While I was in London in January, The Guardian newspaper ran a front-page story about an independent evaluation of some of Britain's leading international charities that tried to help southern Africa avoid a food crisis in 2002-2003. The evaluation concluded that the charities had overstated the seriousness of the situation to the public, failed to consult the people they were trying to help and did not listen to people's needs.
Although the 12 charities under examination had indeed saved many lives and eased much suffering, the downside was the result of the differing imperatives of the marketing-cum-fundraising and operational wings of the nongovernmental organizations.
In a Dec. 28 article, "U.N. voice for 'civil society,' " I wrote of the need to streamline the United Nations' interactions with civil society -- academic and business communities, NGOs and others. Like the U.N. itself, civil-society actors face tensions between efficiency and legitimacy. Technical proficiency and democratic credentials are crucial attributes in underpinning performance as well as representational and moral legitimacy. By the same token, we must confront and address the problem of unelected, unaccountable, unrepresentative, self-aggrandizing and irresponsible NGOs.