IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bwp/bwppap/352019.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Mapping the UK’s development NGOs: income, geography and contributions to international development

Author

Listed:
  • Nicola Banks
  • Tony Brockington

Abstract

Using a unique database of the incomes, expenditures and geographic location of 895 British-based development nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) spending more than £10,000 in 2015, we show that the contribution of development NGOs has been substantially underestimated. In 2015, Britain’s development NGO sector spent nearly £7 billion, equivalent to over half the UK government’s official development assistance (ODA) that year. Until now, data have not been compiled that allow the strength and significance of the sector, or its structural composition, to be understood. Mapping the sector in this manner reveals four original and important findings: The size and significance of the sector, and the implications of this for our understanding of Britain’s foreign aid contributions; That giving to international development causes is relatively minor in comparison with overall charitable giving, and appears insulated from financial crisis; The extent of sectoral unevenness in expenditure and its stability; and The increasing intermediation of funds within the sector as a result of changes in the funding landscape. This provides new insight into an influential sector, and highlights the importance of innovative research methods and techniques for the systematic understanding of development NGOs globally.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicola Banks & Tony Brockington, 2019. "Mapping the UK’s development NGOs: income, geography and contributions to international development," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 352019, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    • Handle: RePEc:bwp:bwppap:352019
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hummedia.manchester.ac.uk/institutes/gdi/publications/workingpapers/GDI/GDI-working-paper-2019035-banks-brockington.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Goldman, Mara J. & Little, Jani S., 2015. "Innovative Grassroots NGOS and the Complex Processes of Women’s Empowerment: An Empirical Investigation from Northern Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 762-777.
    2. David Lewis, 2017. "Organising and Representing the Poor in a Clientelistic Democracy: the Decline of Radical NGOs in Bangladesh," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(10), pages 1545-1567, October.
    3. Brass, Jennifer N., 2012. "Why Do NGOs Go Where They Go? Evidence from Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 387-401.
    4. Dang, Hai-Anh & Knack, Stephen & Rogers, F. Halsey, 2013. "International aid and financial crises in donor countries," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 232-250.
    5. Ronelle Burger & Trudy Owens, 2013. "Receive Grants or Perish? The Survival Prospects of Ugandan Non-Governmental Organisations," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(9), pages 1284-1298, September.
    6. Heinrich, Tobias & Kobayashi, Yoshiharu & Bryant, Kristin A., 2016. "Public Opinion and Foreign Aid Cuts in Economic Crises," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 66-79.
    7. Drabek, Anne Gordon, 1987. "Development alternatives: The challenge for NGOs--an overview of the issues," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 15(1, Supple), pages 1-1.
    8. Elena Urquía-Grande & Antti Rautiainen & Raquel Pérez-Estébanez, 2017. "The effectiveness of rural versus urban nonprofit organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(9), pages 2129-2142, September.
    9. Kendra E Dupuy & James Ron & Aseem Prakash, 2015. "Who survived? Ethiopia's regulatory crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 419-456, April.
    10. Tierney, Michael J. & Nielson, Daniel L. & Hawkins, Darren G. & Roberts, J. Timmons & Findley, Michael G. & Powers, Ryan M. & Parks, Bradley & Wilson, Sven E. & Hicks, Robert L., 2011. "More Dollars than Sense: Refining Our Knowledge of Development Finance Using AidData," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 1891-1906.
    11. Lauren M. MacLean & Jennifer N. Brass & Sanya Carley & Ashraf El-Arini & Scott Breen, 2015. "Democracy and the Distribution of NGOs Promoting Renewable Energy in Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(6), pages 725-742, June.
    12. Henson, Spencer & Lindstrom, Johanna, 2013. "“A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep”? Understanding Public Support for Aid: The Case of the United Kingdom," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 67-75.
    13. Gulrajani, Nilima, 2017. "Bilateral Donors and the Age of the National Interest: What Prospects for Challenge by Development Agencies?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 375-389.
    14. Susan Dodsworth, 2017. "How Does the Objective of Aid Affect Its Impact on Accountability? Evidence from Two Aid Programmes in Uganda," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(10), pages 1600-1614, October.
    15. 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.
    16. Willem Elbers & Lau Schulpen, 2015. "Reinventing International Development NGOs – The Case of ICCO," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 27(1), pages 1-18, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Logan Cochrane & John-Michael Davis, 2020. "Scaling the INGO: What the Development and Expansion of Canadian INGOs Tells Us," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-14, August.
    2. John‐Michael Davis & Liam Swiss, 2020. "Need, Merit, Self‐Interest or Convenience? Exploring Aid Allocation Motives of Grassroots International NGOs," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(8), pages 1324-1345, November.

    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. Schneider, Sebastian H. & Eger, Jens & Bruder, Martin & Faust, Jörg & Wieler, Lothar H., 2021. "Does the COVID-19 pandemic threaten global solidarity? Evidence from Germany," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    2. Beletskaya, M., 2019. "Bilateral International Assistance: Factors for Donor Countries," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 43(3), pages 95-114.
    3. Aeshna Badruzzaman, 2023. "Repositioning urban bias: Non‐state providers' use of spatialised networks in Bangladesh," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(1), pages 49-59, February.
    4. 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).
    5. Angelika J. Budjan & Andreas Fuchs, 2021. "Democracy and Aid Donorship," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 217-238, November.
    6. Juan David Gómez-Quintero & Pilar Gargallo Valero & Jesús Miguel Álvarez, 2019. "Who Supports International Development Cooperation in Times of Crisis? Public Opinion in Rural Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Kobayashi, Yoshiharu & Heinrich, Tobias & Bryant, Kristin A., 2021. "Public support for development aid during the COVID-19 pandemic," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    8. Cook, Nathan J. & Wright, Glenn D. & Andersson, Krister P., 2017. "Local Politics of Forest Governance: Why NGO Support Can Reduce Local Government Responsiveness," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 203-214.
    9. Zhang, Liyunpeng & Li, Xiao & Zhuang, Yuhang & Li, Ningning, 2022. "World Bank aid and local multidimensional poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    10. Faraz Usmani & Marc Jeuland & Subhrendu K. Pattanayak, 2018. "NGOs and the effectiveness of interventions," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-59, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. 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.
    12. Linda Alvarez & Constantine Boussalis & Jennifer L. Merolla & Caryn A. Peiffer, 2018. "Love thy neighbour: Social identity and public support for humanitarian aid," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(S2), pages 935-953, September.
    13. Thilo Bodenstein & Jörg Faust, 2017. "Who Cares? European Public Opinion on Foreign Aid and Political Conditionality," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(5), pages 955-973, September.
    14. Sanya Carley & Elizabeth Baldwin & Lauren M. MacLean & Jennifer N. Brass, 2017. "Global Expansion of Renewable Energy Generation: An Analysis of Policy Instruments," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 68(2), pages 397-440, October.
    15. Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim & Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa, 2022. "Foreign aid and energy poverty: Sub-national evidence from Senegal," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    16. Gani ALDASHEV & Cecilia NAVARRA, 2018. "Development Ngos: Basic Facts," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(1), pages 125-155, March.
    17. Terence Wood, 2018. "Aid Policy and Australian Public Opinion," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 235-248, May.
    18. repec:bla:annpce:v:89:y:2018:i:1:p:125-155 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Harrison, Tom, 2017. "NGOs and Personal Politics: The Relationship between NGOs and political leaders in West Bengal, India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 485-496.
    20. Springer, Emily, 2021. "Caught between winning repeat business and learning: Reactivity to output indicators in international development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    21. Feindouno, Sosso & Arcand, Jean-Louis & Guillaumont, Patrick, 2024. "COVID-19's death transfer to Sub-Saharan Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:bwp:bwppap:352019. 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: Rowena Harding (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/wpmanuk.html .

    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.