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Solving Local Problems or Looking Good: An Ethnography of the Field Practices of Foreign Sponsored NGOs in Rural African Communities

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  • Sampson Addo Yeboah

    (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Abstract

Southern non-governmental organizations (SNGOs) raise funds and advocate for the poor because one of their strongest legitimacy is a connection with the grassroots and hard to reach beneficiaries. There is extensive literature on the close relationship between SNGOs and their donors abroad. However, although growing literature on the relationship between SNGOs and their beneficiaries in local communities is scant, this paper contributes to this gap by exploring how a foreign-sponsored local SNGO navigates the tensions between performance for donors and the interest of farmers in a cocoa-growing community of Ghana. Ethnographic data were collected for several months using participant observation with the participating SNGO. The findings enhance our understanding and reveal insights into how SNGOs adapt their practices on the field to provide evidence of their performance to donors.

Suggested Citation

  • Sampson Addo Yeboah, 2022. "Solving Local Problems or Looking Good: An Ethnography of the Field Practices of Foreign Sponsored NGOs in Rural African Communities," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1645-1661, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:34:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1057_s41287-021-00442-9
    DOI: 10.1057/s41287-021-00442-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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