Organising NGDOs: social dynamics, hierarchies and managerialism in Italian non-governmental development organisations

This research provides a comprehensive examination of the organisational evolution of Italian non-governmental development organisations (NGDOs) within the framework of the global development aid system. Over the decades, NGDOs have been instrumental in mitigating top-down approaches, embracing grassroots engagement and seeking to empower local communities to ensure sustainable and responsive development interventions. However, the spread of business-inspired and business-oriented ideas and practices in the non-profit sector, fostered by systemic, neoliberal-induced competition, bureaucratisation and technicalisation, has meant that these actors have become very different from the mobilising movements they originally were. This study closely examines the organisational, relational and operational trajectories of Italian NGDOs, using the theoretical concept of “managerialism” as a critical lens to understand the political, social and economic implications of internal transformations. The thesis addresses three over-arching questions and different levels of analysis: 1) What are the political, social and economic factors that have historically contributed to shaping the organisational environment of Italian NGDOs?; 2) What are the organisational dynamics that characterise the Italian NGDO sector?; 3) What are the trajectories, strategies and conflicts that political and organisational changes have led Italian NGDOs to face, and with what consequences?. This thesis adopts a qualitative approach, emphasising the voices of practitioners, to explore managerialism in NGDOs and its implications through in-depth interviews and three case studies of Italian NGDOs, adopting a contextual, critical and constructivist lens, emphasising ongoing dialogue and participant reflexivity. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Using a neo-Gramscian analytical lens, this thesis outlines the history of Italian NGDOs as part of social activism for Global South development, and in the context of the institutional changes associated to government policies for development cooperation. The thesis shows that since the 1980s and 1990s, neoliberal management practices have become entrenched as ‘common sense’ in the development sector. This shift has led to a progressive distancing of the work of NGDOs from the bottom-up, spontaneous mobilisation approaches commonly adopted by other civil society actors. In the specific Italian case, the acceptance or rejection of managerial practices has varied over time and between organisations, pointing to nuanced outcomes that defy clear definitions. In Italy in particular, a certain degree of managerialism has become desirable in the eyes of NGDOs, especially as their economic growth has implied the need for them to focus on their organisational sustainability (organic managerialism), and through coercive donor-driven trends, influences and management standards (imposed managerialism). The organisational dynamics studied reveal significant changes in the governance, funding mechanisms, staffing and activities of NGDOs compared to the past, sometimes leading to contradictions in their mission, values and identities. This is particularly pronounced in the Italian context, where many organisations started out as small, volunteer-led and politically engaged entities. Despite a discernible “managerial turn” and the need for some degree of professionalisation and scaling up, the Italian context can be best understood as a case of “incomplete managerialism”: this is not only due to financial constraints and lack of donor support, but also to resistance within the organisational and political cultures of NGDOs. In conclusion, this research highlights how Italian NGDOs, drawing on reflexivity and a strong associative identity, use their agency to negotiate, appropriate or selectively reject managerial elements in their organisational trajectories. While recognising the imperative for systemic shifts away from managerialism within the aid sector and the adaptive responses of NGDOs to changes in their organisational milieu, the pervasive competitiveness of the NGDO landscape, coupled with varying levels of acceptance of managerial practices, limits their ability to effectively counter managerial pressures and reinforces instances of appropriation and resistance. This limitation hinders their ability to engage with more bottom-up civil society actors and to imagine alternative, equitable and networked organisational practices and relationships. The study provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of Italian NGDOs and offers a nuanced understanding of their responses to managerialism within the evolving landscape of global development.