Coordination and Collaboration: an NGO View
MacCormack, Charles F. “Coordination and Collaboration: an NGO View.” In The Pulse of Humanitarian Assistance, edited by Kevin M. Cahill. 2013. (New York: Fordham University Press): 243-262.
This book chapter, written by former Save the Children President Charlie MacCormack, addresses the issues and challenges facing NGOs in today’s humanitarian climate. As humanitarian response has become more complex and often militarised, as seen through the crises of the 1990s, NGOs must navigate more and more hurdles to do effective work. MacCormack describes the distinct challenges that NGOs faced during the 1990s in four ways: security, coordination, underlying political causes, and a lack of advocacy. These issues are newer developments in the humanitarian world that compound issues of bureaucratic regulations and militarisation that contribute to a more complex humanitarian sphere. MacCormack shows, however, that NGOs can still do effective and sustainable long-term and short-term work. This takes place in a number of ways that involve drawing on the expertise of staff on the ground, establishing dialogue with other NGOs, the military, and the media, and international appeals to muster adequate funding. The methods described by MacCormack take into account an understanding that NGOs often cannot easily influence governmental policy and seek to create other types of sustainable change from the ground up. This speaks to other peace literature on grassroots peacebuilding and the importance of establishing sustainable peace. To build future peace, organisations must begin their work with the long-term in mind. This necessitates a “sustained, concerted effort” on the ground delivering aid and structurally to address the underlying issues at a political level.
Available at: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780823260744-013/pdf?licenseType=restricted (via Google Scholar)