The primary purposes of this dissertation were to (i) assess and identify post-industrial urban neighborhoods with food-insecure and vulnerable populations, and (ii) explore and analyze the role of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in addressing place-based food insecurity. The study used mixed-methods, including qualitative GIS, statistical tests, surveys, interviews, and field observations. A food justice theoretical framework was used to develop a Place-Based Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Index (PFIVI), which factored together 33 variables to measure six indicators. The study applied this index in the City of Philadelphia and then examined three types of interventions that NPOs embark on - providing hunger relief, providing healthy and affordable food through the alternative food movement, and offering food-based programs and events tied with community capacity building efforts. Statistical relationships between PFIVI scores and NPO-driven programs showed spatial mismatch issues between the programs and community needs in some neighborhoods. This research also highlighted other limitations of these programs and the challenges that NPOs face both on- and above-the-ground. While the NPOs are trying hard to promote food justice through their mission statements, advocacy, outreach, and on-the-ground programs, the city may have only partially achieved this goal. A lot more needs to be done by strengthening organizational networks, strengthening social networks with community residents, and offering healthy but affordable food in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and NPOs alone should not bear these responsibilities. / Geography

Public interest groups, environmental nonprofit organizations (ENPOs) among them, play a large role in the formulation and implementation of public policy. Much of their legitimacy comes from their claim that they represent their members' interests. This thesis examines ENPO communication forms to ascertain whether and how ENPOs seek their members' opinions, and if so, whether or not those opinions influence the ENPOs' issue-focus selection process, which is the issues on which the ENPO's financial and human resources will be expended. The research addresses these questions at two related levels of representation: internal to the organization (e. g., how do ENPOs seek their members' opinions) and inter - organizational (e.g., what role do ENPOs play in the political arena). On the level of internal democracy, elitist theory and Seymour Martin Lipset's "factors that encourage organizational democracy" provide a base for interpreting the results. At the inter-organizational level both pluralist and elitist theories of democratic governance provide the base for interpretation of the results. Finally, speculation is made about ENPO membership as "symbolic" political participation The results suggest that support for both pluralist and elitist interpretation of both internal and inter-organizational democracy may be appropriate. All ENPOs use a variety of communication forms to inform their members, and all ENPO survey respondents stated that they are open to membership suggestions. The findings also suggest that another appropriate interpretation of ENPO membership may be that membership is a symbolic purchase of political participation. / Master of Urban Affairs

Occurring across all professions and industries, noncitizen workers experience unfair and dangerous working conditions and are discouraged from seeking legal aid because of the fear of retaliation and deportation. In addressing these concerns, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a new certification expansion in support of U nonimmigrant status and T nonimmigrant status visa applications for noncitizen workers who comply with OSHA investigations. This research project sought to holistically understand the potential obstacles noncitizen-serving nonprofit organizations could face in response to the OSHA U-visa certification expansion. Being a new option for noncitizen workers and service providers alike, this research utilizes the perspective of several expert service providers regarding the implementation of the certification expansion and where hardships in its application could occur. Through the use of a national survey and audio-visual online semi-structured interviews, service providers described their trepidations with the OSHA U-visa expansion. The research findings showcased how the implementation of the certification expansion has affected the immigration sector in terms of its possible challenges in viability, networking-building, and capacity of those involved in the application process across all social and political levels. Based on feedback offered by participating service providers, recommendations and deliverables have been developed with the intention to address these challenges and seek betterment for noncitizen workers.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In 2008, grassroots NGOs formed 13 alliances in response to the need for emergency relief and post-disaster recovery after the Sichuan Earthquake that occurred in West China and killed approximately 87,000 people. These alliances served to raise and deliver relief materials, train and supervise volunteers, promote information sharing, and assist victims with mental health and livelihood recovery. However, all alliances were terminated within less than four years. Although plenty of scholarship discusses how corporate alliances evolve or fail, few studies focus on interorganizational collaboration among nonprofits. To explore how NGOs developed collective actions in China’s adverse sociopolitical environment, the author performed three years of observation in four coalitions and interviewed 60 alliance leaders, employees, and volunteers. This paper identifies four types of termination these NGO alliances experienced: three of them failed at their very births, five self-disbanded shortly after the end of emergency aid, three dissolved due to failed institutionalization, and the remaining two evolved into independent organizations. Tracking their life cycles, this study finds four main factors accountable for their terminations: political pressure, funding shortage, short-term orientation, and leadership failure. In particular, the repressive NGO regulation regime and limited funding sources fundamentally restricted all alliances’ capacity and sustainability. Further, the transient nature of disaster relief efforts and the conflict between disaster management and planned work areas contributed to the short-term orientation among alliance members and, thus, led to the closure of some alliances shortly after they provided emergency relief. In addition, though generally exempt from internal rivalry that often undermines inter-firm partnerships, NGO alliances of all types were confronted with leadership challenges—partner misfits concerning resources, strategy, and mission; flawed governing structures, and undesired individual leadership. The four factors interplayed and led to alliance dissolution through different combinations. The paper points out that, in addition to environmental uncertainty, leadership failure has become a major challenge for nonprofit collaborations.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / The awareness of the environmental crisis and the impact of rising poverty globally has led to the search for sustainable solutions. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) describe the solution as a secure peaceful world, a healthier environment and a better quality of life for all. Nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) are important development actors in realising this goal. They work within civil society and focus on the empowerment of the vulnerable and marginalised through the transfer of skills, resources and power. Their flexibility, commitment to social justice and strong relationships with the community allow NGOs to develop creative responses, developing new models for sustainable solutions. A weakness of NGOs is the inability to provide reliable evidence of the effect, or impact, of programmes and their contribution towards a better society. Further the reliance on donor funding can change the focus of accountability from the beneficiaries to donors and stakeholders. The study is based in the given reality that NGOs are required to adopt a more strategic outcomes orientated approach to programme and project planning to be able to measure the impact of services to improve the effectiveness of services and prove their added value to society. This is most often done through the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) as a planning model, as many governments, multilateral aid agencies and donors use this model to develop policies and determine funding priorities. This study therefore gives an overview of the literature regarding the principles, benefits and challenges of the LFA from various sources. These are considered within the diverse and complex development context and how the complexity affects the use of this tool in planning, monitoring and evaluation. The LFA is based on the Management by Objectives model. The LFA provides a relatively objective, systematic and thoughtful guide to project planning which enables organisations to measure their progress in realising goals. The visually accessible log frame explains how the use of resources will contribute towards reaching the goal. It enables the organisation to present their projects to a wider audience increasing its accountability to donors, stakeholders and beneficiaries. Yet, organisations are often very critical of the use of the Logical Framework Approach as it assumes that society is a stable environment where factors can be manipulated to bring about expected results. It ignores the dynamic, complex and frequently unpredictable nature of society and the non-linear path of social learning and empowerment. Further the model can be misused and exploited to enforce power relationships resulting in the development of inappropriate or irrelevant projects that do not meet the needs of the intended beneficiaries. The study concludes that, despite all the criticisms, the Logical Framework Approach can be a very useful tool and provides recommendations that will help find a balance between the structured planning process and the participative and creative social learning techniques. NGOs can be focussed and accountable and still remain more responsive to the needs of communities.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Politics and Public Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The American social welfare system is a mixed system consisting of loosely coupled government programs, private nonprofit and for-profit organizations, grassroots and religious entities. Although religious entities historically played a key role in the development of the social welfare system, the faith-based initiative of President George W. Bush targeted religious service providers to receive government funding and take on a larger role in service delivery to at-risk populations based on the belief that these providers were substantially different from traditional providers. Using a cross-sectional research design and a survey instrument created for the study, data was collected from 121 nonprofit service providers in the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area of Virginia. Nonprofit organizations were selected from three online databases using identified criteria and sent paper surveys and/or emails inviting them to complete a web-based survey. The study identified similarities and differences between characteristics of faith-based service providers and traditional providers and used a conceptual model composed of Resource Dependence Theory and Neo-Institutional Theory to suggest dynamics impacting similarities and differences between providers. Data analysis included univariate and multivariate analysis of organization characteristics. Univariate findings identified that faith-based organizations in the study were older, served more people in 2006, generally provided services via volunteers, received more funding from congregations and other religious entities and did not favor membership in professional organizations. Other than these notable differences, faith-based providers were fairly similar to their traditional counterparts. A multivariate analysis used a two-group discriminant function (DFA) procedure to determine which variables best discriminated between provider groups. Two variables, funding from congregations/other religious entities and funding from government grants/contracts, were found to be the most important discriminating variables. Study findings were consistent with prior research comparing the provider groups. Although some differences do exist, overall similarities tended to outweigh differences suggesting that the claim of substantially differences between providers did not fit the geographic area studied. For those concerned with community service delivery, the implication is that recent economic developments suggest that attention should be placed on collaboration and service delivery capacity-building rather than on the differences between service providers.

The study is undertaken for a more compressive understanding for organizational theory and its applicability to tendency towards improvisation during emergency times among individuals in Non Profit Organizations (NPOs) in Saudi Arabia. The analysis involved an examination of direct effect of learning on tendency towards improvisation and possible mediating effects between organizational learning and tendency towards improvisation among individuals in NPOs, while controlling for key demographic differences (e.g. individuals’ age, education level and years in service, number of full-time staff and volunteers). Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to full-time employees in 13 NPOs in three cities in the western area of Saudi Arabia, namely Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah (N= 304). The main statistical method employed to hypotheses examination was Structural Equation Modeling. The hypothesis examination resulted in three out of five hypnotized paths are to be significant. Two direct relations were interpreted as outcomes of organizational learning, with increases in the level of organizational learning is being positively related to individuals’ self –efficacy and agility. The third significant path interpreted as individuals’ agility is positively related to their tendency to improvise during emergency times, which indicates organizational learning has indirect effect on tendency towards improvisation. Finally, the applicability of organizational learning theory to the field of emergency management and suggestions for future research in light of the findings of this research are also discussed.

Problems with food insecurity, such as a lack of access to healthy and affordable food in low-income neighborhoods, has been an ongoing challenge in New Orleans. The damages inflicted by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent citywide flooding on the local food system reduced the numerical count of operational full-service supermarkets and grocery stores throughout the city. The result has been a widespread presence of food deserts and grocery gaps, particularly in low-income neighborhoods. This thesis explores the emergence of food localism practices by food advocacy professionals as a capacity-building tool for New Orleans residents to increase community food security and develop a sustainable local food economy. This paper finds although alternative agro-food networks have increased the availability of healthy and locally produced foods in New Orleans, it provide evidence demonstrating their limited capacity to regularly provide healthy or affordable food in a similar manner to grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods.

Studiens syfte var att genom sex kvalitativa intervjuer undersöka hur arbetsfördelningen ser ut inom kvinnojourer och vilken roll som volontärerna erhåller i verksamheterna. Vi ville även se vilken inställning till ideellt arbete som uttrycktes inom kvinnojourer samt se vilken betydelse som kvinnojourerna har i samhället kopplat till myndigheter och organisationer. Genom tiderna har kvinnorörelsen bidragit till den utvecklingen inom mäns våld mot kvinnor i nära relationer vi ser idag. Det har gått från att kvinnor uppmärksammat problematiken, ställt upp för sina medmänniskor och varit en stöttande individ, till att det utvecklats kvinnojourer. Samhället har genom uppmärksammandet fått en större förståelse till problematiken och har därför tagit över ansvaret. Idag finns det fortsatt många som arbetar ideellt inom kvinnojourer och som vill vara en god medmänniska genom att hjälpa dessa utsatta kvinnor på sin fria tid. Vårt resultat- och analysdel visade att synen på volontärerna inom kvinnojourerna är delad men att den ändå är övervägande positiv. Inom kvinnojourer sägs det av respondenterna att det inte finns några gränser mellan vad volontärer får och inte får göra, men genom vårt empiriska material kunde vi se att det fanns en osynlig gräns. Denna osynliga gräns uppkommer då volontärer per automatik inte utför arbetsuppgifter som till exempel att sköta kontakten mellan myndigheter, då det har blivit en av de anställdas arbetsuppgifter. Somliga av respondenterna påpekade även att sådana arbetsuppgifter inte kunde ske på grund av brist på utbildning, erfarenhet samt lämplighet som volontärerna saknade. En annan tydlig punkt inom detta avsnitt var att kvinnojourerna allt mer och mer går efter krav som ställs från Socialtjänsten, exempelvis dokumentation. Slutligen visade vårt resultat- och analysdel att det största hindret inom kvinnojourernas verksamhet är myndigheterna, eftersom de tar beslut som kvinnojourerna kan se som tvivelaktiga. Kvinnojourerna menar att de inte ser helheten som personalen på jourerna gör, utan de ser endast delar av det. Slutligen har vi en diskussion kring hela vårt arbete, där vi även diskuterar studiens styrkor och svagheter men också ger förslag till vidare forskning. / The aim for this study has been to explore through six qualitative interviews how division of work looks among workers and volunteers in women-shelters. And also, to address the topic of the attitude against nonprofit work in women-shelters. Ant last to look into what importance the women-shelters has in society linked with the authorities and other organizations linked with the particular area. A change has occurred through time, domestic violence has gone from a private matter within the family to an acknowledge social problem in the community because of the woman movement and their care for their fellow women in society. Through the attentiveness society has gained a larger understanding for the complex of the problem and has taken over the responsibility for battered woman. Even though there has been a change in woman shelters with more professional workers rather than volunteers, the nonprofit work has not yet gone out of time. Our results and analytic part show that the view of volunteer’s within women-shelters are divided but mainly the view is positive. The respondents don’t say openly that there are boundaries that tells the volunteers what they can and can’t do within the women’s-shelter. Although we could see in our empiric material that an invisible boundary does exist. The invisible line occurs when volunteers by automatic doesn’t exercise the same tasks as works by example contact authorities, thus that is a tasked carried out by workers. It was pointed out by some of the workers that those types of tasks could be performed by volunteers due their lack of education, experience and adequacy. Another clear matter in the results and analytic part was that women-shelters in higher extent match the criteria that comes from the social services by example the need for documentation. Furthermore, the results and analytic part shows that the biggest difficulties for the women-shelter organizations are the authorities. Primarily by reason of some om the decisions that can be seen as questionable. The womenshelters mean that the social services don’t see the whole picture but only a part of it. Finally, we have a discussion who discuss our entire study in whole where we also meditate the study’s strengths and weaknesses. We also give suggestions for further research options.