Complex environmental issues are leading local governments to collaborate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the urban environmental governance sphere. While previous studies have emphasized how the Chinese government engages NGOs in service contracting to meet rising service demands, they have not provided empirical evidence of the outcomes of these collaborations at a local level. Based on a mixed methods research design developed from May 2016 to February 2017 in Shanghai, the impact of Aifen, an environmental NGO, is assessed in the context of municipal solid waste management. A total of 400 questionnaires were completed. 200 questionnaires in 10 communities where Aifen developed its activities and 200 questionnaires in 10 communities where no environmental NGO activities were accomplished. The results show that a local government-NGO collaborative governance approach enhances public participation and respond to state decentralization and rising environmental issues in urban areas.

A relatively new concept in China, Social Enterprises (SE) have been on the rise in Shanghai. This trend seems to mark a new turn since the so-called 'association revolution', which had brought about an exponential development of NGOs in China over the last three decades. In recent years, a growing number of different actors have emerged, actively promoting a new entrepreneurial approach to social issues and positive community changes. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, the following article reflects on the concept of organisational hybridity in Shanghai's third sector development. By analysing the emergence of SEs in this Chinese mega-city, this study aims to understand whether the growing hybridisation of civil society involved in the development of SEs represents a global trend or a reaction to the Central State new policies. Research findings show that the elasticity of a SE identity can help organisations adapt to shifts in the macro-level political discourse of authoritarian regimes.

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