Transnational Networks of NGOs

An increasingly important aspect of globalization is in the civic sphere, including the relations that make up transnational networks of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Emerging spatial and organizational arrangements in many developing nations have brought into contact three types of NGOs: (1) large international NGOs, or INGOs, (2) mid-sized national and regional level NGOs, and (3) small grassroots organizations that carry out locally-based projects. Pulsating through these networks are project directives (in the form of requests-for-proposals), philosophies of appropriate development, different forms of managerial knowledge and financial practices, and procedures for project assessment and evaluation. Although much is known about how grassroots NGOs affect the social and economic development possibilities of people in local contexts, much less is understood regarding how these impacts are mediated through the transnational linkages that NGOs share with their multi-scaled counterparts at the regional, national, and international levels. The research project will focus on two INGO-NGO networks that link organizations across the globe. Each network is active in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. One of the networks is focused on children's welfare, the other on environmental issues. Using interviews with INGO managers and in-depth organizational ethnographies of grassroots NGOs, the investigators will examine the effects of different spatial strategies and organizational practices that impact the on-the-ground projects and development possibilities in Oaxaca. This project will contribute to newly emerging scholarship regarding global-local networks among NGOs. The investigators expect to explore the conditions through which the grassroots involvement of NGOs in transnational networks affects spatial dimensions of relationships between developed and developing nations as well as global-local relations. The project should identify opportunities for NGOs to engage in autonomous social and economic development. The project should also identify the extent to which INGOs incorporate feedback from their NGO partners into their own spatial and managerial strategies. In addition to advancing fundamental knowledge and providing practical insights for different kinds of NGOs, the project will provide educational and training opportunities for graduate students.