What Is the Role of NGOs?

NGO is a free translation of English Non-Governmental Organizations, English abbreviation NGO. Since the 1980s, people have increasingly mentioned non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and non-profit organizations (NPOs) on various occasions, and regard NGOs and non-profit organizations as increasingly important in the field of public management. Emerging organizational forms.

NGO is a free translation of English Non-Governmental Organizations, English abbreviation NGO. Since the 1980s, people have

NGOs are a multi-source group, with many abbreviations associated with them. They include:

INGO-international non-governmental organization (international NGO), such as CARE;

BINGO-business-orien

The term NGO comes from abroad. According to research, the term first appeared in an important document of the United Nations in 1945, ^[3]

There are several criteria that can be used to classify NGOs. Here is the classification used by the World Bank:

Operational NGO

Their main purpose is to design and implement development-related projects. A common classification is to divide it into "rescue oriented" and "development oriented" organizations. According to their service focus, they can be divided into service delivery and service participation. They can also be classified according to whether they are religious and long-term, or they can be classified more publicly or privately. Operational NGOs can be group-based, national, or international.

Advocacy NGO

Their main purpose is to defend and promote a goal. In contrast to operational plan management, these organizations typically try to awaken people's awareness through lobbying, promotional materials and aggressive activities, so that people know more and accept them. ^[9]

1 ). Non-governmental

As a non-profit organization, non-governmental organizations are not government departments or their affiliates, but non-governmental organizations. This characteristic of non-governmental organizations makes it possible to serve society independently of the government, and at the same time, it can provide society to a certain extent.

Since the 1970s, non-governmental organizations have become increasingly involved in international affairs. Their role and influence inside and outside the United Nations system have been increasing, and they have also been recognized to varying degrees in various fields.

At the beginning of September 1997, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan listed and expounded eight major factors affecting the current global development in the work report submitted to the 52nd United Nations General Assembly. With rapid development, the role of non-governmental organizations is growing. The four major factors before it were: the reorganization of the global political and economic structure after the end of the cold war; the globalization of the world economy; the information technology revolution; and the protection of the ecological environment. The role and influence of NGOs in international affairs are multifaceted, mainly reflected in:

(1) Engage in consulting and information activities. When the United Nations recruits NGOs to participate in its activities and establishes an institutional linkage mechanism, it first considers the role of NGOs in consulting and information processing. Arrangements for the participation of NGOs, such as the Economic and Social Council and the Ministry of Public Information, are also designed to both play the role of consulting and information processing for NGOs and limit their impact in other areas. In the United Nations conference venues, especially in the preparation of conferences, governments can obtain non-governmental organizations with expertise in specific areas of expertise, technology, law, and politics.

(2) Supervising the behavior of governments and international intergovernmental organizations. NGOs can monitor the implementation of treaties, commitments, plans, and projects of international intergovernmental organizations, and they can promote the implementation of resolutions and treaties adopted by international intergovernmental bodies to promote compliance by governments of their international commitments Actively exercise supervisory functions.

(3) Participate in the implementation of projects of international organizations and assist intergovernmental international organizations in providing specific products and services. For more than a decade, United Nations agencies have been encouraging NGOs to participate in the implementation of development projects. The UN system shifts operational responsibilities to non-governmental organizations through subcontracting and other methods, and non-governmental organizations undertake the work of providing specific products and services by concluding agreements and signing contracts.

(4) Affect the decision-making process of intergovernmental international organizations. Since the Second World War, intergovernmental international organizations, especially organizations within the United Nations system, have played a decisive role in the global development decision-making process. In the past, the main role of NGOs in the United Nations system was to facilitate the implementation of resolutions and treaties. For more than a decade, NGOs are no longer just content to provide information and services in the United Nations system, but are trying to influence the decision-making process. They actively strive to participate in decision-making, and they have an increasing influence on the international decision-making process. After entering the 1990s, the United Nations system has increasingly involved NGOs in setting the agenda, formulating policies, and implementing policies.

(5) Promote coordination and compromise between different conflicting interest roles. In many international affairs, the governments of the countries concerned often quarrel with each other due to economic, political, cultural, and ideological reasons. They sometimes give up and sometimes even meet each other. On such occasions, non-governmental organizations can use their civil status to mediate between the governments of the countries concerned, ease the tension, promote mutual communication and understanding, break the deadlock, and promote the solution of problems.

In general, the two sides of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations have attracted and supported each other, and have formed a closer cooperative relationship. From the perspective of the United Nations, it tries to achieve its goals in various fields through cooperation with non-governmental organizations. Non-governmental organizations strive for a greater voice through the United Nations system, strive to have a greater influence on major international decisions, and seek to obtain as much funding from the United Nations system as possible. Overall, however, NGOs are still on the brink of the existing international system, and their impact on major decisions is limited.

For the foreseeable future, government will continue to play a major role in the global governance system. Nevertheless, the rise of NGOs has broken the situation in which the government has long monopolized the field of international governance. In order for the global development and the reform of the global governance system to evolve in a healthy direction, it is necessary to attach importance to the study of non-governmental organizations and the various relationships that they trigger in the global governance system.

Since the 1990s, many non-governmental organizations engaged in management and development in developing countries have been quite active. It is estimated that in the early 1980s, there were about 100 million people working in non-governmental organizations in developing countries, of which 6000 Million in Asia, 25 million in Latin America, and 12 million in Africa. In 1993, the United Nations Development Program estimated in its "Human Development Report" that the number of people served by non-governmental organizations in developing countries in the early 1990s had reached 250 million. ^[10]

There are two main modes of NGO management: dellsity management and participatory management. Decentralized management deals with different cultures within an organization. Cross-cultural issues are common when northern NGOs engage in southern development activities. People from developed countries face completely different ways of doing things in poor countries. Participatory management is typical of NGOs. It is inextricably linked to learning institutions: members of all organizations are viewed as a source of knowledge and technology. To develop an organization, individuals must learn and contribute to the decision-making process.

(1) Classification of foreign NGOs

1) American classification

Among the types of non-governmental organizations in the United States, the division of the Johns-Hobkins University Nonprofit Organization Comparative Research Center is more representative. The research center designed a classification system in accordance with the following principles: first, it should be as close as possible to the actual situation of non-governmental organizations in various countries, and second, it should be as close as possible to the United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification System (ISIC). The classification system divides NGOs into 12 major categories and 24 small categories, including: (1) Culture and leisure: culture and art; leisure; service clubs. (2) Education and scientific research: primary and secondary education; higher education; other education; research. (3) Health: hospitals and rehabilitation; diagnosis; mental health and crisis prevention; other health services. (4) Social services: social services; emergency assistance;

I) Activities and Roles of Chinese NGOs

With the deepening of China's reform and opening up and the establishment and development of a socialist market economy, the entire society is becoming more and more diversified. Especially in some areas where social issues are prominent and acute, the activities of non-governmental organizations are particularly active and concentrated. They often play a role that governments and enterprises do not have or are unable to fully play, and promote social progress.

(I) Activities of non-governmental organizations in the field of environmental protection

In the field of environmental protection in China, a large number of various non-governmental organizations are active. Some of the more famous include: Friends of Nature, Beijing Global Village, Green Home Volunteers, China Small Animal Protection Association, China Environmental Protection Foundation, Beijing Environmental Protection Foundation, China Wildlife Protection Association, Beijing Wildlife Protection Association, China Green Foundation , Chinese Environmental Protection Industry Association, Beijing Environmental Protection Industry Association, Chinese Botanical Society, Chinese Natural Resources Society, Chinese Environmental Science Society, College Student Green Camp and Green College Student Forum, Tsinghua University Green Association, Peking University Green Life Association, Beijing Forestry University Shannon , Shanghai Youth Environmental Enthusiasts Association, Pollution Victims Legal Help Center, etc.

The environmental protection activities carried out by these organizations have provided Chinese society since the reform and opening up with many things that governments and enterprises cannot provide.

Energy Foundation

On December 22, 2014, Xinhua News Agency reported that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress will review the draft management law for overseas non-governmental organizations. The draft stipulates the procedures for the application for registration and permission to set up representative offices and conduct one-time temporary activities in China by overseas non-governmental organizations, and also clarifies the legal liability for illegal acts. ^[1]