An Action Research approach to supporting change management and associated governance strategies in a community services organisation. Following a report on the Civil Society in the New Millennium Project, which was based upon the responses of citizens from forty-seven Commonwealth countries, a Compact Approach involving the state, intermediary organisations and citizens was developed in 1999, as a framework to enhance civil society. A literature review indicated that there was no research in Australia, as well as internationally, that had investigated the efficacy of this formalised agreement or Compact, particularly in a practical setting. The researcher had been working in the community services sector and had an interest in supporting community services organisations to meet the impact of change, particularly in response to government policy reform agendas. The Compact Approach was identified as a model to navigate change and develop partnerships with a civil society organisation operating in environments characterised by certainty as well as uncertainty. The researcher made himself available to a case study organisation to support change and to investigate the Compact Approach by undertaking Action Research as a participant observer. This exploratory research involved two main reference groups, board and staff, in planning, acting, observing and reflecting. A large amount of data was generated and a need was identified for it to be collated and simplified for further analysis. A new methodology was developed drawing upon the traditions of case study method and story-telling to represent the research themes of: the Compact Approach; change management; and, governance. With the Compact Approach what was found was evidence of some degree of civil society enhancement, particularly at the individual organisation level. As the study was undertaken from an organisation’s perspective the other dimensions of civil society and government had been underrepresented. It was found that government policy of promoting the market meant that competition was overshadowing co2 operation in the case study organisation. For community services organisations the main partner is government and policy frameworks need to support partnerships and civil society beyond current contractual agreements. Carver’s (1997) Policy Governance framework was partially implemented to assist with infrastructure development. However there was a lack of time and a commitment from the board and senior staff. Not all governance responsibilities can be met through such a framework and community organisations need to be mindful of its limitations, particularly for those connected to civil society. There were mixed results with Action Research being used as a change management tool. The dominance of power by those in ‘control’ highlighted management styles, but they also overshadowed group processes. Action Research methodology was also complemented by Stacey’s (1996) ordinary and extraordinary management framework. It was found that when applied to the Action Research cycle of planning, acting, observing and reflecting; that the process of reflecting was particularly supported by such conceptual mapping. What was also highlighted was the need for professionals to undertake ����in the field���� Action Research but also to draw upon their professional or technical expertise, using participant-observer-consultant modes. The capacity for a small community services organisation to change can be based upon levels of infrastructure, governance skills, available resources and level of development to operate at an associative level with other stakeholders. The viability of these smaller organisations is being challenged by the ‘managerialist’ business paradigms of government policy where the fabric of civil society has not been incorporated within accountability frameworks. Here there is a challenge for new frameworks such as the Compact Approach, to lead the way as formalised agreements with government, to enhance the role of civil society in the delivery of community services in countries such as Australia. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Recognizing that over the past decade transnational environmental activism focusing on climate change has radicalized in public tactics and discourse, this project employs a mechanism-process approach to analyze and explain processes of tactical and discursive radicalization within the global climate justice movement(s) over time. As global activists within this movement construct and pursue public, as well as covert, campaigns directed at states, international institutions, corporations, the media and society at large, it asks why, how and to what effect specific sectors of the broader movement have radicalized from the period 2006-2010. Utilizing longitudinal quantitative protest event and political claims analysis and ethnographic field work and participant action research, it aims to provide a descriptive and comparative account of tactical and discursive variations at international climate change protests situated within the context of a broader cycle of transnational global justice contention.

This dissertation extends the literature on the crowd-out theory to international nonprofits based in the United States. The dissertation measures the simultaneous impact of government grants on private contributions and fundraising activities of INGOs. Understanding the relationship of the major players (government, donors and nonprofit managers) in revenue collection of INGOs is important in understanding international charity and its implications. Six major sub-categories of international organizations have been identified for this research. These are based on a review of the literature on international organizations and those already coded as international according to the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE). An overview of the INGO sub-categories, their description and coding can be seen in table A5 in appendix A. The major sub-categories include (1) International, Foreign Affairs and National Security (ifans), (2) Promotion of International Understanding (piu), (3) International Development (id), (4) International Peace and Security (ips), (5) International Human Rights (ihr), and (6) International, Foreign Affairs and National Security N.E.C. (ifansNEC). We will employ a panel dataset of INGOs between the years 1998 and 2003 to test for crowding-out effect of government grants on private contributions and fundraising activities. We have a total of 2,169 INGOs in our data set and a total of 6,239 observations.

Despite the remarkable success of microfinance programs in poverty alleviation, empowering the clients of these programs has proven elusive in many cases. Social capital is a commonly missing, or at least misused, asset within microfinance programs, which often leads to this outcome. Creating and fostering social capital will have a positive influence on empowering microfinance clients. The values espoused by certain Christian theologies can have a considerably positive impact on the creation and fostering of social capital. A Christian-oriented social capital also has the potential to alleviate the ills and correct the failures of a microfinance program’s intent to empower clients. This thesis argues that the values and structure of certain Christian theologies and practices create a type of social capital that increases the likelihood of Christian-based microfinance programs empowering their clients.

Using a qualitative multiple case study methodology, this study explores the relationship between government funding and INGO autonomy in three INGOs through resource dependence and tool choice frameworks. Adapting Verhoest, Peters et al.'s (2004) conceptualization of organizational autonomy as the extent of an organization's decision making capacity in matters concerning agency operations and human resource and financial management; this research regards the authors second definition of financial, structural, legal, and interventional constraints not as types of autonomy per se, but as the mechanisms through which INGOs' actual use of their decision making competencies is constrained. The findings in this research suggest that relative to other funding sources, government funding disproportionately impacts INGOs' operational and managerial autonomy. This is largely accomplished through various ex ante and ex post constraints such as, rules and regulations on inputs allocation and use, performance controls and evaluation requirements attached to government funding. This research also finds that the tool of choice used by government to finance INGO activities also steer, direct and influence INGO grantees' decisions thus positioning INGOs to incorporate government policy interests, preferences and priorities. However, INGOs can exercise their autonomy through various strategies ranging from program design, contract negotiation, and participation in advisory groups.

<p>Environmental non-governmental organizations are now major players in environmental science and conservation. The largest now produce applied conservation science and work on local, national, and international scales and across scales to conserve marine and terrestrial ecosystems and connect local level environmental issues to international economic and political processes. However, despite the growing role of these organizations, there is still a lack of comprehensive examinations of their programs with a full analysis of programmatic design, structure, processes, and outcomes. </p><p>To fill this gap in both conservation practice and academic theory, I conducted a multi-scalar examination of Conservation International's Marine Management Area Science initiative. This $12.5 million initiative, lasting from 2005 until 2010 and funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, had four main nodes of research and conservation work: Fiji, Belize, Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape, and Brazil. Using non-governmental organization and science and technology studies literature as a theoretical framework, I endeavored to determine what factors affect how environmental non-governmental organizations manage the boundaries across multiple scales and between science and policy in international marine management area science initiatives. Drawing upon methodological approaches in multi-sited ethnography and participant action research, I conducted qualitative field research at each of the initiative's four main node sites and at Conservation International's headquarters, while simultaneously engaging with Conservation International so to return results back to the organization for adaptive management and learning.</p><p>My results are consistent with theoretical predictions and lend lessons learned to conservation practice. My research shows that managing the boundaries across scales and between science and policy in international marine management area science initiatives depends on how the program was initiated, the use of networks, partnerships, and coalitions, the level of programmatic participation, the degree of accountability and the ability to learn, the translation of scientific knowledge, and the assessment context. Future research on other environmental non-governmental organization programs has the potential to extend these findings.</p> / Dissertation

After the 1978 economic reform in China, the society is slowly detaching from the control of state. The civil society in China is also growing, the grassroots (local) NGOs increase fast. Along with the globalization, China is unable to avoid the INGOs activities inside the country. This study is going to discuss what¡¦s the effect and function(change)that INGOs would bring to China. For these years, be a part in global society is the most important work for China. That¡¦s why this study takes global civil society as background, and firstly research how INGOs interact and cooperate with the local NGOs in China. Second, observe the interaction mode between these two type NGOs through the framework of advocacy networks. Finally, we would understand the NGOs¡¦ development in China by Corporatism, and we could prove that the local NGOs¡¦ activities are affected by the global civil society and advocacy networks. We could clearly understand what is the effect of INGOs bring to China through these three structures. And what is China¡¦s attitude toward the INGOs. Besides the discussion on theories, this study also uses the statistical analysis to analyze 246 INGOs which have actual work in China. We will discuss their activity project, area, organizational funding, and the related legal regulation. After analyzed these 4 factors, we could find out what¡¦s the role China is playing in those INGOs activities. In the end, from the analysis of state, local NGOs and INGOs interactions in China, this study also discovers that INGOs in different areas would implement different activity project, and the outcome would also be different.

The thesis explores the impact of European Union funding on Turkish non-governmental organizations in the post-Helsinki period. The European Union financial aids in the post-Helsinki period is analysed with a specific emphasis on civil society and how Turkish civil society is affected from these financial aids. The search for impact analysis is done through case studies of three different civil society organisations at several levels. The organisations studied are, Women Entrepreneur&rsquo / s Support Foundation of Turkey (KAGiDER), Mother-Child Education Foundation (A&Ccedil / EV) and Southeast Anatolia Project- Entrepreneurs Development Centres (GiDEM) The importance of these three cases is being representative of different strata of civil society and operating in priority areas in such as, women, entrepreneurship and basic education the pre-accession stage. The effects of EU funding will be analysed in different subject areas and levels, such as organisational changes, operational changes, mission differentiations and changes in relations with third parties. The study concludes with the analysis if these impacts have a permanent effect on Turkish civil society and civil society organisations, together with the critiques of the extent EU funds can be utilised by an average NGO.

This thesis studies the perceptions of the selected representatives of environmental non-governmental organizations&rsquo / (NGO) about the human and nature relationship in Turkey. The representatives of the NGOs&rsquo / perceptions about human-nature relationship are studied refering to four dimensions, Production and Consumption processes, Energy Production, role of Science and Technology, and the concept of Sustainability. Approaches of the NGOs about Policies and the Activities of Environmental NGOs in Turkey are also examined. The perceptions of the NGO representatives have been evaluated according to Pepper&rsquo / s comparison of &lsquo / conventional&rsquo / versus &lsquo / green&rsquo / values regarding the differences between the national, international and public NGOs.

Using a qualitative multiple case study methodology, this study explores the relationship between government funding and INGO autonomy in three INGOs through resource dependence and tool choice frameworks. Adapting Verhoest, Peters et al.'s (2004) conceptualization of organizational autonomy as the extent of an organization's decision making capacity in matters concerning agency operations and human resource and financial management; this research regards the authors second definition of financial, structural, legal, and interventional constraints not as types of autonomy per se, but as the mechanisms through which INGOs' actual use of their decision making competencies is constrained. The findings in this research suggest that relative to other funding sources, government funding disproportionately impacts INGOs' operational and managerial autonomy. This is largely accomplished through various ex ante and ex post constraints such as, rules and regulations on inputs allocation and use, performance controls and evaluation requirements attached to government funding. This research also finds that the tool of choice used by government to finance INGO activities also steer, direct and influence INGO grantees' decisions thus positioning INGOs to incorporate government policy interests, preferences and priorities. However, INGOs can exercise their autonomy through various strategies ranging from program design, contract negotiation, and participation in advisory groups.