Lau Schulpen

Radboud University Nijmegen, CIDIN, Faculty Member

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Phone: +31 (0)24 361 3062
Address: CIDIN / Radboud University Nijmegen
P.O. Box 9104
6500 HE Nijmegen
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Papers by Lau Schulpen

Armoede, participatie en 'empowerment': Voorbeelden van Nederlands ontwikkelingsbeleid in India

Assen : Van Gorcum eBooks, 1999

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Private sector development and poverty reduction: an inbuild incoherence?

Pietilä, T. (ed.), Promoting private sector development - issues and guidelines for aid agencies, 2000

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De life-cycle van het Particulier Initiatief

Komen de Russen nog? : verslag van een onderzoek naar de Stedenbandrelatie Nijmegen-Pskov

Journal of Experimental Psychology-learning Memory and Cognition, 2005

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Poverty reduction and aid: changing perceptions and their influence on aid allocation

ODI Working Paper (United Kingdom), 1998

AGRIS record. Record number, GB1999011286. Titles, Poverty reduction and aid: changing perception... more

The Rise of Small-Scale Development Organisations

The Role of the United Nations and its Special Envoys in the current Yemeni War: Floundering in a Tragic Reality

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Why do national NGOs go where they go? The case of Yemen

This paper presented at 5th Annual Conference on Arab Philanthropy and Civic Engagement, which be... more This paper presented at 5th Annual Conference on Arab Philanthropy and Civic Engagement, which begins with a brief overview of the Yemeni context focusing particularly on political change and the political/administrative structure of the country. This is followed by an overview of LNGOs (and partly INGOs) active in Yemen and our methodology (including a discussion of data, its limitations, hypotheses and our methodological approach). After the analysis we end our paper with some preliminary conclusions and discussions.

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The changing Dutch NGO: Exploring organisational, strategic and financial changes between 2010-2016

Southern civil society in perspective: a literature review

Main points  Civil society has acquired an increasingly central place in 'thinking on developmen... more Main points  Civil society has acquired an increasingly central place in 'thinking on development';  Scientific research into the various aspects of civil society in developing countries is limited, strongly normative in nature and often seen from the perspective of the 'aid system';  It is and remains crucial not to equate civil society narrowly with NGOs. Equally, it remains essential to recognise the need for a contextual analysis (whether that concerns their potential contribution to development, their relationship with government, their interaction in international networks , or their possibilities for financial self-sufficiency);  Recognising CSOs as development actors also means that they have to be seen in the light of changes in development problems and processes and of the strong proliferation of development actors;  Despite continuing high expectations regarding CSOs, their 'golden era' is essentially because of overall changes in the development context but also (and mainly) because they have become disconnected from their grass roots;  The 'battle' about the most central role for CSOs continues. Insufficient account is taken of the contradictory messages being sent out from the aid system relating to the separation of service provision and a more political role;  In determining the strength of civil society, it is necessary to look at both internal and external conditions-including the role played by international financing;  In a legal sense, Southern CSOs are increasingly limited in their freedom. Central to this problem is the discussion of roles and the contrasting views regarding the roles of CSOs themselves and Southern governments. In this context, the international aid system does not seem to make a clear choice;  Cooperation and networking may be increasing, but they remain unclear at national level and are still strongly dominated by Northern organisations at international level;  The opportunities for Southern CSOs to break out of their relatively strong dependence on the 'aid system' still seem limited. It should be recognised that this dependence brings both advantages and disadvantages. The consequences of the agenda to increase aid effectiveness are crucial in this respect. In the context of further policy development within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (e.g. DSO) in the area of civil society, CIDIN has been asked to update its short quick-scan of the academic literature relating to 'developments in and around civil society in the South' (i.e. in developing countries) of 2011 (Schulpen & Habraken 2011). We do this by adding relevant recent studies and paying particular attention to the (political) space for CSOs, the challenges to 'traditional' CSOs posed by what is called 'new citizen movements', and the funding perspectives of Southern CSOs. The most crucial selection criterion for such 'development regions' is the estimation that they 'are relevant for the Ministry's future policy', or that of Dutch CSOs. The starting point here is that the Ministry's policy will continue to focus, in the future, on strengthening civil society in developing countries and that this will be done while seeing civil society (and donor relationships with CSOs) as complementary and just as necessary as donor relationships with governments and the private sector to the social, economic, and democratic development of any country (Wood & Fällman 2013). In this paper we express the above considerations through the idea that, in addition to the general guidelines of the Ministry's development policy, a new civil society policy should take account of developments in the area of international cooperation and of a number of developments in and around civil society in the South. Below, we first briefly examine a number of developments in international cooperation that are considered crucial and then we focus on Southern CSOs and their roles, relations with governments, networks and financial selfsufficiency. First, however, we consider it necessary to take a brief look at the concept of civil society. We end this paper with the first steps towards a future perspective on the role of civil society organisations in development (and not in development cooperation), on the basis of the idea that every policy starts with a perspective. A prior warning needs to be sounded. Much of the available literature on CSOs is strongly normative in nature and is not necessarily based on empirical research (although this paper does attempt to include as many empirical studies as possible). 1 In addition, there is a lack of 'hard' data on CSOs (e.g., relating to financing) or the information is only partially reliable. Lastly, a large part of the literature focuses primarily on NGOs (seen here as a subsector of civil society) and argues from within or on the basis of the 'aid system'. Civil society-what's in a name? Seen in this way, civil society is simultaneously a goal to aim for, a means of achieving it, and a framework for engaging with each other about ends and means (Edwards 2011a: 12

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Stuck in a “Catch-22”: Why Donors Fail to Include Grassroots Perspectives on CSO Legitimacy

The European Journal of Development Research

Studies on CSO legitimacy highlight the undermining effect of incorporation in the aid system. It... more Studies on CSO legitimacy highlight the undermining effect of incorporation in the aid system. It remains unclear, however, why donors continue to fund local CSOs lacking grassroots legitimacy. This article examines the case of an East African CSO that continues to attract donors despite being considered illegitimate by the grassroots. The research identifies six legitimacy sources: professionalism, agenda, strategy, track record, membership and governance. It finds that donors and grassroots interpret the first three sources (professionalism, agenda and strategy) in an opposing manner. Thus, the exact same characteristics that provide donor legitimacy simultaneously bring grassroots illegitimacy. The article subsequently identifies three mechanisms that explain why a lack of grassroots legitimacy is not a problem for donors: (1) donor priorities and capacities; (2) the CSO’s monopoly position; and (3) perception management by the CSO. Overall, these finding highlight structural limitations of the aid system.

Still going strong? The impact of COVID-19 on Dutch Civil Society

Public support: A plea for cross-country analysis

Adding to the Controversy? Civil Society’s Evaluation of the National Conference Dialogue in Yemen

Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding

This article assembles a picture of Yemen's 2013-14 National Dialogue Conference (NDC) by collect... more This article assembles a picture of Yemen's 2013-14 National Dialogue Conference (NDC) by collecting perspectives from local civil society organizations (CSOs), which are contrasted to the views of international commentators. Despite all efforts by internal parties as well as the international community, the dialogue failed to avert war, which broke out shortly after. Through interviews with 50 CSOs, we reconstructed the reasons for failure, as well as paying attention to the observed strengths of the dialogue. Half of the consulted organizations were directly involved in the NDC, either as an invited participant or in a brokerage role. The other half concerns outside observers. We identify aspects on which the opinion of the CSOs converge, but also highlight striking divergences depending on insider/outsider status. In contrast to the view espoused in the international literature, the CSOs overall feel that, in spite of all its procedural and substantive flaws, the NDC was a significant junction in the long road towards peace and stability and laid important groundwork for future dialogues.

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Government and civil society organizations: Close but comfortable? Lessons from creating the Dutch ‘Strategic Partnerships for Lobby and Advocacy’

Development Policy Review

Motivation Governments commonly support the advocacy role of civil society organizations (CSOs) i... more Motivation Governments commonly support the advocacy role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in development, but studies argue that close linkages between government and CSOs are problematic. The Netherlands' policy programme 'Dialogue and Dissent' brings together the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA) and 25 (alliances of) CSOs as advocacy partners. The programme is set up from an awareness of the challenging nature of such collaboration. Purpose We contribute to understanding the ways in which issues with donor-CSO collaboration can be engaged in donor policies. This paper addresses two questions: To what extent and how does this programme confront and overcome the challenges of close collaboration between government and CSOs? What practical lessons can be learnt? Approach For this paper, we conducted 33 (group)interviews with CSOs and policy officers involved with the Dialogue and Dissent programme, exploring their understandings, expectations and strategies as partners in the programme. We also analysed CSO programmes, policy documents and publicly available information.

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Measuring Cross-Country Proliferation: Towards a New Non-proliferation Treaty?

The Fragmentation of Aid, 2016

This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the pub... more

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Direct funding to local civil society organizations

Reinventing International Development NGOs – The Case of ICCO

European Journal of Development Research, 2014

The need for international development NGOs to reinvent themselves in light of contextual changes... more The need for international development NGOs to reinvent themselves in light of contextual changes and increasing challenges has been brought forward with increasing vigour. Indepth empirical research on the topic has remained scarce. This study contributes to the small number of in-depth empirical studies on INGOs by analysing the change process undertaking by one of the largest Dutch development NGOs (ICCO) in the period 2004-2010. By adding a specific focus on the changes in ICCO's beliefs, values and accompanying practices, it shows that ICCO's change process, whilst appearing to be a major overhaul, in many respects turned out to be a continuation of the existing organizational philosophy. The study not only shows the importance of culture in processes of organizational change, but particularly of cultural continuity.

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Trust or Control? Private Development Cooperation at the Crossroads

Public Administration and Development, 2014

Development NGOs are increasingly adopting so-called managerial working methods. This paper explo... more Development NGOs are increasingly adopting so-called managerial working methods. This paper explores the changing belief systems and practices of Northern development NGOs as well as the strains arising from this pressure. We draw upon a literature review and case studies of two Northern development NGOs and their Southern counterparts in Ghana, India and Nicaragua. Our findings show that managerialist ideas and practices clash with a number of values, views and goals that 'traditionally' have been widely shared in the private aid channel. To ensure that their actual practices remain consistent with their belief systems, Northern development NGOs cannot avoid making tough choices that will have key consequences for their future relevance and identity.

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Worse Than Expected? A Comparative Analysis of Donor Proliferation and Aid Fragmentation

Public Administration and Development, 2011

ABSTRACT The aid system itself is regarded by many as a major problem of present-day development ... more ABSTRACT The aid system itself is regarded by many as a major problem of present-day development cooperation causing substantial transaction costs for recipients. Particularly, the expansion of bilateral and multilateral donors and the way they spread their aid money over many recipients, projects and sectors is seen as being at the base of these supply-side problems. This article contributes to the discussion by bringing for the first time the non-governmental organisation channel into the equation based on a data set of 73 Dutch non-governmental organisations. Besides, it calls attention to the ‘philanthropist’ channel and shows that fragmentation and proliferation are not restricted to official aid agencies but constitute an aid channel–wide problem. This also means that solutions to this problem can no longer be restricted to only part of the aid architecture. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley &amp;amp; Sons, Ltd.

Armoede, participatie en 'empowerment': Voorbeelden van Nederlands ontwikkelingsbeleid in India

Assen : Van Gorcum eBooks, 1999

Item does not contain fulltext0ntbrkt

Private sector development and poverty reduction: an inbuild incoherence?

Pietilä, T. (ed.), Promoting private sector development - issues and guidelines for aid agencies, 2000

Item does not contain fulltext0ntbrkt

De life-cycle van het Particulier Initiatief

Komen de Russen nog? : verslag van een onderzoek naar de Stedenbandrelatie Nijmegen-Pskov

Journal of Experimental Psychology-learning Memory and Cognition, 2005

Download

Poverty reduction and aid: changing perceptions and their influence on aid allocation

ODI Working Paper (United Kingdom), 1998

AGRIS record. Record number, GB1999011286. Titles, Poverty reduction and aid: changing perception... more

The Rise of Small-Scale Development Organisations

The Role of the United Nations and its Special Envoys in the current Yemeni War: Floundering in a Tragic Reality

Item does not contain fulltext10 p

Why do national NGOs go where they go? The case of Yemen

Download

The changing Dutch NGO: Exploring organisational, strategic and financial changes between 2010-2016

Southern civil society in perspective: a literature review

Download

Stuck in a “Catch-22”: Why Donors Fail to Include Grassroots Perspectives on CSO Legitimacy

The European Journal of Development Research

Still going strong? The impact of COVID-19 on Dutch Civil Society

Public support: A plea for cross-country analysis

Adding to the Controversy? Civil Society’s Evaluation of the National Conference Dialogue in Yemen

Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding

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Government and civil society organizations: Close but comfortable? Lessons from creating the Dutch ‘Strategic Partnerships for Lobby and Advocacy’

Development Policy Review

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Measuring Cross-Country Proliferation: Towards a New Non-proliferation Treaty?

The Fragmentation of Aid, 2016

This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the pub... more

Download

Direct funding to local civil society organizations

Reinventing International Development NGOs – The Case of ICCO

European Journal of Development Research, 2014

Download

Trust or Control? Private Development Cooperation at the Crossroads

Public Administration and Development, 2014

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Worse Than Expected? A Comparative Analysis of Donor Proliferation and Aid Fragmentation

Public Administration and Development, 2011

'50+ and sexy?' Ten years of research on Dutch Private Development Initiatives

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Creeping quango-nisation of Dutch development NGOs

Based on an unique database on Dutch government funding to NGOs over 2003-2020, this article argu... more

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The NGO funding game The case of the Netherlands

The discussion about the (financial) relationship between the Dutch government and non-government... more The discussion about the (financial) relationship between the Dutch government and non-governmental development organisations (NGOs) is too narrow. Generally, this discussion is restricted in terms of time (with a focus on what is happening now), in terms of NGOs (with an almost exclusive focus on a few big Dutch NGOs), and in terms of subsidy schemes (with a focus on the major schemes). The report ‘The NGO funding game – the case of the Netherlands’ analyses the (financial) relationship between the Dutch government and NGOs over the period 2003-2020 on the basis of an unique database covering a total of 47 subsidy schemes, 510 NGOs and a total subsidy amount of €10.7 billion. The analysis first of all provides more nuanced picture of the Government-NGO relationship (e.g., in terms of winners and losers or the division between Dutch, International and Southern NGOs). More importantly, the analysis raises crucial (policy-related) questions with regard to the government view on the roles of NGOs in development and the consequences of a subsidy system based on business principles.

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Mapping the Expectations of the Dutch Strategic Partnerships for Lobby and Advocacy

by Margit van Wessel, Lau Schulpen, and Dorothea Hilhorst

In 2016, The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs started a new and highly innovative policy p... more In 2016, The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs started a new and highly innovative policy programme entitled 'Dialogue and Dissent. Strategic Partnerships for Lobby and Advocacy'. In this programme, the Ministry, NGOs and their partners in low- and lower-middle income partners are to work together as partners in lobby and advocacy and in the development of lobby and advocacy capacity of civil society organisations in low- and lower-middle income countries. The research report charts the expectations around the partnerships among those involved, points out challenges and possible ways forward. For this research, the team conducted interviews with NGO staff and Ministry staff (including Royal Netherlands Embassy staff), and a survey of several hundred partner organisations in low and lower-middle income countries

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