NGOWatch

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NGOWatch initially operated between 2003 and 2007 and was relaunched in May 2009. Its stated goal is to monitor the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their impact on public policy. It is a sibling website of Global Governance Watch, a collaborative project of the conservative think tanks the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.

Contents

Goals

The resuscitated NGOWatch claims its "goal is to raise awareness about global governance, to monitor how international organizations influence domestic political outcomes, and to address issues of transparency and accountability within the United Nations, related intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and other non-state actors." It positions itself not as an ideological foe of NGOs—it was founded by two NGOs—but as a resource to monitor NGO advocacy and encourage non-governmental organizations to embrace the same standards of disclosure and accountability that they demand from governments and corporations. It states: "NGOs have positioned themselves as advocates of global governance and shapers of corporate and government policy. NGOWatch monitors these monitors to encourage transparency and accountability." [1]

Staff

Jon Entine, a visiting scholar (since 2002) at the American Enterprise Institute, is the supervising editor of NGOWatch. He is an author and journalist, a columnist (since 2001) for the British-based international magazine Ethical Corporation [2] and a consultant focusing on strategic communications, sustainability, and corporate responsibility. David Peyton, a research assistant at AEI, is the program manager of NGOWatch.

Criticism of Former NGOWatch (defunct as of 2007)

Before the original NGOWatch went defunct in 2007, the website Private Eye criticized it as "a subtle attack on the United Nations ... and ... on civil society itself.". [2]

Conferences Sponsored by NGOWatch/Global Governance Watch

Related Research Articles

Non-governmental organization Organization independent of any government, usually created to aid those in need or similar

A non-government organization (NGO) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in humanitarianism or the social sciences; they can also include clubs and associations that provide services to their members and others. Surveys indicate that NGOs have a high degree of public trust, which can make them a useful proxy for the concerns of society and stakeholders. However, NGOs can also be lobby groups for corporations, such as the World Economic Forum.

Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil societal anti-corruption measures and to prevent criminal activities arising from corruption. Its most notable publications include the Global Corruption Barometer and the Corruption Perceptions Index. Transparency International serves as an umbrella organization. From 1993 till today its members have grown from a few individuals to more than 100 national chapters which engage in fighting perceived corruption in their home countries. TI is a member of G20 Think Tanks, UNESCO Consultative Status, United Nations Global Compact, Sustainable Development Solutions Network and shares the goals of peace, justice, strong institutions and partnerships of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG). TI is a social partner of Global Alliance in Management Education. TI confirmed the dis-accreditation of the national chapter of United States of America in 2017.

Corporate governance is defined, described or delineated in diverse ways, depending on the writer's purpose. Writers focussed on a disciplinary interest or context often adopt narrow definitions that appear purpose-specific. Writers concerned with regulatory policy in relation to corporate governance practices often use broader structural descriptions. A broad (meta) definition that encompasses many adopted definitions is '“Corporate governance” describes the processes, structures, and mechanisms that influence the control and direction of corporations'.

Transparency, as used in science, engineering, business, the humanities and in other social contexts, is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. Transparency implies openness, communication, and accountability.

Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system. It is done by the government of a state, by a market, or by a network. It is the decision-making among the actors involved in a collective problem that leads to the creation, reinforcement, or reproduction of social norms and institutions". In lay terms, it could be described as the political processes that exist in and between formal institutions.

United Nations Global Compact Non-binding United Nations pact

The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to encourage businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. The UN Global Compact is a principle-based framework for businesses, stating ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. Under the Global Compact, companies are brought together with UN agencies, labor groups and civil society. Cities can join the Global Compact through the Cities Programme.

The Global Policy Forum (GPF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in December 1993 and based in New York and Bonn .[1] The aim of the Global Policy Forum is to critically accompany and analyze developments in the United Nations and on the topic of global governance. Thereby a bridge between the international and the local level is to be built. GPF seeks to strengthen intergovernmental organizations and promote multilateralism based on solidarity, international law and the United Nations Charter. The Global Policy Forum also has consultative status on the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Jens Martens has been the GPF's executive director since 2014 and director of GPF Europe since its foundation in 2004.[2] 

A non-state actor (NSA) are organizations and/or individuals that are not affiliated with, directed by, or funded by any government.

One World Trust Global trust

The One World Trust is a charitable organization that promotes education and research into changes required in global governance to achieve the eradication of poverty, injustice, environmental degradation and war. It develops recommendations on practical ways to make powerful organisations more accountable to the people they affect now and in the future, and how the rule of law can be applied to all.

Global Reporting Initiative

The Global Reporting Initiative is an international independent standards organization that helps businesses, governments and other organizations understand and communicate their impacts on issues such as climate change, human rights and corruption.

ISO 26000:2010 Guidance on social responsibility is an international standard providing guidelines for social responsibility. It was released by the International Organization for Standardization on 1 November 2010 and its goal is to contribute to global sustainable development by encouraging business and other organizations to practice social responsibility to improve their impacts on their workers, their natural environments and their communities.

Network governance is "interfirm coordination that is characterized by organic or informal social system, in contrast to bureaucratic structures within firms and formal relationships between them. The concepts of privatization, public private partnership, and contracting are defined in this context." Network governance constitutes a "distinct form of coordinating economic activity" which contrasts and competes with markets and hierarchies.

Rights-based approach to development is an approach to development promoted by many development agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to achieve a positive transformation of power relations among the various development actors. This practice blurs the distinction between human rights and economic development. There are two stakeholder groups in rights-based development—the rights holders and the duty bearers. Rights-based approaches aim at strengthening the capacity of duty bearers and empower the rights holders.

Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) is primarily an institute of, for and by corporate directors established in the Philippines. It is made up mainly of individuals and reputational agents committed to the professional practice of corporate directorship in line with global principles of modern corporate governance.

Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) is an Afghan non-governmental organization that works to increase transparency (social), integrity and accountability in Afghanistan through the provision of policy-oriented research, monitoring, capacity building and advocacy on political corruption and aid effectiveness.

Type II partnerships were developed at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. Arising in opposition to the state-centred eco-governmentality of previous approaches to sustainable development policy, the partnerships facilitate the inclusion of private and civil actors into the management of sustainable development. The partnerships are employed alongside traditional intergovernmental mechanisms in order to effectively implement the United Nations' Agenda 21 and Millennium Development Goals, particularly at sub-national level. Although widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and effective developments in global environmental governance in recent years, the partnerships have faced criticism due to fears of a lack of accountability, and the risk that they may exacerbate inequalities of power between Northern and Southern states. Despite these reservations, there is a general consensus among state and non-governmental actors that Type II partnerships are a significantly progressive step in global environmental governance in general, and sustainable development discourse in particular.

Accountable Now is a global platform, founded in 2008 by a group of independent non-profit organisations, which is intended to foster accountability and transparency of civil society organisations (CSOs), as well as stakeholder communication and performance. It supports CSOs to be transparent, responsive to stakeholders and focused on delivering impact.

Multistakeholder governance is a practice of governance that employs bringing multiple stakeholders together to participate in dialogue, decision making, and implementation of responses to jointly perceived problems. The principle behind such a structure is that if enough input is provided by multiple types of actors involved in a question, the eventual consensual decision gains more legitimacy, and can be more effectively implemented than a traditional state-based response. While the evolution of multistakeholder governance is occurring principally at the international level, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are domestic analogues.

NGO Monitor is a right-wing non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem that reports on international NGO activity from a pro-Israel perspective.

Social accounting is the process of communicating the social and environmental effects of organizations' economic actions to particular interest groups within society and to society at large. Social Accounting is different from public interest accounting as well as from critical accounting.

References

  1. "About Global Governance Watch®" . Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  2. "NGOWatch". Public Eye Magazine . Retrieved 3 December 2013.