Jim Henry *
BondJune 2003
The last 10 years have been a period of explosive growth in the international NGO sector in the UK. But today the sector is under threat from a number of directions - through its own search for professionalism, from donors, competition, and from external challenges and pressures concerning legitimacy and accountability.
Factors which enable or disable
A decade ago, donors began to channel more of their funding to NGOs, believing they were more flexible, focused, community-based and efficient. Support has now moved to 'southern' NGOs and donors have challenged the role of international NGOs (INGOs). The cycle may yet turn again, particularly if many of the ‘southern' NGOs are branches or mirror images of INGOs, or formed only to access funding. More positively, donors are prioritising support and pressure which focuses on improving the capacity of host Governments to deliver on their responsibilities.
Agencies that have flourished are those which are flexible, focused, community-based and effective, which address the role of Governments - above all those with substantial scope and scale of activities and quantifiable impact - perhaps as part of international networks or in strategic mechanisms for inter-agency collaboration. DOMINGO is an excellent example of such collaboration among smaller agencies, at HQ level.
Accessibility to funds for programming is critical, and mid-sized NGOs have skillfully managed the complexities of official funding, balancing DFID, EU, USAID, Lottery and Comic Relief funding priorities, financial regulations and management systems. But the number of agencies competing for a smaller and smaller share of more focused budgets has increased. In addition, NGOs have been pushed away from 'service delivery' to advocacy and capacity building - activities that require less financial input and involve budget lines that are difficult to fund.
Access to funding for core costs is critical in order to pay for the levels of management necessary to maintain high standards. Yet official funding has placed impossible limits on the costs of management and administration. Agencies have survived only by using their scarce unrestricted income, investment capital and emergency reserves, to pay running costs. Flourishing agencies have been those with access to substantial unrestricted funds, from membership or congregational support, or through fundraising from the public. But raising money costs money, for example, the 5 largest UK INGOs spent over £60 million on fundraising last year.
At the sectoral level, the NGOs that have flourished have been those with a voice, who can forcefully present and defend a well-formulated and coherent case. Networks have played a key part in this, whether through BOAG, the EC Liaison Committee or others such as BOND, which has played a critical part in raising the level of debate especially for the smaller agencies, by increasing awareness, particularly through the excellent NGO Futures debates. The problem facing smaller agencies in particular, is the need to dispel the image of being a disparate and disorganised group, by engaging collaboratively and coherently in challenging policy. In order to be heard and listened to, agencies need to further develop a consistent case and a coherent voice, backed-up by the courage to present and defend it.
To me it is right that we are challenged, as we are using funds generated from the public and on their behalf, in order to intervene in other countries trying to change other people's lives for the better. A huge responsibility which should demand the highest standards of probity and effectiveness. 'Best endeavours' is simply not enough. This should be seized by NGOs as an opportunity in order to move forward in a number of areas, to:
Define legitimacy and additionality. What is it that makes the sector unique and which gives it its legitimacy and accountability?
Develop much further the debate and implementation of mechanisms for operational, strategic and organisational collaboration.
Identify, engage in debate and defend issues of sectoral importance.
Actively seek out potential future trends and seek to adapt in advance, rather than reactively. Above all agencies need to collaborate and learn from others success. Much has been achieved, but much more is needed, and BOND has an essential role to play. About the Author: Jim Henry has worked with international humanitarian and development agencies for nearly 25 years, bothin the field and at HQ, as an external consultant. In recent years he has worked particularly on sectoral, strategic and organisational issues.
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