The last session of this year’s NGOs & Development Study Group will be held on Thursday, April 22 from 4.00 to 5.00 pm in Belfer L4 at Harvard Kennedy School. The session is titled “The Challenges of Haiti: A Critical Test for International NGOs.”  Peter Bell, Senior Research Fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations and [...]

By Julia Martin In the midst of conducting research on the role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in the nonprofit sector, I had the privilege of interviewing the inspirational Rev. Dr. Robert V. Lee, III, Chairman and CEO of Fresh Ministries, during his visit to the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University. Fresh Ministries [...]

By Steven Lawry It is well known that international NGOs had a huge presence in Haiti before the devastating earthquake of January 12th. Upwards of 8,000 NGOs were working in nearly every developmental and humanitarian assistance sector.  The greater portion of foreign assistance was channeled not to the Haitian government, but directly to NGOs.  Prime [...]

By Peter D. Bell Following on the heels of the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, the editorial in The Lancet of January 23 is headlined “Growth of aid and the decline of humanitarianism”.  It acknowledges that aid agencies and humanitarian organizations “do exceptional work in difficult circumstances”.  But the editorial also asserts that the aid sector, [...]