International NGOs: networking, information flows and learning

International non-government organisations (INGOs) are increasingly regarded as important in their capacity to influence global policy on development matters such as poverty alleviation, sustainable development, and human rights. This has been possible through their simultaneous attachment to places and local cultures on the one hand, and their critical engagement with the global on the other. With recent advances in information and communication technologies, an increasingly connected INGO community is finding consideration scope for networking and information sharing at multiple levels. However, despite the strategic advantage of INGOs in terms of their multi-level reach, their contribution to date remains limited to small-scale success stories rather than affecting large-scale development. In this paper, we emphasise the importance for INGOs to learn from the field in their quest to influence wider policy-making and improve local accountability. We argue that as their role changes from operational work to international advocacy, INGOs will have to strengthen institutional structures and learning skills to achieve a greater developmental impact.

[1]  David Brokensha,et al.  The Cultural Dimension of Development , 1995 .

[2]  A. Giddens.  The consequences of modernity , 1990 .

[3]  R. Chambers,et al.  The primacy of the personal , 1996 .

[4]  R. Chambers.  All Power Deceives , 1994, IDS Bulletin.

[5]  Michael Edwards,et al.  Making a difference : NGOs and development in a changing world , 2013 .

[6]  David Hulme,et al.  Governance, Administration And Development , 1997 .

[7]  D. Warren,et al.  Indigenous communication and indigenous knowledge. , 1995 .

[8]  D. Korten.  Getting to the 21st century: Voluntary action and the global agenda , 1990 .

[9]  M. Edwards.  Ngos in the Age of Information , 1994 .

[10]  Richard Sandbrook,et al.  The Politics of Africa's Economic Recovery , 1993 .

[11]  Michael Niblock.  Becoming a learning organisation : Joop Swieringa and Andre Wierdsma, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, (1992), 154 pp., £14.95 , 1994 .

[12]  Douglas Rimmer,et al.  The Politics of Africa's Economic Recovery , 1994 .

[13]  Michael Edwards,et al.  ‘Does the doormat influence the boot?’: critical thoughts on UK NGOs and international advocacy , 1993 .

[14]  P. Mcmichael,et al.  Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective , 1996 .

[15]  John W Clark,et al.  The state, popular participation, and the voluntary sector , 1995 .

[16]  J. Avina,et al.  The evolutionary life cycles of non‐governmental development organizations , 1993 .

[17]  Carrie A. Meyer,et al.  The political economy of NGOs and information sharing , 1997 .

[18]  S. Annis,et al.  Evolving connectedness among environmental groups and grassroots organizations in protected areas of Central America , 1992 .

[19]  Stuart Macdonald,et al.  Learning to Change: An Information Perspective on Learning in the Organization , 1995 .

[20]  Glyn Williams.  Non-governmental organizations: performance and accountability , 1996 .

[21]  D. Korten.  Community Organization and Rural Development : A Learning Process Approach , 1980 .

[22]  Michael Edwards,et al.  Non-governmental organisations performance and accountability : beyond the magic bullet , 1995 .

[23]  M. Edwards.  Organizational learning in non‐governmental organizations: What have we learned? , 1997 .

[24]  D. Korten,et al.  Third generation NGO strategies: A key to people-centered development , 1987 .

[25]  Scott Lash,et al.  Reflexive Modernization: The Aesthetic Dimension , 1993 .

[26]  Michael Bratton,et al.  The politics of government-NGO relations in Africa , 1989 .

[27]  David Hulme,et al.  Sociology and Development: Theories, Policies, and Practices , 1990 .

[28]  R. Mansell,et al.  Knowledge Societies: Information Technology for Sustainable Development , 1998 .

[29]  Aryeh Attir,et al.  Administration and Development , 1964 .

[30]  P. Ekins.  A New World Order : Grassroots Movements for Global Change , 1992 .

[31]  E. A. Brett,et al.  Voluntary Agencies as Development Organizations: Theorizing the Problem of Efficiency and Accountability , 1993 .