Some international context of nonprofit management

Dr. G.G. CandlerIndiana University South Bend

Global governance

• There is no global government.– UN at best a forum for dialogue in the global

village, but with little budget and less coercive force.

• Global governance, therefore, a cobbled together, ad hoc affair.

• The role of civil society (nonprofits) potentially critical as a result (next slide) .

Nonprofits in national governance

Nonprofits in global governance:•‘Citizenship’ a nominal, rather than legal status.•No global elections•No global legislators•Policy formulated largely by national governments, though with increasing nonprofit consultation.•‘Global bureaucrats’ distant from citizens.•Policy implementation often fragmented.•Civic group legitimacy weak.

Actors in global governance• National governments• United Nations and its agencies– UNESCO, WHO, UNDP, UNICEP, UNEP, etc.

• International Governmental Organizations (IGOs)– IOC, OAS, IMF, IOTC, ILO, ICAO, NATO, Francophonie, etc.

• Global markets: MNCs, trade, and consumers• International non-governmental org’s INGOs)– Red Cross, AI, MSF, Oxfam, Greenpeace, etc.– ING coalitions (ICBL)

• Informal, anti-systemic actors (al-Qaeda, organized crime, etc.)

Functions of INGOs• Policy advocacy (Greenpeace)– IGO interaction:• UN: 3290 INGOs have consultative status• IMF-World Bank: ‘over 1000 participated’ at 2009 IMF-

IBRD meeting in Istanbul

• Development assistance (Oxfam, Ford Foundation)• Cultural exchange/development• Professional and global elite coordination• Etc. (pretty much same as within the US)

Some history• Long, long history.

– Catholic Church (c. 300 A.D.)!– Exploration (London Missionary Society, c. 1795)– Royal Society

• Explosion from the 1960s (re: Salamon), but…– All societies had associational life prior to this, even if informal.– We in ‘the north’ wildly, wildly over-estimate the importance of

our own ‘aid’ efforts, as– domestic NPOs in ‘southern’ countries have far, far more social

and policy impact than do ours.– ‘Southern’ NPOs increasingly used as distributors of ‘aid’, both in

NPO-NPO, and Gov’t-NPO partnerships.– Northern NGO neo-imperialism in policy advocacy.

Recent trends (outside of US)• Salamon’s ‘associational revolution’, but…• associational life existed before 1960, and…• existed (and exists!) in the absence of ‘Northern’

‘assistance’.• ‘Fourth wave’ (or is it fifth wave?) of democratization

(and respect for human rights like free association) permits (or driven by!) greater civic activity.

• Civic groups have brought down governments!– Brazil (twice!), Poland, Philippines, etc.– Arab Spring?

• Civil society demands have often outpaced state capacity.

Gnarly accountability challenges• Logistics:– Communicating with stakeholders in diverse countries.– Electing officers with members in diverse countries.– And so: iron law of oligarchy.

• Representing folks to whom ‘accounting’ is difficult:– Political prisoners (Amnesty International)– The poor (Oxfam)– Ecosystems and/or critters (Greenpeace)

• And so separating leadership political preferences, from the pragmatic needs/desires of stakeholders.

Accountability booboos• Sundry financial shenanigans.• Amnesty International and the death penalty.• Greenpeace and Brazil.• MSF and Yank-bashing in Afghanistan?• Representation issues:– The ‘Battle for Seattle’ and various civil society initiatives.– Class issues: well-educated rich folk ‘leading’ NPOs

working for rural poor.– Northern urban HQs for southern rural development– ‘Organizações da astrôturfa’

A Nonprofit Accountability FrameworkFor INGOs: key challenges

Stakeholders

Accountability ‘for what’

Consequential Procedural

Inputs Outputs

Financial resources

Volunteer resources

Reputational capital

Goods & services

Social capital Policy impact Law Formal mission

Ethics Legitimacy

Members Wildly diffuse!

Again, the

wildly diffuse

nature of global civil

society means it

is relatively easy to

get away with

misdeeds.

Clients

Constituents

Donors

Government Only where INGO based

Varies by country!

General public

Media

NGO staff

Partners/allies