OO?s
But while nation states remain – and corporations
increasingly become – the dominant actors in our present-day global order, a reconfiguration of global powers has seen new bodies emerging to fill moral and social gaps. Prominent among them are NGOs, who are decidedly “non” when it comes to profit and government. Big, small and in-between, estimates of the number of NGOs worldwide that work internationally approach 40 000, one eighth of which are based in Canada. NGOs increasingly secure seats at international decision-making tables, and play prominent roles in the governance of societies, social services, welfare, sport, culture, aid, rights, and development. But does the concept of beauty in smallness apply to NGOs, too? Or, is bigger simply a better strategy for these organizations in civil society? Certainly, the performance of large, Canadian
NGOs is hard to dispute. It is, of course, these large NGOs that are most visible in humanitarian responses, that chair civil society coalitions, and that boast inconceivably large numbers of beneficiaries in their results. Large NGOs have clout, capacity, and legions of supporters. What then of small Canadian NGOs, often employing a staff of less than a dozen, with
budgets only a fraction of the large NGOs? What is their significance in vital international goals of equity, justice, and social development? Should small NGOs simply aspire to grow larger in order to develop the traits of the big NGOs?
Progressive Visions of the NGO Traditional theoretical perspectives have envisioned
the NGO as a provider of services in areas where governments are lacking, particularly in weak sectors or states. In this view there are clear benefits of being larger, more efficient, and having a greater capacity for service rendering. But it is increasingly recognized that the NGO of
today is less service-provider, and more an agent of change. Challenges in development are recognized not so much as requiring technical solutions, but social reconstruction. To Australian NGO researcher Barbara Rugendyke, the vision is of NGO as advocate; Canadian Alison Van Rooy, as broker; Brazilian Cândido Grzybowski, as ally. NGOs should play a pivotal role in how citizens all over the world think about and respond to international issues.
iAM March 2011 37
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