Social movements and NGO interaction

2 new working papers by the Civil Society Building Knowledge Programme

Tags: Worldwide , Civil Society Building
Additional tags: Social movements NGO interaction civil society sogge dutting

Are we entering a post-NGO era in development? Aid critics very much suggest so. Hailed as a magic bullet for development two decades ago, NGOs are increasingly criticized for being ineffective agents of change, out of touch with broader social currents in society and operating in a fragmented way. Under pressure to show results, NGOs and their donors are increasingly attempting to align with social movements in a bid to scale up their impact. Social movements are an older, looser form of organizing with a better track-record in structural societal change. Yet, their fluid nature does not lend it self easily to outside support. Therefore outside interventions have often worked to their detriment.

These observations and others form the backdrop of a study on social movements and NGO interaction, that was carried out by David Sogge and Gisela Dütting in 2008 and 2009. The study draws on field research covering 55 NGOs in 8 countries across 3 continents, backed up with desk research on NGO annual reports and academic literature, interviews with academics and a number of consultative workshops. Based on the study, the civil society building knowledge programme presents 2 new working papers. The paper ‘moving targets’ presents an analysis of social movement dynamics. How do social movements evolve? How can their succes be assessed? Can social movements somehow be supported by outsiders? A second paper on NGO interaction draws on a field study among seasonend NGOs and zooms in on the dynamics of NGO collaboration and the role of outside supporters.

The upshot from both papers? The dynamics of collective civic action emerges as an important research theme, with many dimensions yet unsufficiently explored. And the aid critics that captured the starting line of this article should not judge too hastily. Collective civic action cannot be engineered, but NGOs and their supporters can play a significant, albeit limited positive role, as long as they proceed with caution and remain aware of the complexity and sensitivity of the civil society eco-systems in which they intervene.