IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/loceco/v32y2017i7p763-777.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Non-governmental organisation global community empowerment projects in Bangladesh: How do these fit the local context?

Author

Listed:
  • M Rezaul Islam

Abstract

This study examines the international development frameworks of two non-governmental organisations and discusses how the activities they are involved with fit the local context of Bangladesh. The study considers two community empowerment projects, Proshika and Practical Action Bangladesh who work with local blacksmiths and goldsmiths. There is clear evidence that non-governmental organisations in Bangladesh are practicing global development frameworks which do not fit with the local context. This study was based on a qualitative approach and data were collected using a number of qualitative data collection methods, such as semi-structured interviews, in-depth case study, focus group discussions and community mapping. Results showed a number of gaps and challenges such as low level of socio-economic and cultural conditions among both smith communities, unknown and unfamiliar development tools, lack of consultation with the local people, lack of space and development ownership in the development process. Each of challenges inhibits the smiths' access and involvement in the development activities. While the study focuses on Bangladesh, the implications are international in scope and argue for approaches that better consider local needs more specifically. Findings from this research suggest important guidelines for international development organisations, policymakers, donors, development practitioner and non-governmental organisation workers to consider.

Suggested Citation

  • M Rezaul Islam, 2017. "Non-governmental organisation global community empowerment projects in Bangladesh: How do these fit the local context?," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 32(7), pages 763-777, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:loceco:v:32:y:2017:i:7:p:763-777
    DOI: 10.1177/0269094217734817
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269094217734817
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0269094217734817?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fernandez, Aloysius P., 1987. "NGOs in South Asia: People's participation and partnership," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 15(1, Supple), pages 39-49.
    2. Sarah C. White, 1999. "NGOs, Civil Society, and the State in Bangladesh: The Politics of Representing the Poor," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 30(2), pages 307-326, April.
    3. Dowla, Asif, 2006. "In credit we trust: Building social capital by Grameen Bank in Bangladesh," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 102-122, February.
    4. Edwards, Michael & Hulme, David, 1996. "Too close for comfort? the impact of official aid on nongovernmental organizations," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 961-973, June.
    5. Deepa Narayan, 2002. "Empowerment and Poverty Reduction : A Sourcebook," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15239.
    6. M. Rezaul Islam & W. John Morgan, 2012. "Agents of community empowerment? The possibilities and limitations of non-governmental organizations in Bangladesh," Journal of Community Positive Practices, Catalactica NGO, issue 4, pages 703-725.
    7. Fletcher Tembo, 2004. "NGDOs' role in building poor people's capacity to benefit from globalization," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(7), pages 1023-1037.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Banks, Nicola & Hulme, David & Edwards, Michael, 2015. "NGOs, States, and Donors Revisited: Still Too Close for Comfort?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 707-718.
    2. Hossain Ahmed Taufiq, 2021. "Towards an enabling environment for social accountability in Bangladesh," Papers 2107.13128, arXiv.org.
    3. Helen M. Haugh & Alka Talwar, 2016. "Linking Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change: The Mediating Role of Empowerment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(4), pages 643-658, February.
    4. Peter Nunnenkamp & Hannes Öhler, 2012. "Funding, Competition and the Efficiency of NGOs : An Empirical Analysis of Non‐charitable Expenditure of US NGOs Engaged in Foreign Aid," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(1), pages 81-110, February.
    5. Soumyananda Dinda, 2014. "Inclusive growth through creation of human and social capital," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(10), pages 878-895, October.
    6. Alkire, Sabina & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Peterman, Amber & Quisumbing, Agnes & Seymour, Greg & Vaz, Ana, 2013. "The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 71-91.
    7. Blocker, Christopher P. & Ruth, Julie A. & Sridharan, Srinivas & Beckwith, Colin & Ekici, Ahmet & Goudie-Hutton, Martina & Rosa, José Antonio & Saatcioglu, Bige & Talukdar, Debabrata & Trujillo, Carlo, 2013. "Understanding poverty and promoting poverty alleviation through transformative consumer research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 1195-1202.
    8. Deininger, Klaus W. & Liu, Yanyan, 2008. "Economic and Social Impacts of Self-Help Groups in India," 2008 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2008, Orlando, Florida 6482, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    9. Levine, Arielle, 2002. "Convergence or Convenience? International Conservation NGOs and Development Assistance in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1043-1055, June.
    10. Koen Rossel-Cambier, 2010. "Do Multiple Financial Services Enhance the Poverty Outreach of Microfinance Institutions?," Working Papers CEB 10-058, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    11. Urquía-Grande, Elena & Estébanez, Raquel Pérez & Alcaraz-Quiles, Francisco José, 2022. "Impact of Non-Profit Organizations’ Accountability: Empirical evidence from the democratic Republic of Congo," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    12. Roberts, Susan M. & Jones III, John Paul & Frohling, Oliver, 2005. "NGOs and the globalization of managerialism: A research framework," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 1845-1864, November.
    13. Saguin, Kidjie, 2018. "Why the poor do not benefit from community-driven development: Lessons from participatory budgeting," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 220-232.
    14. Burford, Gemma & Velasco, Ismael & Janoušková, Svatava & Zahradnik, Martin & Hak, Tomas & Podger, Dimity & Piggot, Georgia & Harder, Marie K., 2013. "Field trials of a novel toolkit for evaluating ‘intangible’ values-related dimensions of projects," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 1-14.
    15. Handapangoda, Wasana Sampath & Sisira Kumara, Ajanth, 2012. "From silence to voice: Examining the empowerment potential of mobile phones to women in Sri Lanka The case of dependent housewives," MPRA Paper 41768, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Oct 2012.
    16. Axel Dreher & Peter Nunnenkamp & Hannes Öhler & Johannes Weisser, 2009. "Acting Autonomously or Mimicking the State and Peers? A Panel Tobit Analysis of Financial Dependence and Aid Allocation by Swiss NGOs," CESifo Working Paper Series 2617, CESifo.
    17. Godfrey, Martin & Sophal, Chan & Kato, Toshiyasu & Vou Piseth, Long & Dorina, Pon & Saravy, Tep & Savora, Tia & Sovannarith, So, 2002. "Technical Assistance and Capacity Development in an Aid-dependent Economy: The Experience of Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 355-373, March.
    18. Renard, Robrecht & Molenaers, Nadia, 2006. "L’aide internationale et la quête élusive du developpement socio-economique au Sénégal," IOB Discussion Papers 2006.09, Universiteit Antwerpen, Institute of Development Policy (IOB).
    19. Horst Zimmermann & Thilo Pahl, 2002. "Spending Efficiency of International Financing Institutions: Determinants of Efficiency and a Research Design," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 20(3), pages 341-355, June.
    20. Cecilia Ugaz, 1997. "Decentralization and the Provision and Financing of Social Services: Concepts and Issues," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-1997-130, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:loceco:v:32:y:2017:i:7:p:763-777. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/index.shtml .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.