What impact can social mobilisation NGOs have on democratic knowledge, practice and engagement? International donors have increasingly encouraged development NGOs to take up a service delivery function, to the detriment of social mobilisation functions. This paper reports on a quantitative study of the impact of an NGO in Bangladesh, Nijera Kori (NK), which prioritises rights, social mobilisation and solidarity. The results of NK’s focus have important implications for enhanced democratic accountability and suggest an alternative civil society approach to improving democratic citizenship.
Donor discourses on civil society see civil society both as a cost-effective provider of services to the poor, and as the torchbearer of democratic values and individual rights. Conversely, radical views of civil society see it not as a bulwark against the state, but as enmeshed in the same power relations. Thus it is another sphere in which conflicts between dominant and subordinated groups are played out.
Many development NGOs in Bangladesh began in the radical tradition and focused on the political mobilisation of the poor as a path to change. However, most now focus on service provision, in line with the shift in emphasis in the donor community towards privatised service delivery.
The study examined NK, which has remained devoted to social mobilisation, to try to shed light on the ‘road not taken’ by donors and NGOs. It sought to identify both the tangible and intangible effects of NK’s work, and found that:
- NK has contributed to democratic goals: NK members were more likely than non-members to be politically active in formal and informal politics, and to engage in collective action.
- NK has built a strong sense of solidarity among its membership. Members expressed extremely high levels of trust in each other, and were more likely to have an egalitarian vision of social justice.
- Many of these positive changes appear to have also benefited the wider community.
- NK has contributed to development goals through training and capacity building. This translated into tangible benefits such as improved diet, diversification of livelihoods and increased child immunisation.
There is clearly a role in Bangladesh for organisations like NK whose relationships with members are organised around everyday practices of citizenship rather than around the provision of services. However:
- The future of these organisations is uncertain as previous solidarity funding has dried up.
- The bias towards financially sustainable organisations has led to a growing homogenisation of the NGO sector away from social mobilisation. This has been further enforced by the technical auditing procedures which have ‘projectised’ NGO activities.
- Organisations like NK do not easily fit into conventional project cycles. The impacts achieved are the culmination of 10-15 years of mobilising work, and are difficult to measure.
- The NGO sector in Bangladesh has played an important role, through service provision, in social development. However, it has generally failed to affect the deeper structures of inequality or to halt the deterioration in the quality of governance. Consequently, improvements in individual lives are undermined by unruly practice by more powerful sections of society.
See also: IDS’ two-page research summary of this working paper.
