
FARHAD HOSSAIN Administration of Development Initiatives by Non-Governmental Organisations A Study of Their Sustainability in Bangladesh and Nepal Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 822 University of Tampere Tampere 2001 ACADEMIC DISSERTATION University of Tampere, Department of Administrative Science Finland Distribution University of Tampere Sales Office Tel. +358 3 215 6055 P. O. B o x 617 Fax +358 3 215 7685 33101 Tampere [email protected] Finland http://granum.uta.fi Cover design by Juha Siro Printed dissertation Electronic dissertation Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 822 Acta Electronica Universitatis Tamperensis 114 ISBN 951-44-5114-7 ISBN 951-44-5115-5 ISSN 1455-1616 ISSN 1456-954X http://acta.uta.fi Tampereen yliopistopaino Oy Juvenes Print Tampere 2001 For my parents TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements 8 Abstract 11 Tiivistelmä 13 1. Research descriptions 15 1.1 Background, aims, specific objectives and research questions 15 1.2 Theoretical background of the research 21 1.3 Methodology and implementation 22 1.4 Limitations of the study 25 1.5 The structure of the study 28 2. Development Administration, NGOs, and the sustainability of NGO-led development initiatives: a theoretical framework 30 2.1 The study of NGOs in Development Administration 30 2.2 Conceptual issues of NGOs in development 39 2.3 Dynamics or drawbacks? The basis of NGO research 64 2.4 Defining sustainability: common tools practised by the donors 75 2.5 NGOs and sustainability of their development projects 84 3. NGOs in Nordic development aid: perspectives from donor countries 89 3.1 Denmark: DANIDA’s NGO assistance 89 3.2 Finland: NGO assistance of the Department for International Development Co-operation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland 96 3.3 Norway: NORAD’s NGO assistance 105 3.4 Sweden: SIDA’s NGO assistance 114 3.5 Brief summary of DANIDA, FINNIDA, NORAD, and SIDA assistance to NGOs 121 3.6 Sustainability: the official donors and the donor NGOs 122 4. Development NGOs in Bangladesh and Nepal: perspectives from recipient countries 127 4.1 NGOs in Bangladesh: a general overview 127 4.1.1 The Nordic tie: an empirical study of selected NGOs in Bangladesh 141 4.2 NGOs in Nepal: a general overview 148 4.2.1 The Nordic tie: an empirical study of selected NGOs in Nepal 161 5. The sustainability of NGO initiatives: four case studies from the field 167 5.1 Case Study I: Bangladesh: The health programme of the Bangladesh Lutheran Mission–Finnish (BLM-F) in Northern Bangladesh 167 5.2 Case Study II: Bangladesh: Institutional analysis of Bishwanathpur Village in Northeastern Bangladesh 187 5.3 Case Study III: Nepal: Public, private, and non-profit: institutional analysis of Hekuli Village in mid-Western Nepal 201 5.4 Case Study IV: Nepal: Sangita Tamang and NGOs: the relevance and sustainability of development initiatives in Nepal 219 6. Key research findings: The Sustainability of NGO-led development initiatives – some empirical observations 235 6.1 Factors affecting sustainability: administrative perspectives 235 6.2 Empirical findings from Bangladesh and Nepal 240 6.3 The donor, the recipient and the capacity of NGOs: concluding remarks 249 Appendixes 252 Acronyms and abbreviations 256 References 261 List of Tables Table 1: Comparative view of ‘public administration’ and ‘development administration’. Table 2: Strategies of development-oriented NGOs: four generations. Table 3: Comparative view of the official development assistance (ODA) by Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Table 4: Aid share between Finnish NGOs and the Department of International Development Cooperation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Table 5: Aid share between Norwegian NGOs and NORAD Table 6: Aid share between Swedish NGOs and SIDA Table 7: Time series growth of the sampled NGOs in Bangladesh Table 8: Degree of influence of government officials on the activities of the NGOs in Bangladesh Table 9: Assessment of the government rules and regulations that govern the NGO activities in Bangladesh Table 10: The number of NGO projects approved by the Government of Bangladesh from 1990 to 1998. Table 11: Problems that NGOs normally face in implementing their projects in Bangladesh Table 12: The growth of NGOs in Nepal Table 13: Problems faced by Nepalese NGOs in implementing their programmes Table 14: Problems faced by international NGOs in implementing their programmes in Nepal Table 15: Geographical distribution of 667 sampled NGOs by ‘region’ in Nepal Table16: The sustainability of the Bangladesh Lutheran Mission-Finnish Health Programme: a glimpse Table 17: Main establishments of the NGOs working in Bishwanathpur village in Bangladesh Table 18: The sustainability of NGO initiatives in Bishwanathpur village in Bangladesh: a glimpse Table 19: Description of school enrolment status in Hekuli village in Nepal Table 20: The annual growth of NGOs in Dang district and Hekuli village in Nepal Table 21: The sustainability of NGO initiatives in Hekuli village in Nepal: a glimpse Table 22: Loan disbursements by Small Farmers’ Development Program (SFDP) in Nepal to its groups and members Table 23: The sustainability of Plan International programmes in Markhu village in Nepal: a glimpse Table 24: The sustainability of NGO initiatives in Markhu village in Nepal: a glimpse ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Despite the increased presence of Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the development process in the least developed countries, the academic understanding of these organisations has not been advancing in Administrative Science. The research presented here was intended to build understanding on issues related to the sustainability of NGO-led development initiatives carried out by selected NGOs from four Nordic1 countries working in Bangladesh and Nepal. Writing a dissertation of this kind is a long process – which in this case transcended the national and cultural boundaries of six countries on two continents. Naturally, there was a great need to get support and co-operation from various individuals and institutions to accomplish this study. First, I would like to thank Professor Juha Vartola for the enormous help I have received from him over the years. His academic interest in the subject of the research, his active guidance, and effective supervision emotionally and practically helped me to complete the study. I regard his contribution to this study as more than the contribution an academic supervisor could be expected to make. I am grateful to Professor Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Senior Fulbright Scholar, Global Affairs Institute, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, USA, and Dr. Govind P Dhakal, Head, Central Department of Public Administration, Tribhuvan University, Nepal, for the initial evaluation they have made of my thesis. Their valuable comments and suggestions have helped me to develop the final version of the thesis. Professor Risto Harisalo, Director of the Department of Administrative Science, University of Tampere, has always encouraged me to keep up the writing process. Administrative support from Merja Salmela over the years has made the research process smooth in different stages of my work. Technical assistance in computer use from colleagues Matti Mälkiä, Jari Tammi and Jukka Tuomela helped me in keeping my computer knowledge updated. Official assistance from Sirpa Rämö has helped me a lot. I have integrated myself well into the Department of Administrative Science, where I have been working all these years. I acknowledge and regard highly the contribution of my present and former colleagues Jaana Haatainen, Arto Haveri, Professor Seppo Hölttä, Jani Kaarlejärvi, Helena Karento, Timo Keski-Petäjä, Professor Ismo Lumijärvi, Professor Pentti Meklin, Professor Lasse Oulasvirta, Jari Stenvall, Antti Talkkari, Jarmo Vakkuri, Sirpa Virta, and all others in the Department. All kinds of formal and informal support from them helped me to carry on my work in the Department. M. Asaduzzaman, Professor, Department of Public Administration and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, has been a great help in carrying out this research. The participation of Professor Salahuddin Aminuzzaman has enriched my research work. I acknowledge the contribution of Professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, who taught me the subject of the research in the mid-1980s when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Dhaka. I have rich memories of all of them. 1 Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden 8 Dr. Tika Pokharel, Member Secretary of the Social Welfare Council in Nepal, has actively helped me since 1994 in carrying out my research. Professor Chuda Raj Uprety and other colleagues of the Central Department of Public Administration, Tribhuvan University, actively helped me while I carried out my recent field work in Nepal. Sharing ideas with Dr. Krishna Bhattachan, Central Department of Sociology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal, always brought me new and valuable insight. I am grateful to Dr. Terje Tvedt, Research Director, Centre for Development Studies, University of Bergen, Norway, and Dr. Juhani Koponen, Director, Institute of Development Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland, for their valuable comments and suggestions on an earlier version of the study. I am indebted to them for their co-operation, which helped make the present study successful. Two of my friends and former colleagues, Marko Ulvila and Matti Mälkiä, have been a great help to my work. Marko shared a great deal of fieldwork with me. I could gain valuable insight into the subject matter while working with him. Matti shared conceptual and theoretical concerns on the subject with me and provided valuable suggestions in organising the structure of the study. The work of both has become inseparable with my work – e.g., section 2.2 of the present study I have developed with Matti, while section 5.1 and partly 5.2 and 5.4 I have shared with Marko. A friend, M. Miles in Birmingham, UK, has always been a helping hand to me and to my work. Since 1996 he has been checking the language and commenting on different parts of the work.
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