Grassroots Chinese NGOs vs. International NGOs

Chinese NGOs have been gaining in number and in donations over the past ten years. International NGOs supposedly are there to train the local NGOs. The question is how much tension will there be between the NGOs as funds dry up and they are pitted in competition?

Some excerpts:

“According to the latest statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, official development assistance to China from developed countries has shrunk from about $1.37 billion in 2008 to $703 million in 2010.

China’s growing economic prowess, and the successful hosting of several big-ticket events such as the Olympic Games in 2008 and the Shanghai Expo in 2010, have to some extent contributed to the changed global mindset, said Wang Ming, director of the NGO Research Center at Tsinghua University in Beijing, adding that it is no longer money that China needs the most.

China’s private donations exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.59 billion) for the first time in 2006, and jumped to 103.2 billion yuan in 2010, according to statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Part of the reason why the coffers have not been strained is the growing number of rich people in China and Chinese foundations.

“Rather than money, what China needs is the knowledge and skills that international NGOs have learned through decades of global practice, especially at a time when the government wants to play a more proactive role in global issues,” Wang said.

Starting this year, China has released various positive signals in social development, including easing the registration regulations for social organizations, which is considered by many as a “breakthrough” in China. Several global experts including John Fitzgerald, the China representative of the Ford Foundation, have welcomed the initiative and expressed the hope that it will strengthen the social sector further.”

“The number of NGOs in China has nearly doubled in the past 10 years with registered social organizations rising to about 460,000 by 2011. The sector is likely to see even stronger development as more friendly policies are in store.”

“Though operating in China as an international NGO still has some hurdles – such as the strict and time-consuming registration regulation – recent reports from China Charity & Donation Information Center show that fewer than 3 percent of the more than 1,000 US-based NGOs operating in China are registered. All the seven global foundations and operational NGOs admitted that they now feel more welcome in China, as it is their knowledge that is being more appreciated.”

“Li Bo, the executive director of Friends of Nature, another leading Chinese NGO in environmental protection, also held various positions in numerous international foundations and operational NGOs before joining the Beijing-based organization in 2009.

Li said it is clear that international NGOs have well-developed systems for running projects, gauging demand, monitoring, evaluation and the accountability of its financial systems.

“Most of the Chinese NGOs are still in the early stages of development. They don’t have a systematical way of running projects and are incapable of handling large-scale projects,” said Li, who is worried that the tension between premature grassroots NGOs in China and international NGOs will intensify as they jostle for funds.”

NGOs’ role evolves in changing China
[China Daily 5/12/12 by Meng Jing]

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