TY - JOUR
T1 - What Does China’s Twin-Pillared NGO Funding Game Entail? Growing Diversity and Increasing Isomorphism
AU - Kang, Yi
N1 - Funding Information:
The author gratefully acknowledges the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (HKBU 22400214-ECS) for providing financial support for fieldwork in China between 2016 and 2017. The author also thanks Mo Fei, Huang Zhaoxi and Chen Wei for their excellent research assistance.
PY - 2019/6/15
Y1 - 2019/6/15
N2 - Two trends are gaining prevalence across China: (1) NGO needs for funding in order to survive and (2) the transformation of the government and private foundations into major NGO donors. This study explores grassroots NGOs’ experience with the government’s purchase-of-services contracting and private foundations’ grant schemes in Shanghai, Beijing and Sichuan. The research findings show that two opposite effects of the funding game are simultaneously felt: growing space for diversity and increasing isomorphic pressures. The two donor types have jointly created a result-driven and institutionalized environment in which NGOs easily lose sight of their missions and uniqueness. Nonetheless, despite finding their options extremely limited, NGOs adopt constantly evolving, multifaceted resource strategies.
AB - Two trends are gaining prevalence across China: (1) NGO needs for funding in order to survive and (2) the transformation of the government and private foundations into major NGO donors. This study explores grassroots NGOs’ experience with the government’s purchase-of-services contracting and private foundations’ grant schemes in Shanghai, Beijing and Sichuan. The research findings show that two opposite effects of the funding game are simultaneously felt: growing space for diversity and increasing isomorphic pressures. The two donor types have jointly created a result-driven and institutionalized environment in which NGOs easily lose sight of their missions and uniqueness. Nonetheless, despite finding their options extremely limited, NGOs adopt constantly evolving, multifaceted resource strategies.
KW - Government purchase-of-service contract
KW - Non-governmental organization
KW - Private philanthropic foundation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060648881&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11266-018-00085-1
DO - 10.1007/s11266-018-00085-1
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85060648881
SN - 0957-8765
VL - 30
SP - 499
EP - 515
JO - Voluntas
JF - Voluntas
IS - 3
ER -