Presentation for University of Washington Global Health MPH Seminar: Accountability, Transparency & Corruption in Global Health, 4/30/10

Speaker: Dean Chahim, University of Washington

Abstract:

How does dependence on foreign funding affect the ability of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to be downwardly accountable catalysts for social change? Drawing on interviews with stakeholders in a wide range of NGOs in Nicaragua, this study shows that dependence on foreign funding strains the ties of NGOs to constituencies and pushes them from long-term advocacy and organizing towards short-term service and ephemeral mobilization. The result is a disproportionately influential, yet uprooted, NGO sector which leaves little room for traditional grassroots membership organizations and necessitates a rethinking of current funding models and the roles of foreign-funded NGOs in building civil society.

This is the product of about two months of field research in Nicaragua, originally done for the aid efficacy organization Beyond Good Intentions ( beyondgoodintentions.com ).

NOTE: The slides can be viewed more clearly here: slideshare.net/UWGlobalHealth/grass-without-roots. The video's audio and slides are a bit out of sync - the slides are usually about one step ahead of the audio.

The seminar series can be accessed here: depts.washington.edu/deptgh/courses/mph_seminars.php