Making Aid Agencies Work

Terry Gibson

ISBN 10: 1787695123 / ISBN 13: 9781787695122

Published by Emerald Publishing Limited, GB, 2019

About this Item

The development industry is worth billions. International non-governmental organizations (INGOs) have become an integral component in international development and humanitarian response. Yet as recent scandals at Save the Children and Oxfam have highlighted, such organizations can overstep moral boundaries, raising questions about the scale, power and role of INGOs. Are they dedicated to continuous learning and self-improvement, or are they development dinosaurs driven by their own need for survival and by the political agendas of their paymasters? Drawing upon his experience as an international development practitioner-one who has worked with NGOs large and small, international and local, in over 40 countries-and drawing also upon his own academic research, Terry Gibson addresses these questions head on. He combines large-scale industry analysis with attention to the lives and worlds of the people the aid industry aims to serve, and he demonstrates how to overcome barriers between the two worlds and free flows of learning, resources, and even political influences that might lead to better outcomes. Making Aid Agencies Work is essential reading for practitioners and researchers, as well as for anyone concerned about the future of this vital area of human endeavour.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781787695122

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Making Aid Agencies Work
• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited, GB
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1787695123
• ISBN 13: 9781787695122
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 274 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The development industry is worth billions. International non-governmental organizations (INGOs) have become an integral component in international development and humanitarian response. Yet as recent scandals at Save the Children and Oxfam have highlighted, such organizations can overstep moral boundaries, raising questions about the scale, power and role of INGOs. Are they dedicated to continuous learning and self-improvement, or are they development dinosaurs driven by their own need for survival and by the political agendas of their paymasters?

Drawing upon his experience as an international development practitioner-one who has worked with NGOs large and small, international and local, in over 40 countries-and drawing also upon his own academic research, Terry Gibson addresses these questions head on. He combines large-scale industry analysis with attention to the lives and worlds of the people the aid industry aims to serve, and he demonstrates how to overcome barriers between the two worlds and free flows of learning, resources, and even political influences that might lead to better outcomes.

Making Aid Agencies Work is essential reading for practitioners and researchers, as well as for anyone concerned about the future of this vital area of human endeavour.

About the Author

Terry Gibson is a researcher and activist digging into the conundrums and chaos of international development. He travelled over a million miles filming aid and humanitarian work in villages, towns and cities around the world before becoming operations director of an international network of over 800 small NGOs. He developed and led a major research programme at the network, which consulted over 100,000 people facing everyday disasters, combining this with research at Manchester University. He is engaged in research and writing concerning international development, local learning and action, the experience of 'everyday disasters' and the role of NGOs.