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NGO–Government Relations During Foreign Aid Reduction: Lessons from Thailand’s HIV/AIDS Sector

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Abstract

International donors frequently seek to transition local NGOs to national government funding during aid reduction. The outcomes of this transition vary widely between contexts. Scholarship on aid reduction has yet to explain this variation, and some donor policies for facilitating transition lack a firm basis in research. In this article, we use NGO–government relations theory to analyze case study data from the HIV/AIDS sector in Thailand. We find that NGO–government relations theory provides a convincing explanation for the outcomes of the sector’s transition. The theory indicates that for transition to be successful, the NGO–government relationship must shift from a supplementary one, marked by outside funding for NGOs, guarded attitudes, and more restrictive government oversight, to a complementary relationship marked by government funding, collaborative attitudes, and regulations that facilitate NGO activities. This shift in Thailand has been largely successful but is incomplete. The findings suggest that donors should pay attention to the underlying attitudes of NGOs and government, in addition to laws and bureaucratic procedures. The research identifies several current donor programs with the potential to facilitate attitude change and one that may be counterproductive.

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  1. Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, US

    Christopher L. Pallas & Cortney Stewart

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  1. Christopher L. Pallas
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  2. Cortney Stewart
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Correspondence to Christopher L. Pallas.

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Pallas, C.L., Stewart, C. NGO–Government Relations During Foreign Aid Reduction: Lessons from Thailand’s HIV/AIDS Sector. Voluntas 34, 1014–1024 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-022-00475-6

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