Resources of the Week: NGOs
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor

We post a lot of full-text reports from NGOs on DocuTicker. So what, exactly, is an NGO — or Non-Government Organization? The World Bank, which works extensively with these organizations, provides a succinct definition:

NGOs are defined as private organizations that pursue activities to promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, relieve suffering or undertake community development. NGOs often differ from other organizations in the sense that they tend to operate independent from government, are value-based and are generally guided by principles of community and cooperation. There are two major categories of NGOs: i) operational NGOs, whose primary purpose is the design and implementation of development-related projects, and; ii) advocacy NGOs, whose primary purpose is to defend or promote a specific cause and who seek to influence policies and practices.

Information for and about NGOs is abundant online. A truly great place to start browsing is the Non-governmental Organizations Research Guide maintained by the Public Documents and Maps Department of the Perkins Library at Duke University. This site is not fancy — which, as far as I’m concerned, is a blessing rather than a liability — but it is jam-packed with nicely organized information.

The extensive alphabetical list of NGOs — including their issues of focus, their locations by continent and links to their websites — is excellent. Obviously, the list is not exhaustive; there are thousands of these organizations in all sizes, and many come and go. You can also click the appropriate links to browse by issue or by geography.

As the site points out, “Many of the largest, most significant non-governmental organizations have relationships and sometimes official associative status with intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) such as the United Nations or the World Bank.”

An intergovernmental organization, or IGO, is an institution made up of the governments of member states, who have joined together to cooperate on common goals. An IGO usually has a formal, permanent structure with various organs to accomplish its tasks. Where applicable, IGO affiliations have been noted in the NGO lists in this guide.

You can browse by affiliation; just click on the links provided which will take you to the organizational websites.

Here’s a jewel you’ll not want to overlook — a table of selected statistical data sources about NGOs from NGOs. A list of selected reference sources is also provided.

Although there is no specific search tool for the NGO guide itself, you can use the box at the bottom of the page to search the entire Public Documents and Maps website.
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Here are some other NGO-oriented resources that are worth your time:

+ directory of development organizations: “The directory of development organizations, listing 51.500 development organizations, has been prepared to facilitate international cooperation and knowledge sharing in development work, both among civil society organizations, research institutions, governments and the private sector.” One clever new feature — create your own directory on a local hard drive via the use of Adobe Reader.

+ Global Policy Forum (NGOs): “NGOs include the most outspoken advocates of human rights, the environment, social programs, women’s rights and more. This page links to information and analysis about NGOs at the UN and in global policy-making more broadly.” Good list of NGOs and International/Regional Institutions.

+ InterAction: “InterAction is the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. With more than 160 members operating in every developing country, we work to overcome poverty, exclusion and suffering by advancing social justice and basic dignity for all.” Lots of papers and reports here, and a useful issues index.

+ The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law: “ICNL strives to create a world where civil society can freely develop in all its forms and participate in public decisions. In pursuit of that goal, ICNL’s programs and research focus on promoting an enabling legal environment for civil society and public participation worldwide.” Have a look at the Knowledge Center, where you’ll find a searchable online library that “currently contains 2283 resources from 135 countries in 37 languages.”

+ The NGO Cafe (WWW Virtual Library on Non-Governmental Organizations): “Realizing the growing importance and voice of NGOs in development in general, the NGO Café was set up on the internet as a think tank for NGOs to discuss, debate and disseminate information on their work, strategies and results.” If you want basic information on how to start an NGO, this is the place to go. From the Global Development Research Center.

+ NGO Global Network: Site for NGOs affiliated with the United Nations. Extensive list of links; browse alphabetically or by issue.

+ NGOWatch: “This site provides policymakers, the media, and the public with a monitoring tool that captures the complexity of the fast evolving world of NGOs and the multiplicity of issues a stake in an effort to bring accountability to the NGO sector.” A project of the American Enterprise Institute and the Federalist Society, two think tanks.

+ United Nations DPI-NGO: “The DPI/NGO Section is part of the department’s Outreach Division and acts as its liaison between the United Nations and NGOs and other civil society organizations. It oversees partnerships with associated NGOs and provides a wide range of information services to them.” Offers a searchable directory.

+ Working Paper Series on NGOs from the Centre for Civil Society, London School of Economics: “The CCS International Working Papers aim to circulate original and innovative work on NGOs by staff and students. Each paper will deal with one or more of the following central themes: increasing understanding of civil society and development policy analysing issues in the management of non-governmental organisations working in the development field exchanging ideas, at the level of practice and research, between ‘Northern’ and ‘Southern’ contexts.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 and is filed under Resource of the Week, Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.