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Explore how NGOs influence policy through competing coalitions, advocating for environmental change, and collaborating with organizations for social impact.
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PA 395 Day 5 Non-Profits and the Environment Gary Flomenhoft June 21, 2003
Doom and Gloom? Hubbert curve based on ~2 trillion barrels
U.S. Conservatives Take Aim at NGOs http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0612-09.htm The industry-funded right-wing think tank the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has taken aim at non-governmental organizations. During a recent all-day conference, "Nongovernmental Organizations: The Growing Power of an Unelected Few," speakers delivered the message that NGOs "are using their growing prominence and power to pursue a 'liberal' agenda at the international level that threatens U.S. sovereignty and free-market capitalism." According to AEI and the conference co-sponsor, the rightist Institute of Public Affairs of Australia, "NGOs have created their own rules and regulations and demanded that governments and corporations abide by those rules." Jim Lobe writes for OneWorld, "Several speakers praised the work of NGOs ... but stressed that, at the international policy level, much of what they did actually hurt the intended beneficiaries." NGOs' opposition to the use of DDT to fight malaria and to the delivery of genetically-engineered corn in southern Africa were cited as examples of policies which amounted to "eco-imperialism" and showed a "callous disregard for human life." SOURCE: OneWorld, June 12, 2003
Term paper approaches-example Theories of Environmental Change-Costain/Lester 2) Policy Learning-Sabatier Competing Coalitions. Triggered by external events A) Intermediate level of informed conflict between two interest groups Primary aspects of one group vs. core aspects of another or Secondary aspects of both B) Forum is prestigious enough to force professionals from different coalitions and dominated by professional norms.
Interest Groups and Social Movements Interest Group: “Organized body of individuals who share some goals and who try to influence public policy.” -Berry “Any group that, on the basis of one or more shared attitudes, makes certain claims upon other groups in society for the establishment, maintenance, or enhancement of other forms of behavior that are implied by the shared attitudes.”-Truman “Advance the the common interests of groups of individuals.”-Olson Organizations which seek incremental changes in laws, regulations, or judicial decision through institutional means. McAdam
Advocacy activities by non-profits Express Advocacy, also called explicit candidate advertising, are communications which use words of express advocacy, such as "Vote for Smith," "Support Jones," "Defeat Senator Jones," etc. In some cases, communications with "marginally less direct" exhortations to vote have nonetheless been ruled express advocacy, while in others they have been ruled issue advocacy. Issue Advocacy has come to mean everything that is not express candidate advocacy, and has two sub-categories: *Candidate-Specific Issue Advertising/Electioneering Communication, which discusses or clearly identifies a candidate, but does not use explicit words of express advocacy; and *Pure Issue Advertising, which discusses an issue without mentioning the name or showing video/images of a candidate. Issue Advocacy is not totally free of federal regulation; the FEC, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) disclosure regulations and IRS non-profit rules
UBIT Unrelated Business Income Tax
Case study: TNC and Georgia-Pacific Lumber From Tree-huggers vs. land-rapers To Collaboration
Social Venture Capital/Venture Philanthropy (Social Return on Investment) Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP), a philanthropic investment organization, is working to improve the lives of children from low-income communities by pursuing two interrelated goals. First, we help strengthen nonprofit organizations, offering not just major funding but also significant management expertise and other non-financial resources that are too rarely available to nonprofits. Second, we are joining with others in our field to inspire philanthropists, corporate and nonprofit leaders, and public policymakers to help increase the effectiveness and the flow of capital, talent, and other resources to nonprofit organizations meeting the core needs of children.
Social Venture Capital/Venture Philanthropy (Social Return on Investment)