A local sovereign organisation is an authentic expression of the will and voice of its own constituents. While it may accept funding to provide services, it is not a surrogate vehicle for the projects of another agency's purpose.[...]
Posts Tagged ‘social change’
July 26th, 2010 - 7:39 pm § in Good Practice, Guest Bloggers
Seeing the future in sovereign local organizations – Part 2
Tags: alternatives, capacity building, CDRA, civil society organizations, Community Development Resource Association, community-based organizations, consultant, donors, foreign aid, foreign assistance, grassroots organizations, injustice, institutional development, international aid, international development, learning, NGOs, organizational development, organizational sovereignty, partnership, poverty, power dynamics, project cycle, reform, rights-based approach, social change, social movements, South Africa, sovereignty, strategy, The Barefoot Guide, values 1 Comment
July 25th, 2010 - 6:00 pm § in Good Practice, Guest Bloggers
Seeing the future in sovereign local organizations – Part I
Sovereignty is both a quality to be developed and a right to be respected and defended. It is a particularly powerful concept when applied to organisation, suggesting authentic qualities, describing a home-grown resilience, an inside-out identity, the idea of an organisation being the expression of [...]
Tags: alternatives, capacity building, CDRA, civil society organizations, Community Development Resource Association, community-based organizations, conflict, donors, food sovereignty, foreign aid, foreign assistance, globalization, grassroots organizations, institutional development, international aid, international development, leadership, learning, NGOs, organizational development, organizational sovereignty, partnership, poverty, power dynamics, reform, social change, social movements, South Africa, sovereignty, strategy, The Barefoot Guide, values 2 Comments
July 21st, 2010 - 2:40 pm § in Reflection & Rumination
The Real Experts
When a privileged few frame the conversation about fighting AIDS or reducing poverty, remedies from above are imposed on the excluded. Yet it’s those on the ground who have the most important knowledge, ideas, and resources to deal with the immense and complex problems of this century.[...]
Tags: AIDS, alternatives, capacity building, Catherine Orenstein, community development, community participation, community-based organizations, development assistance, expertise, foreign aid, grassroots organizations, HIV, Institute of Development Studies, international aid, international development, Malawi, OpEd Project, privilege, Robert Chambers, social change, UNICEF, XVIII International AIDS Conference 2 Comments
July 20th, 2010 - 2:26 pm § in Reflection & Rumination
Diving into the Deep End
Development practitioners and international "do-gooders" insert themselves in the difficult, yet ultimately fulfilling space between the inherent complexities of engaging communities in social change. [...]
July 5th, 2010 - 6:15 pm § in Good Practice
How to build strong relationships with grassroots organizations, Part 2 of 3
Under-resourced and under-recognized local organizations face immense challenges on the ground. Yet we as outsiders most often choose to express frustration or impatience if an organization does not appear to be responding to our expectations. [...]
