ISTR Fifth International Conference Cape Town, South Africa / July 7-10, 2002 Transforming Civil Society, Citizenship and Governance: The Third Sector in an Era of Global (Dis)Order

Angela L. Bies email

The environments of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have become increasingly complex in recent years, as concern for accountability has increased. These trends are of critical importance to NGO sectors in emerging democracies as NGOs respond to complex social needs, increasing accountability demands, competing priorities, and maturing nongovernmental institutions. This empirical study focuses on a current accountability reform effort initiated by Polish nongovernmental support organizations (NSOs) and examines prevalent and competing approaches to NGO self-regulation: those involving mandatory and discretionary self-regulation elements. This two-stage study utilized a mixed-methodology design and derived information from a national survey of 918 NGOs in Poland that are registered with the national database, and from in-depth interviews and site visits with representatives of five key institutional funders, ten NGOs which provide direct services, and seven nongovernmental support organizations. Contextual factors influencing the efficacy of training and resource dependence elements of the self-regulation reform effort are examined with particular emphasis on the role of leader influence, the experiences of NGOs in the context of reform, and NGO change and development processes.

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