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04 May 2011, 10:22

NGO Intervention in Mali, Africa

A Comparative Analysis between French and American Delivery Models

ABSTRACT

With growing criticism of foreign aid in Africa and notably about its fragmentation and inefficiency, this research paper aims to analyze the differences between French and American NGOs and establish a framework for more coordination and cooperation between foreign NGOs.

Looking at different aspects of their program implementation, in what ways do the French NGO, GERES (Groupe Energies Renouvelables, Environnement et Solidarités), and the American NGO, GETF (Global Environment Technology Foundation), operate differently in Mali, Africa?   How does each organization’s home country, with its economic, political, social specificities, and its relationship with the host country, shape their structure and operations in Mali? Based on a documentation review and interviews with both NGOs, the findings are compared with the existing literature on non-profit sectors in France and in the United States and their national foreign assistance. This research also puts an emphasis on the global trend of professionalization and sustainable development among NGOs.

This research shows that NGOs are influenced by different “environments”; their home environment, their host environment, and the global environment. The latter changes traditional non-profit organizations’ economic, political and social cultures. In the United States, non-profit organizations were founded on the premise that the government should not intrude in people’s life. Traditionally, the state in France is assumed to be responsible for every public concern. On the international scene, these national characteristics do not hold true. American NGOs who work abroad have partnered with their federal government, and French NGOs on the other hand have been reluctant in building partnership with their national government and ‘professionalizing’. Half of its revenues coming from the governmental sources, GERES however does not follow the traditional French depiction of NGOs but rather follows a more Anglo-Saxon model of professionalism. This paper is a call for a global partnership so NGOs like GERES and GETF can look at their peer work and evaluate the best practices at the local level.

 Emilie Guidat