above researcher, not all activities of NGOs should be regulated strictly by governmental rules and principles but mainly the delivery of services. However, it is not made clear whether the above rules should refer to particular issues related with the delivery of services or would contain rather general guidelines and suggestions. At a next level, in order to understand the role of service delivery in the operation of NGOs, we should primarily present a definition of these organisations as it has been formulated during their operation throughout the world. In accordance with a definition given by Mawlawi (1993, 391) ‘broadly defined, NGOs are private, voluntary, non-profit organizations whose members combine their skills, means and energies in the service of shared ideals and objectives’. Moreover, Mawlawi, explains the main characteristics of NGOs based on the definition presented above. In this context it is stated that ‘NGOs vary in scope, resource base and influence as well as in functional and ideological orientation; they may be local, national or international, and include service groups, prominent foundations and professional or other membership organizations; NGOs are generally dependent on private resources, but in several countries they receive government support as well’ (Mawlawi, 1993, 391). The above analysis leads to the assumption that NGOs have a primary role in the various political and social initiatives around the world. However, sometimes their role may be underestimated or even not observed perhaps because they operate mainly through the private sector although being closely connected with the public sector. In accordance with another definition given by UN (2003) NGO is ‘any non-profit, voluntary citizens group which is organized on a local, national or international level.’ The above definition is also followed by a series of characteristics which distinguish NGOs from other organisations operating in the private sector. More specifically, it is mentioned that ‘task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of services and humanitarian functions, bring citizens concerns to Governments, monitor policies and encourage political participation at the community level; they provide analysis and expertise, serve as early warning mechanisms and help monitor and implement international agreements; some are organized around specific issues, such as human rights, the environment or health’ (UN, 2003 in Doh et al., 2004, 464). The above characteristics are common among all NGOs, they are however cases of NGOs that may present particular forms mostly because they are formulated in order to serve specific purposes (like NGOs that have been formulated in order to provide support to the people of an area or a country that suffers because of an unexpected war. As of the historical development of NGOs, Clark (1995, 507) notices that ‘international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have proliferated in the latter half of the 20th century; many of these transnational actors are new to world politics, a province that historically has been dominated by states; in some issue areas, NGOs have acquired significant authority in the eyes of transnational actors’. The above assumptions are supported by examples of NGOs that operate internationally. Some of them are quite known where others are most related with the problems of specific regions and their activities are therefore known only to the regional societies. As an example, Clark (1995, 507) refers to the human rights group, Amnesty International, ‘which began in 1961 with letter-writing efforts to free individuals imprisoned for the nonviolent expression of opinion’ as well as to ‘other NGOs, such as OXFAM, which establish economic development projects and administer economic and humanitarian aid with funding from the pockets of private contributors stating that what these NGO activities have in common is, while they often challenge governments and sometimes complement government-provided services, they nearly always act in counterpoint with governmental actors’. In other words, the above researcher also supports the view that NGOs are closely connected with the governmental authorities with which they often cooperate in order to achieve their mission. On the other hand, Doh et al. (2004) refer to another significant characteristic of NGOs. More specifically, the above researcher supports that ‘unlike democratically elected governments, which are accountable to their citizens, and firms, which are accountable to their owners and shareholders, NGOs serve diverse principals--clients, donors, individual members, and staff--and operate in environments that provide them with relative immunity from transparency; the needs and preferences of these principals may diverge, and trade-offs among them must be managed while determining the appropriate scope and focus of NGO activities’ (Doh et al., 2004, 469). Moreover, it should be noticed that the above net of cooperation cannot be identified in advance and particularly regarding a specific activity. Such an assumption cannot lead to the hypothesis that all activities of NGOs suffer from transparency, however, because it is very difficult to evaluate with accuracy their priorities and their dependencies, their support could be proved a wrongful decision regarding a particular activity. On the other hand, Lewis (2001, 1) supported that ‘the profile of NGOs has increased steadily among development policy makers, activists and researchers in both the rich industrialized countries of the North and among the low-income, aid recipient countries of the South’. The above change in the level of acceptance by the local and international authorities (among with other actors that participate in NGOs as members or through a different role) has led to the enhancement of the importance of NGOs towards the resolution of problems that are related with failures in the national or international social or political projects. Moreover, NGOs are considered as essential actors in all ‘efforts to secure social and economic change in favour of marginalized populations by the agencies which make up the international aid industry, in the growing number of public interest groups seeking alternative approaches to poverty reduction through better service delivery and through advocacy and campaigning work, and in the self-help efforts of organized local communities to improve their conditions of life’ (Lewis, 2001, 1). However, the effectiveness of NGOs regarding the resolution of the above problems has not been measured with accuracy mostly because of their number as well as their simultaneous participation in many activities around the world. However, generally it has been stated that the strategies followed by NGOs in order to face the various issues that are related with poverty around the world can be summarized to the following ones: ‘a) the delivery of new or improved services to sections of communities which are in need, b) efforts to catalyse social, economic and political change processes at the level of group or individual action, and c) the attempt to create synergies among different agencies and initiatives through the building of partnerships’ (Lewis, 2001, 1). In the above context, NGOs in order to achieve the above effort have to proceed to partnerships especially with governmental authorities in all countries around the world. Regarding this issue, Brinkerhoff (2002, 3) found that ‘partnership contributes to effectiveness by affording actors access to crucial resources—including expertise and relationships—that would otherwise be inaccessible; those actors closest to the issue to be addressed have better information, strong incentives for assuring good performance, and lower transaction costs in bringing resources to bear; governments and donors can access these resources via NGOs, local governments, and the private commercial sector’. Theoretically, the above cooperation can be really valuable regarding the achievement of severe social and political problems around the world. However, the result of the relevant effort cannot be specified with accuracy in advance mostly because they are several national and international issues that have to be taken into account in each case and also because there are many issues related with the culture and the civilization of each particular place. As an example Brinkershoff (2002, 3) refers to the case of Brazil where ‘multinational corporations and government agencies access the expertise and local knowledge of International Medical Services for Health (INMED) in implementing health education and improvement programs, while INMED creates new resources by harnessing opportunities for corporate philanthropy’. The above example is just indicative of the political and social effects of a NGO’s intervention in a particular case. However, it should be mentioned that in many cases NGOs cannot respond to the needs of a specific case and there are many occasions that they proceed to outsourcing in order to meet the requirements set by the specific problem. In this context, Klingner et al. (1997, 159) noticed that ‘purchase-of-service agreements with other governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become commonplace; the use of outside consultants and businesses (hired under fee-for-service arrangements on an "as needed" basis) increases available expertise and managerial flexibility by reducing the range of qualified technical and professional employees that the agency must otherwise hire to provide training’. The above findings prove the weakness of NGOs to respond to specific cases regarding particular activities. For this reason, in order to evaluate the delivery of services from NGOs we should primarily investigate the strength of NGO’s that are under examination. Generally, the existence of such a weakness proves that NGOs cannot guarantee the quality or the timely delivery of services in all regions and sectors where their intervention is requested. In this context, the use of appropriate management models could possibly help NGOs in order to meet the needs of social and political problems that need to be resolved. For this reason Courtney (2002, 34) stated that ‘rather than arguing that strategic management tools and models are not appropriate for the voluntary nonprofit sector as a whole; while it may be suited to larger, bureaucratic, professionized service-delivery voluntary nonprofit organizations, it is not appropriate to smaller mutual aid bodies centred on volunteers, where it may be dysfunctional and detrimental to the organizations image’. Moreover, Brown et al. (2003, 11) supported that ‘NFP organizations have a special obligation to provide important differentiated services and goods; they should not be expending time, energy, and effort providing services and goods that are already being provided with excellence by others; they should not be duplicating the efforts of others unless the needs of targeted client groups are not being met; even then, NFP organizations have a special responsibility to build partnerships and alliances with other NFPs in order to better use existing resources; Creative collaboration can enhance both the quality and quantity of client services’. In accordance with the above views, NGOs should intervene only in occasions that their participation would be requested in a particular case. At a next level, it is supported that NGOs have to evaluate the need for their participation in a specific case in advance and where the problem can be resolved through the existed public authorities or other organizations, NGOs should avoid intervention. On the other hand, the quality and the extension of the specific participation should be very carefully evaluated in order to avoid unnecessary activities and costs. From another point of view Meyer (1999, 61) makes a distinguish between the North and the South NGOs suggesting that there is a preference from donors to participate in the projects undertaken by the South NGOs. Furthermore, the above researcher highlighted that ‘in view of the advantages of the nonprofit sector -- both theoretical and as evidenced in practice -- the enthusiasm of donors for NGOs is not surprising; but the preference of external donors for working with Southern NGOs in no way attests to evidence that public goods for the domestic economy will be better provided by the NGO sector; the public sector is responsible to the domestic populace and can tax to provide necessary services; the scope, duration, and variety of services offered by externally funded NGOs depend on the goals of donors’. In other words, the mission of a NGO although formulated in advance in its creation, it can be alternated during its operation mostly because of the participation of many actors especially donors that have specific interests related with the operation of the specific NGO. However, it is noticed by Meyer (1999, 61) that in case that a differentiation exists between the interests of donors and the targets set by the public authorities, the delivery of services can be alternated in accordance with the above scheme: ‘If the services demanded by external donors are valued as public goods by the domestic clientele and the NGO sector is a more efficient channel for service delivery, then the domestic clientele will benefit; however, to the extent that there is a role for the public sector in any country -- the sector responsible to its citizenship, able to provide public services in a consistent manner through tax revenue -- externally funded NGOs cannot replace the public sector’. Towards this direction, Brown et al. (2003, 11) also agrees that ‘the sole purpose of the NFP organization is to provide needed and appropriate client services; because profit is not the NFPs measure of success, the focus must constantly be on how well you are providing your services; because fulfilment of these services is difficult to measure (more so than financial profitability), you must be ever-vigilant regarding service delivery so as not to become sidetracked and lose focus’. The above researcher however does not take into account the fact that a NGO has to measure and balance the interests of all its members belonging either to the public or the private sector. On the other hand, it should be mentioned that the influence of the local culture can be really powerful to the decisions taken by a NGO regarding its participation in specific cases as well as its framework of operations both in the local and the international field. In this context, Osborne (2003, 11) refers indicatively to the Japanese society which ‘has neither the tradition of voluntaryism and civil society, as developed in the Western market economies, nor an established role for VNPOs as acting in independence from the state (I/NPOs); rather a cultural paradigm is dominant which emphasizes the importance of mutual aid as an essential component of society and where the development both of social services and of non-profit organizations is dependent upon the sanction and leadership of local and central government; the public and the group are far more dominant than the individual’ (Osborne, 2003, 11). The above example proves that the structure and the operation of a NGO can be differentiated at a significant level in accordance with the needs and the cultural context of a specific case. Accordingly, the operation of NGO cannot be focused on specific activities but has to cover a wide range of activities in order to ensure its effectiveness when its intervention will be required. This assumption is also supported by the fact that the delivery of services has to take place primarily through the public sector and the role of NGOs in this case has to be only supplementary and not exclusive. References Brinkerhoff, J. (2002). Partnership for International Development: Rhetoric or Results? Boulder: Lynne Rienner Brown, H., Ruhl, D. (2003).Breakthrough Management for Not-For-Profit Organizations: Beyond Survival in the 21st Century. Westport, CT: Praeger Clark, A.M. (1995). ‘Non-Governmental Organizations and Their Influence on International Society’. Journal of International Affairs, 48(2): 507-525 Courtney, R. (2002). Strategic Management for Voluntary Nonprofit Organizations. London: Routledge Doh, J., Teegen, H., Vachani, S. (2004). ‘The Importance of Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in Global Governance and Value Creation: An International Business Research Agenda’. Journal of International Business Studies, 35(6): 463-486 Klingner, D., Bradshaw, L. (1997). ‘Beyond Civil Service: The Changing Face of Public Personnel Management’. Public Personnel Management, 26(2): 157-167 Lewis, D. (2001). The Management of Non-Governmental Development Organizations: An Introduction. New York: Routledge Mawlawi, F. (1993). ‘New Conflicts, New Challenges: The Evolving Role for Non-Governmental Actors’. Journal of International Affairs, 46(2): 391-413 Meyer, C. (1999). The Economics and Politics of NGOs in Latin America. Westport: Praeger Publishers Osborne, S. (2003). The Voluntary and Non-Profit Sector in Japan: The Challenge of Change. New York: Routledge Curzon United Nations (UN) (2003) NGO committee concludes 2002 resumed session, with final recommendations on economic and social council consultative status, UN Press Release NGO/ 494, available at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/ 2003/ngo494.doc.htm Read More