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FAMP PĂCE?ILĂ Mihaela
CCASP INVOLVEMENT OF NGOS IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
In the current societies NGOs fulfill a range of roles:
? Give citizens the opportunity to work together in order to promote social values and civic goals
important to them. The NGOs are involved in various fields (Burlacu, 2011) such as health,
education, rural and urban development, environment, population, social welfare, job creation,
skills training, economic development, peace and human rights as well as the informal sector.
(Commonwealth Foundation, 1994). In all these fields, NGOs have tried to explore new policies
and practices for a better understanding and awareness of social, economic, environmental
problems and other things. (Bagci, 2007)..
? Represent a unique and essential space between for profit and the government sector. The
private enterprise produces private goods and services while the government is focusing on the
provision of public goods and services. Most government expenditures are allocated for large
projects such as dams, hospitals, schools, etc. In general, the governments do not conduct
income-generating activities and rarely make investments that generate employment
opportunities. Therefore, NGOs have turned into an alternative sector (Uphoff, 1995; Korten,
1990), the third sector. The non-profit and non-governmental sector contributes to the
satisfaction of the community needs, ensuring a balance between the state and the free market. PROCEEDINGS OF THE 11 TH ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ”Strategic Management for Local Communities” 30 th – 31 st October 2015 Bucharest
At the same time, NGOs can build partnerships between the three sectors that should rely on
the unique strengths of each sector in order to contribute to the common good (Heintz, 2006).
? Enable social change by taking into account the challenges that public and private sectors do
not focus. NGOs are able to take risks that are economically unacceptable for the private sector
and politically unacceptable for the government (Drabek, 1987; Simmons, 1998). In fact, the
level of organizational flexibility has a major influence on its ability to adapt and respond to
changes (Moldoveanu and Dobrin, 2012) and to take risks.
In modern societies around the world, many services currently considered that best practices
have been designed, tested and improved by NGOs over many years. In addition, advocacy
campaigns conducted by NGOs determine governments to adopt political reforms and improve
the legislative framework for business environment (Baitenman, 1990). The NGO sector also
allows establishing a healthy balance between the potential excesses of capitalism and the lack
of adequate state resources (Heintz, 2006).
? Have an important role in ensuring compliance with the fundamental values: human rights,
democracy and the rule of law. In the context of the failure of conventional development models
and of the emphasis on the role of the individual in the development process, the NGO sector
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