This is a good question - the world of international NGOs is very large and diverse, settings vary across third world countries enormously, and there is little systematic data, and so it is difficult to answer with any authority. But I would say that NGOs have contributed to making a difference to poverty in some countries - such as Bangladesh. It used to be one of the poorest countries in the world, but now it has made considerable gains in reducing it.

It is fact that NGOs are contributing in development of third world nations however few multinational companies and local business organizations are using NGOs for profit making business.

In country like India NGOs has been exempted from the taxes to encourage NGOs for social work but this is leading to hide actual benefit and manipulation of accounts.

NGOs are necessary to implement many of the governmental programs in poor nations but it is hard to regulate them. Ones NGOs recognize by government for their contribution suddenly the organization structure of NGOs becomes wide, the need of manpower and money become essential, here after NGOs convert into type of business organization which loose its objective to serve poor.

In India many religious NGOs are today sales different products and actually engaged in production and manufacturing.

When for-profit businesses or unscrupulous individuals or governments set up organisations and call them 'NGOs', then they are abusing the idea of what an NGO should be. I agree that these organizations are a problem in many societies, but I still think that genuine NGOs have a contribution to make, and that we need to be careful to separate out the abuse of the NGO idea from the real thing.

The problem of many NGOs is financing.. They depend from donations but they often finance themselves by obtaining money from goverments' cooperation agencies or private actors (foundations, ect.). In order to assure their projects to be selected, they often "write proposals" which are in line with the selection criteria or with the geographic priorities of the financing agency. Many NGOs are still full of motivated people (workers &volunteers) who are really involved and interested in giving their contribution for development. Nonetheless, I think that this situation low their potential as critical actors and lead to a situation where "get" money to do things becomes more important than what things to do. In Spain, I know some NGOs that decided to involve themselves in smaller local (and less ambitious) projects to escape from this logic of subordination from other institutions' money (and priorities..)

I think the most effective NGOs are those that try to balance their financing with their capacities, and that aim to receive funding from multiple sources - without getting dependent on any single one. This is one of the major management challenges for NGOs. It is not always possible in some contexts, but it is worthwhile objective to aim for. When new funding is suddenly available, NGOs often grow too fast without thinking. Unplanned rapid growth can be destructive for an organizations' integrity. At the same time, when money is less available, then 'scaling down' to preserve independence is also important.

That, there is a growing value of NGOs in developing countries for meeting the needs of the poor is not in doubt. However, what is usually in doubt is their management strategies. Understanding a model that filters fraudulent practices in setting up NGOs from genuine practices is one of the greatest challenges facing international donor agencies and foundations today. Can the evolving technology be useful in providing information on NGOs' effectiveness, capacity, and sustainability? Such information, I believe is vital for creating partnership model for development across-cultural boundaries. In order for the NGOs become a value-creating management tool for the future, such a partnership model is critical.

International NGOs have been channels for meeting some community developmental needs of health, education, micro-scale businesses, and community developments. it would appear that the international NGOs recognize the difficulties in having an accepted model for effective management of NGOs especially in developing countries where corruption is endemic and systemic. Partnership between donor agencies and in-country trusted NGOs could become that model enabling international NGOs to have greater impact.

They are relevant because many western governments prefer to donate to NGOs rather to the local administration .The problem is that some of the NGOs are managed by local elements unmotivated enough to achieve the objectives of the NGO

Thanks Moshe - it may be true that certain Western governments give large amounts to NGOs, but it nevertheless remains the case that the overwhelming majority of OECD international development funding goes to governments, not to NGOs. This is also true of the World Bank, which lends to governments and cannot actually fund NGOs.

What you are saying is correct but the fact that there is a low percentage of success with the donation to governments reinforce my claim. The problem with most governments in developing countries is that they are corrupt and the money does not get where needed . That is why I think that the best method to implement developing projects is by donating to NGOs managed by western executives

You write your concern as "abject poverty remains the order of the day", therefore we must approach this question by asking: have NGOs stopped placing poverty on the agenda? are NGOs now responsible solely for eradicating/alleviating poverty -instead of governments? has the degree of poverty incidence reduced due to NGO activism? These are some of many such questions to answer as means of assessing the relevance of NGOs in poverty alleviation

Dear Anatoli,

Many NGOs run useful projects which benefit local communities. These are however small in scale and often not sustainable. They help, but they are not key to sustainable development.

Kind regards,

Sylvia

NGOs could help in terms of structural relationship where otherwise a vertical (top-down) relationship between government and communities or private sector and communities could be complicated, a local NGO or locally managed INGOs could provide an alternative of horizontal relationship which in turn could help policy making easier. For more in depth discussion relating the role of NGOs you could see Bahgwati's "in Defense of Globalization".

Trust, credibility, and vision are increasingly becoming critical elements for NGOs of the future. To attract donor support, credibility and good governance are keys for the NGOs of the future. But how do we sustain such donor supports in an endemic culture of corruption environment?

I believe that, what I call a techno-human model will emerge to enable humans and technology to symbiotically work and create bench mark for trust, creating vision, and technology guided platform for sharing resources and ideas. Such a techno-human model can lead to creating effective partnership programs for sustainable development in increasing evolving connected world. But will the persisting corruption in many parts of the developing countries impede such a symbiotic relationship? What can be done about this?

A very interesting example of successful NGO-government cooperation in Cambodia (although not most recent...)

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTHEALTHNUTRITIONANDPOPULATION/EXTPAH/0,,contentMDK:20746626~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:400476,00.html

International NGOs certainly still relevant for the developing and especially underdeveloped countries. In India there is one called 'Sulabh International' .

They make low cost community toilets. It is funded by several international agencies. Their contribution in hygienic human waste disposal in several low income countries is quite commendable. It is rather difficult for people of rich countries to have an idea of usefulness of such community toilets but those live in poor countries and especially for women such toilets are God's Blessing.

Besides, in many developing countries roles of International NGOs at dire critical situations arising out of natural disasters (like flood, earthquake etc. ) are extremely important.

Yes, I believe NGOs have crucial role for the development, especially in the third world countries. It is apparent that government in many countries are inefficient, corrupt and lack practical mechanisms to deliver its services to the poor. That is where the NGOs kick in. Without NGOs it seems fairly impossible for a wide-ranging development in the societies.

I must say that they are the back bone support to the needy in developing and under developed nations. They are indirectly responsible for the governments late but sure response in adverse conditions (floods, drought, etc.,)

Based on my experience evaluating the effectiveness of foreign aid, INGOs tend to go after the dollar du jour / flavor of the month. Whatever governments are allocating for aid, INGOs will adjust to go after those dollars. Also poverty is multi-faceted. So with INGOs being so adaptable to government (or private) grants and with poverty being a moving target, how can the impact of INGO interventions on poverty be measured?

The most effective use of foreign aid that I have seen in the past 10 years is when it is local NGOs who work on the ground to reduce poverty in concrete ways. They ensure that the efforts are absorbed by the community and owned by the community because the local NGOs are a part of the community. INGOs are too global and far removed from the community. They will inadvertantly get on planes and leave, looking out of the window, worrying about so called sustainability...

Dear Sylvia Szabo

Based on what definition of 'Development', you think small scale are often not sustainable!

Dear Anatoli, dear colleagues,

The role of International NGOs is a hot spot in the post-2015 development agenda, and the correct answer to whether they will play a key role on it depends on many factors: are we talking about Northern of Southern NGOs? are we talking about traditional NGOs or more recent NGDOs? are we talking about large NGOs, Mid-range or small NGOs?

These differences are esential to properly answer to your question. My contribution to this debate has been published in Third World Quarterly, in a paper entitled "Shaping the future on Mid-range Northern NGDOs: ten challenges, ten proposals". I invite you to read it in the following link:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256932590_Shaping_the_Future_of_Mid-range_Northern_NGDOs_ten_challenges_ten_proposals?ev=prf_pub

Best regards,

Antonio Sianes.

Article Shaping the Future of Mid-range Northern NGDOs: ten challeng...

Dear Anatoli Rugaimukamu,

International NGOs can play a useful role if they pursue pro-social goals, support people, promote tolerance and social solidarity, etc., and are run by the citizens of a given community. It is also important that NGOs meet the needs of people and the needs of a specific community. In poor countries, international NGOs should organize, inter alia, medical and food aid, and should create good conditions for economic development, prosperity and living standards.

Stay healthy! Best wishes,

Dariusz Prokopowicz