[Anthropgrad] Reminder: Wednesday seminar by Patrick Kilby

[Alan Rumsey]

Anthropology seminar for Wednesday, October 17:

Patrick Kilby, MAAPD Program, ANU

The Growth of NGOs as Advocates: the Australian Council for Overseas Aid
- the early years

The relationship between development NGOs and their host governments has
been an important issue in both the civil society and public policy
discourse for the past three decades.  The general view is that
development NGOs are dependent on Government for support and approval in
a number of key areas including: regulation, funding, and as a source of
public legitimacy; and so engage with Government in a generally
cooperative manner and are constrained in their advocacy. This paper
uses as a case study the early years of the Australian Council for
Overseas Aid as case study of a support organisation, which became a
strong advocate on aid issues, leading to tensions both with its
membership and with the Government of the day. The paper concludes that
the dependency model of NGO relations with government is fairly weak in
the Australian context, with the driver of the development of support
organisations being more from Government, than from the NGOs wishing to
strengthen relationships with government.  This can result, however, in
a 'biting of the hand that feeds'.

Coombs Seminar Room A, 9:30-11:15am

Inquiries to Alan Rumsey
alan.rumsey at anu.edu.au
6125-2365