About

About the Program

The George Washington Center for the Study of Globalization, in partnership with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, present a six-part videoconference series: "A Practitioners' Perspective on the Business of NGOs: Operations, Functions, Regulation and Potential Impact."

The project provides a forum for the sharing of perspectives on the the business of NGOs, not only of their role in the United States, but of their potential impact in China and on global governance. Through a partnership between the the George Washington Center for the Study of Globalization and the School of International and Public Affairs at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, this videoconference series will encourage the development of civil society and democracy through an open discussion of how to better foster grassroots citizens activities, augment and improve the targeting of government social expenditures, and increase an understanding of positive impact of volunteerism. Perspectives of practitioners on U.S. best practices highlighted by videoconference speakers will be geared toward the Chinese audience and will provide successful examples to be considered by Chinese decision makers when designing NGO policies and setting out clear rules for NGO activities and registration.

Program Justification

In recent years nonprofits or NGOs have received a lot of attention in China. At first NGOs were seen as a threat to government authority, although in recent years NGOs have been seen as a possible way to better channel and target government expenditures on social and community activities. There is also a great misunderstanding as to the mandate, structure, and independent nature of NGOs. This videoconference series is intended to highlight many of the U.S. best practices in fostering, regulating, and operating NGOs.

Program Description

Chinese audiences will walk away from this six-part series with a comprehensive understanding of the diverse nature of NGOs and how they interact with the government with regard to tax and regulation. Videoconference speakers will discuss some of the important management issues critical to the healthy operation of NGOs, touching on areas of accountability, the role of the board of directors, fund raising, strategic planning, and volunteer management. The last focus of this series will center on the operations and activities of specific types of NGOs to include those that deal with the public interest and environment.