Direct Funding from a Southern Perspective : Strengthening Civil Society?

A number of studies have looked at the direct funding of southern NGOs by official governmental agencies. However, few have done so from a southern perspectives. The emphasis of Direct Funding from a Southern Perspective is on the changing relationships between governments and NGOs in the north and south.

A number of studies have looked at the direct funding of southern NGOs by official governmental agencies. However, few have done so from a southern perspectives. The basis of Direct Funding from a Southern Perspective are the case studies of developing countries carried out by southern researchers and the findings appraised by a group of local NGO representatives. There are three main case studies: Bangladesh, Kenya and Peru, with brief supplementary materials from Zimbabwe and South Africa. The emphasis of Direct Funding from a Southern Perspective is on the changing relationships between governments and NGOs in the north and south. The role of northern NGOs is examined, and their future role explored, as some critics accuse them of becoming bureaucratized and overdependent on government funding, of losing popular support in their home countries, and of being unable to deliver the development impact that they have built their reputation on. At the same time, official agencies are seeking to develop direct relations with southern NGOs. This trend is strengthened by an emphasis on civil society and the role of NGOs in promoting democratisation and good governance as well as grass-roots development.