Between Power and Irrelevance

Abstract

Geopolitical shifts, increasing demands for accountability, and growing competition have been driving the need for change within the transnational nongovernmental organization (TNGO) sector. Additionally, TNGOs have been embracing more transformative strategies aimed at the root causes, not just the symptoms, of societal problems. As the world has changed and TNGOs’ ambitions have expanded, the roles of TNGOs have begun to shift and their work has become more complex. To remain effective, legitimate, and relevant in the future necessitates organizational changes and investments in new capabilities. However, many organizations have been slow to adapt. As a result, for many TNGOs’ the rhetoric of sustainable impact and transformative change has far outpaced the reality of their limited abilities to deliver on their promises. This book frankly explores why this gap between rhetoric and reality exists and what TNGOs can do individually and collectively to close it. In short, TNGOs need to change the fundamental conditions under which they themselves operate by bringing their own “forms and norms” into better alignment with their contemporary ambitions and strategies. This book offers accessible future-oriented analyses and lessons-learned to assist readers in formulating and implementing organizational changes to adapt TNGOs for the future. The book draws upon a variety of disciplines and perspectives, including hundreds of interviews with TNGO leaders, firsthand involvement in major organizational change processes in leading TNGOs, and numerous workshops, training institutes, consultancies, and research projects.

Institutional logics and the multiorganizational governance arrangements of humanitarian INGOs

“…Over the past 30 years, INGOs have been consistently questioned regarding their legitimacy, leading to continued efforts by the sector to respond to criticisms by both updating their values, developing more ways of demonstrating accountability, and modifying their governance arrangements. However, critiques continue (Mitchell et al, 2020). Currently, there is notable attention being given to ideas of feminist leadership, organizational culture, and change among practitioners (https://5oaksconsulting.org/podcast/) and the importance of interpretive leadership skills and meaning-making for nonprofit leaders (Lim et al, 2021).…”

“…For nonprofit organizations, key governance decisions revolve around establishing the overall vision and mission of an organization, identifying the appropriate means for pursuing its objectives, and constructing a narrative for what has been and is being done. However, scholars continue to debate whether different governance arrangements are preferrable to others for these purposes, and if so, under what conditions are these governance arrangements likely to be successful, and why (Balboa, 2018; Beagles, 2021; Brown et al, 2012; Mitchell et al, 2020; Wong, 2012).…”

Nonprofit Organizations and the Evaluation of Social Impact: A Research Program to Advance Theory and Practice

“…More troubling, NGOs that succeed in building substantial authority in global politics can fall into an "authority trap" whereby they soften their activism to focus on incremental rather than radical change (Stroup & Wong, 2017). These studies highlight the relational rather than absolute nature of accountability, suggesting that the traditional bases of legitimacy and effectiveness that have enabled the global power of NGOs are now being eroded to the point of making them irrelevant (Mitchell et al, 2020).…”

“…Doing so is even more challenging because the outcomes movement, driven largely by funders, has institutionalized the idea that achieving intended program outcomes is the most legitimate criterion for judging effectiveness (Brest, 2020). And because funders have an outsized influence in defining these outcomes, as noted above, their criteria and values are often dominant in determining nonprofit worth or merit (e.g., Benjamin, 2008a;Cutt & Murray, 2000;Ebrahim, 2005;Mitchell et al, 2020). This emphasis on intended outcomes makes it harder to consider other criteria, including those that emerge in partnership with communities.…”

Participation incentives in a survey of international non-profit professionals

“…Our other treatments promised exclusive data access and evoked the importance of the study for understanding INGOs and education, respectively. We chose these treatments after interviews with INGO staff and reviewing the INGO literature (e.g., Mitchell et al, 2020) to determine possible non-monetary motivators for participation within our target population. They were designed to appeal to non-profit staffers’ concerns with helping others (by referencing the study’s contribution to research and education) and organizational effectiveness (by offering access to unique data on INGOs).…”