Introduction
Businesses have always been approached for philanthropy. In recent years, there have been more organized efforts to persuade corporate to get involved in social development. The push for more responsible business practices has caused some corporations to seek out NGOs as partners to help them implement solutions to development problems. Since NGOs are usually more trusted by the public, which sees them as more reliable than businesses on issues concerning the environment and social responsibility, a company associated with an NGO can have a more positive public image.
Bhatt-2007
DefinitionsNGO – Non Governmental Organization.
“An NGO can be regarded as third – party serving, non profit – based legally constituted non-state organizations, directly or indirectly reliant on the system of international aid”
Edwards - 2005
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an organization that is not part of a government and was not founded by states. NGOs are therefore typically independent of governments. Although the definition can technically include for-profit corporations, the term is generally restricted to social, cultural, legal, and environmental advocacy groups having goals that are primarily non-commercial. NGOs are usually non-profit organizations that gain at least a portion of their funding from private sources.
Lindblom - 2003
PartnershipPartnership means a formal agreement between two or more parties that have agreed to work together in the pursuit of common goals.
Brinkerhoff - 2006
Social DevelopmentThe term social development usually refers to the development of the poor and weaker sections (including children and women) of the society in terms of basic minimum needs of health, education, nutrition, shelter, income, etc. as well as larger societal issues of equity, justice, and human rights. Anil Bhatt - 2007
Role of NGOsThe term NGOs is commonly used for non-governmental voluntary organizations involved in socio-economic development of the poor and weaker sections as well as those working for environment and development of natural resources and human development issues of equity, justice, and rights. They are to be distinguished from non-governmental and voluntary organizations involved in cultural, sports, and religious activities or professional and political organizations
Damlamian
E- Journal - 2006
[http://repository.upenn.edu/curej/12]
NGOs have begun to transform themselves from traditional organizations that provide charitable contributions and services to the poor into organizations that directly involve themselves in addressing issues in developing countries, such as rural development, poverty alleviation, nutrition and health and education, and global issues such as environmental preservation, human rights, refugees, and the population crisis.
Lalitha - 2005
Content
Rationale for NGO - Corporate partnership In the last 25 years, the NGO sector has taken great strides in the field of development and social justice. NGOs are spreading in all corners of the country including the remotest areas. They have gathered tremendous insights, skills, and capabilities and have understood the critical differences between charity, relief, welfare, and development. They understand the social, economic, and power relationships within the communities and, therefore, they have developed innovative and effective approaches, technologies, and pedagogies for reaching and mobilizing the poorest of the poor.
Anil Bhatt - 2007
NGOs are attacking business to adopt eco-friendly corporate social responsibility policies. The NGOs demands more for the society from the corporate. Corporations should strike a deal with activists if they can gain a competitive advantage.
For Example:
• A non-government organisation on August,5th ,2003, claimed that the bottled soft drinks owned by two multi national companies -- PepsiCo and Coke -- failed the health standards. Centre for science and environment said those companies are using pesticides.
www.rediff.com/money/2003/aug/05pepsicoke.htm
• Nike – the famous shoe brand was attacked by NGO for employing children
John Kew - 2006
Companies may find it more convenient to undertake development programmes through NGOs rather than directly by themselves. For instance, they may find it uncomfortable to launch a programme exclusively for the poor keeping out the non-poor in the same community if they did it directly. But they may be able to do it through NGOs.
Thus, NGO-corporate partnerships will bring together a lot of resources and a variety of skills for social development.
The emerging trend of corporate – NGO partnerships In the last 15 years, the trend of NGOs working in cooperation with business has developed considerably. Business has the potential, capital, and efficiency to impact various stakeholders in a positive way. But despite this capacity, there is a concern that business is not always in tune with the needs of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Companies desiring to be more responsible do not necessarily have the knowledge, training, or dedication to carry out development programs. NGOs, on the other hand, have become instrumental in development work internationally, but they generally do not have the means and resources to carry out their projects efficiently in a sustainable manner. This is why engaging business with the public and non-profit sectors to find common solutions to problems has been an increasing trend globally.
John Kew - 2006
Benefits of Corporate - NGO partnership
Benefits to the private sectorIt is often thought that NGOs would benefit more from such partnerships, but there are positive incentives that could or should concern the private sector as well, especially when focusing on the long-term benefits partnerships may afford.
(a) Image and credibilityCompany reputation is becoming more and more important to both investors and consumers. “A company’s impact on its stakeholders is an emerging benchmark of corporate performance since stakeholders are beginning to ask what companies can do for society, not what society can do for companies.” Trust has become a driver for partnerships between NGOs and business, because the public trusts NGOs more than it does companies NGOs are more trustworthy than corporations in terms of benefiting society. A company that partners with an NGO can hope to be seen as trustworthy and be more credible in its attempts at CSR through this association. Maintaining trust between the public and NGOs is the reason.
For example: ITC Limited joins with NGOs like Exnora International, Sewa Bharat, and Action for Social Advancement (ASA) to develop community. There by it creates good image among the society.
(b) Entering new markets and increasing long-term profitsLong-term profitability requires foreseeing the needs and demands of consumers in the future and working to create environments conducive to the continuation of business activities toward this goal. NGOs are in a better position to understand the operation of the specific informal relationships that hold them together.
Thus, NGOs can play a bridging role in the transfer of institutional knowledge to international or foreign corporations they possess the advantage of having a dual voice with both market and institutional value, and they are able to work on specific localized issues while retaining a sense of the international context in which economic development may take place.
For example:
• Unilever is integrating social innovation strategies in its business operations. In India, it teamed up with NGOs to create Shakti, a rural network that sells products adapted to rural customers in more than 100,000 villages, employing 31,000 women. So from this Shakti movement Unilever reaches the rural areas too.
• The Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) is a non-profit organization of leading companies dedicated to fostering environmental, health and safety excellence and corporate citizenship worldwide. So new companies join with this NGO and gets good image from the society.
(c) Better CSR policy as part of a corporate strategyPartnerships can play a role in enhancing the quality of a company’s CSR policies. Corporations have been switching their CSR focus from charitable donations to actually becoming involved in community activities. Many companies have found that such involvement is best undertaken through working with local NGOs. Environmental issues are an area where partnerships have been very successful.
In many instances, corporate managers find NGOs have the capacity to propose innovative ways to solves social problems that are useful to their company. Because of their experience working with community organizations and villages, NGOs are better trusted among local populations, so that they may serve as a bridge between business partners and the communities in which corporations wish to be active.
For example: Companies give monetary fund to NGOs and show the CSR expenditure in their balance sheet. From this companies can concentrate only in production.
Benefits to the NGO sector(a) Financial sustainability and funding diversification for projects
NGOs are under increasing pressure to diversify their sources of funding. Partnerships provide a source of funding independent of government funding. One of the major problems for NGOs in acquiring private funding is that they
usually lack direct contacts in the corporate world that would be a basis for potential donations. A partnership based on personal relations between NGO staff and corporate executives could help solve this problem.
(b) Access to free marketingSuch partnerships also present an opportunity for NGOs to make their voices heard and to publicize their activities through the marketing of a collaborating company. Since corporations invest heavily in publicizing their involvement in social causes, NGOs in essence get “free” advertisement, through what they call “social marketing” on the part of corporations that simultaneously enhance NGOs’ brand image.
For example: Times now India’s “Teach India” is famous campaign to teach young children. Teach India brings the opportunity to teach young children with the guidance of a multitude of NGOs across India. From this Times group many NGOs are getting free advertisements.
Difficulties in partnerships.Partnerships between an NGO and a corporation are usually complicated and delicate.
• Some of the difficulties in creations of partnerships were finding qualified managers and ineffective institutional infrastructure.
• They come with their specific set of problems that must be addressed from the beginning of the relationship. Partnering with corporations can lead to many sorts of issues for NGOs. Some partnerships can create problems of coordination and policy making between different departments.
• One of the obstacles encountered by companies in communicating with NGOs is the staff’s relative inexperience in dealing with the corporate world and their lack of “professional expertise.” One solution is to turn to intermediary NGOs that facilitate communication between the two sectors.
• Although NGOs have several credible assets (advocacy, legitimacy, information, vision and expertise) they need to be better organized and more certain about the goals they want to achieve by partnering with a corporation.
• Another problem is that business must be genuinely dedicated to the goals of partnership. Beyond mission statements, partnerships require commitment of business leaders to achieving the goals set forth in their company’s mission statement.
Damlamian
E- Journal - 2006
[http://repository.upenn.edu/curej/12]
For Example: NGO vision differs from organization’s vision. So while partnering there will be lots of misunderstandings and expectations. In many cases these misunderstandings will lead to an end in their partnership.
Requirements for implementation
The fact that partnerships are most successful when they are established with both parties thinking about the long-term benefits to be rendered of their cooperation
• Effective communication between partners plays an essential role in the successful cooperation toward a common goal.
• Acquiring a unity of vision and purpose, with an emphasis on goals defined by consensus and agree to mutually acceptable and explicit time frames.
• Finally, partnerships between NGOs and corporations must take place within the context of a positive relation with local authorities and the public sector in general.
For example: In 2000, Environmental Defense teamed up with FedEx Express, the world's largest express transportation company, to develop a cleaner, more fuel-efficient delivery truck. These trucks go up to 50% farther on a gallon of fuel than a conventional truck, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 30%. They emit 65% less smog-causing pollution and 90% less soot.
Conclusion Assessing the success of corporate-NGO partnerships
Measuring the success of corporate-NGO partnerships in general is very difficult. As mentioned previously, there are many different forms of partnerships that take place at various levels ranging from small and medium businesses working with local community organizations, to large non-profits or big international NGOs. Furthermore, it is also difficult to assess the success of specific individual projects. Companies spend a lot of money on marketing themselves in a positive light, and therefore control the content of their CSR reports to reflect their achievements without mentioning their failures.
As we have seen, one of the reasons corporate-NGO partnerships can be successful is because they are more focused, and target development on a much smaller scale than larger aid-driven projects. They have the capacity to impact fewer people but to do so in a more significant way.
Although partnerships may not lead to large scale improvements in sustainable development and poverty reduction, they do have the ability to significantly improve the livelihood of the individuals they specifically target.
Ten point gist about the topic:1. NGO can be regarded as third – party serving, non profit – based legally constituted non-state organizations, directly or indirectly reliant on the system of international aid.
2. Partnership means a formal agreement between two or more parties that have agreed to work together in the pursuit of common goals.
3. Role of NGOs is to help society and also check the corporate activity.
4. Reason behind the Corporate - NGO partnership is to bring together lots of resources and a variety of skills for social development.
5. It benefits corporate by creating brand image, long term profit and better CSR.
6. It benefits NGOs in financial stability and free marketing.
7. Difficulties in partnership like
• Finding qualified staffs is difficult
• Lack of coordination among Corporate and NGOs
• Improper communication among the partners
• Unclear vision of partnership
8. Requirements for implementation like clear vision, good communication, etc.
9. Complexity in measuring the success of partnership.
10. Rather spending the money on advertisements, companies can also concentrate on community development.
References:Books Referred
• “Anna-Karin Lindblom”, “Non Governmental Organisation in International Law”, Edition - 2003
• “Bhatt, Anil”, “Development and Social Justice”, Edition - 2007 New Delhi: Sage.
• “Brinkerhoff .M. Jennifer”, “Partnership for International Development: Rhetoric or Results”, Edition – 2002
• “Edwards Michael”, “NGO Management”, Edition: 2005.
• “N. Lalitha”, “Emerging Partnership in Rural Development”, Edition – 2005.
E – Journal referred
• Corinne Damlamian, “Corporate-NGO Partnerships for Sustainable Development”, Electronic Journal, University of Pennsylvania. Edition– 2006 website - [http://repository.upenn.edu/curej/12]
Website accessed• www.wikipedia.com
• www.questia.com
• www.googlebooks.com
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