Western actors' influence of goals, values, and practices among International NGOs and local Cambodian working for rural development in Cambodia

Abstract

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) do a lot of work to help people live in better conditions. They work in many domains in collaboration with other actors, such as the local government, local citizens or donors. However, in rural development, NGOs are frequently the main actors involved. The rural population of the world continues to be the majority; hence it is important for actors involved to consider the many voices included in the development. In Cambodia, where the rural population is even higher than the average world population, there is an important number of NGOs. Many of the international NGOs come from Western background and do not shy away from doing their work by following the definition of development from their perspective, especially as donors - also often from Western background - also demand their criteria to be respected, rather than adapting to what might be a different definition from the various Cambodian actors involved. Numerous studies have been done on the influence of funding on NGOs, however, there is a gap in the literature involved with rural development in Cambodia, as well as the influence on website presentation - which is an important area for NGOs to present their organization and gather new donors.

This study looks at the impact of donors on international NGOs and local NGOs related to rural development in Cambodia, specifically in terms of mission, strategy, and values presented on NGOs' websites. It approached the study with decolonial thinking with an understanding that the majority of donors and international NGOs follow Western thinking. The research concluded that important donors often believed in a universal definition of rural development and in professionalization, which led them to impose their criteria related to the capacity and mission of NGOs or they would hold back funds. These beliefs strongly affected the reception of the funds for international NGOs, who frequently adhered to these beliefs as well as held them to be true, and local NGOs, who appeared less professional to donors due the the structure of their NGO and potentially their website presentations. It was proved that, though it is beneficial in some respects, Western thinking continues to sometimes negatively affect NGOs, especially by local NGOs, in terms of funding but also in how Western citizens views populations with different truths.