Making Aid Agencies Work

Making Aid Agencies Work: Reconnecting INGOs with the People They Serve

Terry Gibson

Book: Emerald Publishing. Spring 2019

The development industry is worth billions. International non-governmental organizations (INGOs) have become an integral component in international development and humanitarian response. Yet as scandals at several INGOs have highlighted such organizations can overstep moral boundaries, raising questions about their scale, power and role. Are they dedicated to continuous learning and self-improvement, or do they need to reconnect with the people they serve?

Drawing upon his experience as an international development practitioner—one who has worked with NGOs large and small, international and local, in over 40 countries—and also on his own academic research, Terry Gibson addresses these questions head on. He combines large-scale industry analysis with attention to local experience and knowledge, demonstrating how to overcome barriers between the two worlds, freeing flows of learning, resources, and even political influences that might lead to better outcomes.

Making Aid Agencies Work is essential reading for practitioners and researchers, as well as for anyone concerned about the future of this vital area of human endeavour.

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Terry Gibson travelled over a million miles filming aid and humanitarian work in villages, towns and cities around the world before becoming operations director of an international network of over 800 small NGOs. He developed and led a major research programme at the network, which consulted over 100,000 people facing everyday disasters, and combined this with research at Manchester University.