This dissertation addresses native activism in response to United States and Mexico border enforcement policies on the U.S.-Mexico border among indigenous peoples whose communities are divided by the international line. Fieldwork for the dissertation was conducted in collaboration with an indigenous grassroots community organization with members in both the U.S. and Mexico who advocate for rights of border mobility among native border peoples. This work discusses the impacts of border enforcement policies on native community cultural maintenance, local interpretations and uses of international human rights tools, and the challenges faced by U.S.-Mexico border native activists in communicating their ideologies to a broader public. This work further addresses the complex identity construction of Native Americans with cultural ties to Mexico, and conflations of race and nationality that result in distinct forms of intra-community racism.

This thesis seeks to understand collective practices of urban grassroots, rationalities behind the practices and their potential role in urban politics. The study used insurgent planning and co-production frameworks to highlight practices of the studied organization and adopted theories about relationship between the local and the global. The thesis addressed questions about collective practices for building self-reliance, practices that aim to directly engage the state and how being part of an international network of slum dwellers shapes the collective practices of the local organization. The research is based upon a case study of Zambian Homeless and Poor People’s Federation. The empirical data was collected during two months of fieldwork in Zambia using observations and semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that the studied organization uses elements of both insurgent planning and co-production in its practices. The federation starts with self-help and building financial assets to continue with practices aimed at engaging the state. The results suggest that, as an affiliate of an international network, the federation is influenced by the flow of ideas in the network and that the international cooperation has potential implications for the local urban politics.

This study examines the changing context and implications for evaluation practice of social program and service delivery devolved to small nonprofit and grassroots organizations. The setting is explored through a critical reflection-on-practice of over twenty years experience conducting evaluation. Using a multiple case study approach, the dissertation examines nine broad themes through two broad composite scenarios and twenty-five detailed vignettes that portray the challenges of working as a consultant with and for small nonprofit and grassroots organizations as they grapple with growing demands for accountability through evaluation. The multiple case study analysis is complemented by an analysis of case studies in two broad areas of literature; one on the impacts of devolution in the nonprofit sector, and the other examining recent trends in evaluation conducted in challenging settings, including community-based and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The five broad themes addressed through the case studies and literature on devolution are: 1) accountability, 2) capacity, 3) mandate drift, 4) competition, and 5) complexity. The four broad themes addressed through case studies and literature on evaluation are: 1) theory-based evaluation, 2) inclusiveness (participatory approaches), 3) the changing and multiple roles of evaluators, and 4) the use of dialogue, deliberative and democratic approaches in evaluation practice. The study contends that the ‘rough ground’ of nonprofit settings provides a useful lens for understanding broader challenges and trends in evaluation practice; that evaluators provide more than just technical skills and knowledge, but undertake important roles in linking communities, mediating among stakeholders, fostering dialogue and deliberation about programming, and mitigating some of the more egregious impacts of devolution experienced by nonprofit and grassroots organizations. By acknowledging and supporting the development of such roles and responsibilities, the profession and evaluators working in these settings can provide meaningful contributions to public discourse about the nature of accountability, the broad context of social programming, the complex capacity challenges being faced by nonprofit organizations, and the role of evaluation in exacerbating or potentially mitigating such effects.

This study examines the changing context and implications for evaluation practice of social program and service delivery devolved to small nonprofit and grassroots organizations. The setting is explored through a critical reflection-on-practice of over twenty years experience conducting evaluation. Using a multiple case study approach, the dissertation examines nine broad themes through two broad composite scenarios and twenty-five detailed vignettes that portray the challenges of working as a consultant with and for small nonprofit and grassroots organizations as they grapple with growing demands for accountability through evaluation. The multiple case study analysis is complemented by an analysis of case studies in two broad areas of literature; one on the impacts of devolution in the nonprofit sector, and the other examining recent trends in evaluation conducted in challenging settings, including community-based and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The five broad themes addressed through the case studies and literature on devolution are: 1) accountability, 2) capacity, 3) mandate drift, 4) competition, and 5) complexity. The four broad themes addressed through case studies and literature on evaluation are: 1) theory-based evaluation, 2) inclusiveness (participatory approaches), 3) the changing and multiple roles of evaluators, and 4) the use of dialogue, deliberative and democratic approaches in evaluation practice. The study contends that the ‘rough ground’ of nonprofit settings provides a useful lens for understanding broader challenges and trends in evaluation practice; that evaluators provide more than just technical skills and knowledge, but undertake important roles in linking communities, mediating among stakeholders, fostering dialogue and deliberation about programming, and mitigating some of the more egregious impacts of devolution experienced by nonprofit and grassroots organizations. By acknowledging and supporting the development of such roles and responsibilities, the profession and evaluators working in these settings can provide meaningful contributions to public discourse about the nature of accountability, the broad context of social programming, the complex capacity challenges being faced by nonprofit organizations, and the role of evaluation in exacerbating or potentially mitigating such effects.

A Critical View of Contemporary Environmentalism: Pushing for Grassroots Struggle and Hope during an Era of Escalating Catastrophe

This study examines the changing context and implications for evaluation practice of social program and service delivery devolved to small nonprofit and grassroots organizations. The setting is explored through a critical reflection-on-practice of over twenty years experience conducting evaluation. Using a multiple case study approach, the dissertation examines nine broad themes through two broad composite scenarios and twenty-five detailed vignettes that portray the challenges of working as a consultant with and for small nonprofit and grassroots organizations as they grapple with growing demands for accountability through evaluation. The multiple case study analysis is complemented by an analysis of case studies in two broad areas of literature; one on the impacts of devolution in the nonprofit sector, and the other examining recent trends in evaluation conducted in challenging settings, including community-based and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The five broad themes addressed through the case studies and literature on devolution are: 1) accountability, 2) capacity, 3) mandate drift, 4) competition, and 5) complexity. The four broad themes addressed through case studies and literature on evaluation are: 1) theory-based evaluation, 2) inclusiveness (participatory approaches), 3) the changing and multiple roles of evaluators, and 4) the use of dialogue, deliberative and democratic approaches in evaluation practice. The study contends that the ‘rough ground’ of nonprofit settings provides a useful lens for understanding broader challenges and trends in evaluation practice; that evaluators provide more than just technical skills and knowledge, but undertake important roles in linking communities, mediating among stakeholders, fostering dialogue and deliberation about programming, and mitigating some of the more egregious impacts of devolution experienced by nonprofit and grassroots organizations. By acknowledging and supporting the development of such roles and responsibilities, the profession and evaluators working in these settings can provide meaningful contributions to public discourse about the nature of accountability, the broad context of social programming, the complex capacity challenges being faced by nonprofit organizations, and the role of evaluation in exacerbating or potentially mitigating such effects. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

This thesis explores interorganizational cooperation as a tool for grassroots expansion. It focuses on the importance of grounding development work in grassroots perspectives, while acknowledging the structural and practical limitations to this that exist inherently in the organization of the international system and in the nature of development actors. In order to address these limitations, it analyzes the resources, methods, and missions of development actors. It uses this analysis to demonstrate how coordination maximize resources and enables actors to increase their impact. Through a structural analysis of international, national, and local actors and development practices, this paper assesses where there is room in the international system for cooperation. To measure this question it lays out the underlying nature of the international system and the implications it inherently has that complicate interorganizational cooperation and grassroots expansion. Through the case of the Green Belt Movement, this paper investigates the potential for grassroots expansion. This case study demonstrates where there is room for cooperation by illustrating relevant collaborative projects. The Green Belt Movement specifically examines the potential for coordination in Kenya for climate justice, women’s rights, and community empowerment.

Background: The myriads of environmental and social predicaments that came together with the rise of energy consumption and global capitalism now calls for a radical paradigm shift. Though this shift has been discussed over the last few decades under the concept of “sustainable development”, it appears that the focus has merely been put on “sustaining the unsustainable”. Hence, exploring alternative sustainability paradigms and their viability appears as a necessity to navigate in the Anthropocene era.    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategies employed by Swedish ecovillages to achieve financial viability in the context of a strong sustainability paradigm. The focus is put on understanding how these organizations manage to avoid bankruptcy without compromising their values and purpose.    Method: This thesis is qualitative in nature and is based on an interpretivist paradigm. More specifically, the researchers followed the Grounded Theory approach proposed by Strauss & Corbin to analyze their data and find a plausible theory. Therefore, the theory introduced by the authors is rooted in the primary data collected through in-depth interviews with a total of six residents from three different Swedish ecovillages.   Conclusion: The results of this research shows that the Swedish ecovillages studied achieved financial viability by channeling money from the capitalist market economy to their communal economy, while simultaneously relying on their ideology and resources to prevent this money from “leaking out”.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Grassroots participation in the domain of public policy is assuming global significance particularly in the fields of welfare and development. Revived by the United Nations' resolution in the 1970s, many governments both in developed and underdeveloped countries have endorsed the grassroots participation ideals as contained in the United Nations' policy statements and resolutions. Accordingly, many governments have declared their support for grassroots participation and in number of cases, grassroots participation has featured conspicuously in their national development plans. _. A late arrival on the grassroots participation discourse, grassroots participation and civil society's involvement have also featured predominantly in the national development plans of the new South African government. The new democratically elected government pronounced in various policy documents and on public platforms, a commitment towards grassroots participation. Although many governments have employed the rhetoric of grassroots participation in their national·. development plans, there is however an accumulative literature which points to the fact that grassroots participation endeavors have· often been undertaken in a top-down fashion, with marginalized groups of communities often excluded. The central objective of this study has therefore been a critical evaluation of the manner in which the Western Cape Provincial Department of Social Services has implemented its grassroots approach in the context of policy. formulation and implementation and service delivery. An evaluation of the Department's grassroots approach has been attempted by assessing the grassroots structures, which the Department has established as vehicles for grassroots participation in its policy processes and service delivery. To this end, of Fourteen District Committees established by the Department throughout the Western Cape province, four have been evaluated. Through reviewing literature Oh grassroots participation, the project's findings highlighted a discrepancy between the Department's prevailing rhetoric of grassroots participation and the reality of the grassroots participation as operationalized through these committees. The findings indicated that the grassroots participation through these committees is far from the ideal of authentic grassroots participation as discussed in Chapter Two, as it is replete with elements of unrepresentativeness of the marginalized groups, co-option, political manipulation, centralized and top-down decision-making styles. The study also attempted to provide recommendations tailored to bring the Department's grassroots participatory process closer to the ideals of authentic

No description available.