Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) have occupied a prominent role in the development of rural Zimbabwe since the time of its independence in 1980. NGO work in Zimbabwe currently takes place within the context of a tense and fluid political climate, an economy struggling to recover from crisis, international skepticism toward long-term donor investment in development, and global expectations about the methodologies and accountability measures carried out in intervention-based development work. In the light of the participatory methodologies and empowerment-based development frameworks that dominate the current global expectations for work within the NGO sector, this thesis focuses on the work of one particular NGO working in Zimbabwe, namely, World Vision. The main objective of the thesis is to understand and explain the participatory methods, accountability and effectiveness of World Vision in Zimbabwe (with particular reference to Umzingwane District) and, in doing so, to deepen the theoretical understanding of NGOs as constituting a particular organizational form. World Vision is a large-scale international NGO that has a pronounced presence in Zimbabwe and it is specifically active in Umzingwane District in Matabeleland South Province. The thesis argues that NGOs exist within a complex and tense condition entailing continuous responses to pressures from donors and states that structure their survival. Ultimately, in maneuvering through such pressures, NGOs tend to choose directions which best enable their own sustainability, often at the cost of the deep participatory forms that may heighten the legitimacy of their roles. World Vision Zimbabwe responds to donor trends, national and local expectations of the state and its own organizational expectations by building local government capacity in order to maintain the longevity and measureable outputs of its projects. In doing so, it redefines the concept of participation in pursuing efficient and practical approaches to ‘getting things done’. This compromises deep participatory methodologies and, in essence, alters the practices involved in participatory forms in order to maintain World Vision’s own organizational sustainability and presence in Zimbabwe.

This thesis reconstructs the concept of International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) accountability to beneficiaries through the development of a strategic model for INGO accountability to beneficiaries. It works through the history and arguments surrounding the rise of the debate around whether INGOs should be held accountable to their beneficiary populations. Unique definitions are developed for the terms and concepts related to this topic and a framework for understanding the strategic model for INGO accountability to beneficiaries is outlined: Accountable to whom? Accountable for what? Accountable how? A practical example of an internal assessment for measuring an INGO's accountability to beneficiaries is examined, analyzing data from Mercy Corps' internal accountability to beneficiaries survey conducted in 2010. This thesis defines accountability to beneficiaries as the process of justifying and being responsible for the manner and results of one's actions to any individual or group who is a member of the society whose interests the project or program is intended to promote. The main conclusions from this thesis are that the traditional model should be expanded to be more strategic and include a) a broader beneficiary and stakeholder population who may be affected, either positively or negatively, by the actions of an INGO, b) the actions of all members of the organization, and c) the enduring impacts of their work over time. Accountability to beneficiaries is a concept that can be applied to all INGO projects in a way that requires minimal resources and will ultimately improve the quality of the services delivered.

Previous research on expatriation has focused principally on managers in multi-national corporations. However, there is an acknowledged need to disaggregate the expatriate population in order to recognise the different contexts in which expatriation takes place. This thesis focuses on expatriation within the context of international development, evaluating the process and outcome of sociocultural adjustment in individual development workers. Development workers are an important type of expatriate to study. Their ability to adjust effectively to host cultures is increasingly important as NGOs face growing competition for funds alongside greater calls for accountability and increased demand for their services. Moreover, development work is theoretically challenging as a result of close contact with host nationals, a greater degree of cultural distance between home and host cultures, and the witnessing of poverty and inequity. A mixed method approach was employed in this thesis. Semi-structured interviews were used to evaluate the sociocultural adjustment experiences of expatriate development workers together with reflections on the contribution of their sending organisations. A postal survey was subsequently used to examine recruitment, selection and cross-cultural training practices in a broader sample of UK-based NGOs. This thesis makes its contribution by evaluating sociocultural adjustment in an under-researched expatriation context that is argued to be especially challenging both for the sending organisations and the individual expatriates. The findings identify a number of specific challenges, and provide a rich insight into the way in which these combine to influence the sociocultural adjustment of expatriate development workers and the adjustment outcomes that they achieve. Despite being a challenging context, the development workers in this study had all reached positive adjustment outcomes. The role of sending organisations was also examined, which indicated that recruitment, selection and cross-cultural training practices were shaped by pragmatic considerations. This was evidenced by an emphasis on recruitment sources and selection criteria that sought to identify qualified and experienced individuals with minimal training needs. Cross-cultural training focused on the provision of project and organisational inductions, supporting this interpretation. The findings led to the proposal of a model of sociocultural adjustment in expatriate development workers. The model emphasises the need to balance the use of other expatriates as a support mechanism with the effect of this on the individual’s relationship with host nationals. The model also identifies several factors that can simultaneously create tensions between expatriates and host nationals whilst driving the expatriate to seek support from other expatriates.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Non-profit organisations play an increasingly important role in our society as they often represent community interests. The ability of the non-profit sector to perform effectively has become more critical. In order to maintain their value and effectiveness they require continuous renewal. The increased demand placed on this sector as it partners with government to deliver basic services to the community has amplified the need for this renewal process. The non-profit sector is constantly required to develop new ways of building its capacity in an attempt to meet its challenges. Despite the emphasis placed on the importance of capacity building, the term itse~ is frequently too expansive to be meaningful to decision makers. This paper attempts to develop a working definition of capacity building and assess the capacity building levels of TB Care Association. TB Care Association, founded in 1929, provides a service to tuberculosis patients and their families. Over the last decade, the organisation has moved from being a welfare organisation to a developmental health promotion organisation. The survey conducted on TB Care Association indicates that the scores obtained by the organisation coincide with the organisation's stage of development according to Korten (Mukasa, 2003). The results further revealed that fund raising, over dependence on government funding, lack of succession planning and human resources strategies are potential issues that could impede organisational growth and development. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nie-vir-wins organisasies speel 'n al hoe meer belangrike rol in ons samelewing deurdat hulle die belang van die gemeenskap op die hart dra. Die vermoe van hierdie sektor om effektief te wees raak dus al hoe belangriker. Om voortdurend die vlak van waarde en effektiwiteit vol te hou vereis voortdurende vernuwing. Die toenemende vereistes wat gestel word aan hierdie organisasies deurdat hulle met die regering saamspan om basiese dienste te lewer aan die gemeenskap, het die nodigheid van hierdie vernuwende proses beklemtoon. Die nie-vir-wins sektor moet gedurig nuwe maniere vind om kapasiteit te bou om hierdie uitdagings die hoof te bied. Ten spyte van die klem wat geplaas word op kapasiteitsbou, is die term self gereeld te wyd om betekenisvol te wees vir besluitnemers. Hierdie verslag poog om 'n prakties-georienteerde definisie van kapasiteitsbou daar te stel en om die kapasiteitsbou vlakke binne die TB Sorg Vereniging te bepaal. Die TB Sorg Vereniging, gestig in 1929, bied 'n diens aan tuberkulose pasiente en hul families. Oor die laaste dekade het die vereniging beweeg van 'n maatskaplike rol tot die van 'n vereniging wat fokus op die bevording van ontwikkelingsgesondheid. Die opname by die TB Sorg Vereniging toon dat die tellings behaal deur die instansie ooreenstem met die fase van ontwikkeling soos voorgestel deur Korten (Mukasa, 2003). Die resultate toon verder dat fonds-insameling, oor-afhanklikheid van regeringsfondse, 'n tekort aan opvolger-beplanning en menslike hulpbron strategiee moontlike knelpunte kan wees wat organisatoriese groei en ontwikkeling kan belemmer.

The Best PhD Dissertation Award of the Hong Kong Political Science Association (2004-05) / published_or_final_version / abstract / Politics and Public Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The author performed action research over the two years between March 2006 and February 2008 with the Instituto Dois Irmãos (i2i), a non-governmental organization (NGO) in a low-income area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil consisting of a group of approximately 3-5 locals and 2-30 foreigners at any one time that in March 2006 offered few services and lacked the expertise or confidence to offer more. Together, participants and the author improved and increased the NGO’s services and implemented a reading room – a place of information and literacy – for Portuguese-speaking students of English. This dissertation describes participants’, the organization’s, and the author’s journey to transform the i2i into a better functioning organization and to create the NGO’s reading room. The analysis focuses on the practical learning that took place within the i2i. Throughout the research process, the author both made use of and questioned the concepts of participation and development. In the text, she also draws on the experiences of the i2i’s leaders and volunteers to question the prevailing notion of information as a social good. A critical understanding of these three notions is essential for the work of librarians, development professionals, and policymakers alike. / text

<p>Uganda and Tanzania are two countries severely affected by HIV/AIDS. Hence, there are a numbers of associations for PLHA there. In "Global transformations. Politics, economics and culture", Held, Mc Greew, Goldblatt and Perrton focuses None Governmental Organizations as important actors in the globalized world of today, with increased opportunities to influence and affect the politics. The aim of this paper is to investigate the opportunities for associations for PLHA in Tanzania and Uganda to affect in the national level of politics. The study wants to elucidate the relation between the state/government/authorities and the civil society/associations/NGO:s.This has been done threw investigations of associations of PLHA in Tanzania and Uganda, their characters, objectives and opportunities to affect the HIV/AIDS politics in each country. I have been trying a hypothesis which have claimed that these organizations has not played a political role, meaning that they have affected the politically decision makings concerning HIV/AIDS. The empirical material has mainly been collected threw questionnaires to the selected organizations. It has not been possible to appoint the hypothesis, neither to reject it. There are some indications pointing on its validity. In an summarized assessment, the Ugandan organizations are more politically than the Tanzanian organizations, but probably not in a way that have affected the parlamentarically decision processes concerning HIV/AIDS, as the hypothesis intended. A opposite dependence has not been possible to eliminate: That the character and focus of the associations for PLHA in Tanzania and Uganda is a result of the countries differences in dealing with the problem of HIV/AIDS.</p>