The Difference Between NGOs and CSOs

The two terms are often used interchangeably, but the distinctions are important

I'm an anthropologist who works on governance and development problems around the word. Using my experiences I write about how economic processes and human relationships build (or destroy) social systems and the institutions of governance.

In a democratic system of governance citizens can bring about change by voting during elections as well as through a variety of ways in-between elections. This essay addresses the three ways citizens can bring about change in-between elections, which are: direct, indirect and “civic” action.

Direct action is quite straightforward and usually takes place when a business, community group or association simply come together to gather resources and bring about the desired change. A straightforward example is when a pothole in a neighborhood street needs to be filled or a neighborhood wants to create a crime-watch association. Such direct actions do not involve changes in public policy.

Indirect action is similar to direct action in that it doesn’t involve changes in public policy. However the difference is that indirect action is generally too large to be accomplished directly. Indirect action generally requires letter writing campaigns, public meetings, collection of petitions, and contact with public agencies or companies with resources to advocate for bringing about the desired change. Very often indirect action requires the intervention of local neighborhood leaders or community associations to spearhead and sustain the campaign.

The third way of bringing about change is generally referred to as “civic action.” This type of effort requires change in policy. Civic action generally requires organizing a campaign that targets policy makers such as city, state or national legislators to enact or change laws.

In a democracy all individuals and organizations have a right both to vote during elections and also to engage in direct, indirect, or civic action between elections. Direct and indirect action change existing conditions (or create new ones), while civic action makes policy makers to change laws and regulations (or to create new ones).

Whether through direct, indirect, or civic action, many changes are the result of efforts by single, very energetic and resourceful individuals. But usually people have to organize themselves to work together for the change they desire. Generally the organizations through which citizens create change fall into two broad categories. They are NGOs and CSOs.      

NGOs

Non-government organizations (NGOs) are owned by citizens. They are not “public agencies” owned by governments. There are many types of NGOs. They can be for-profit (e.g. private businesses) or not-for-profit (such as a charity or community association). The primary objective of businesses (or for-profit NGOs) is to generate a profit for their owners. Among the not-for-profit NGOs (often known as charities) are groups of organizations and individuals that focus their activities toward improving conditions of a particular sector or community. Not-for-profit organizations are usually preferred organizational structures for development and/or for humanitarian relief, and for bringing about changes in their community or sector through direct action.

Because they generally engage in direct action to bring about change, NGOs are usually credible and well regarded in their communities. Many cultures and societies have developed a wide range of traditional NGOs such as burial societies, lending clubs (called "tontines" in the Sahel), farmers' tool banks, and also cooperatives that allow resources to be accumulated and passed on to beneficiaries at the retail level. The beneficiaries of the NGOs can be customers or owners (shareholders) of the organization. In order to legally be recognized by local authorities as a “not-for-profit” organization, the NGO can generate revenue but cannot distribute those revenues among shareholders.

NGOs can range from large formal corporations to small informal groups that come together at certain times of the year or for specific events such as barn-raising in the American Midwest or the koumbite harvest groups in Haiti where farmers come together at planting or harvest time to cooperatively tackle labor-intensive tasks, or the Koudmin neighborhood associations in St. Lucia. Regardless of their frequency, duration or formality, they are extremely important in strengthening community-level governance relationships and creating social capital between participants.

NGO membership characteristics can vary as well, with some NGOs having transient, short-term members and others having long-term members who have a wider range of interactions with other members in the organization. Most not-for-profit NGOs engage in some kind of community action in which they work towards improving conditions of their "community", whether that community is defined demographically or along certain interests (e.g. bird-watchers or stamp-collectors).

All revenues of not-for-profit NGOs must be spent on the organization’s works. Some countries promote NGOs by granting some degree of income-tax relief to individuals or corporations that donate money to not-for-profit NGOs, or by waiving taxes altogether for certain kinds of NGOs that are duly registered as such with local authorities.

Generally, NGOs are very credible among their communities and among policy-makers because they are visibly associated with delivering needed services and changing field realities. Many NGOs rarely involve themselves in efforts to change or influence policy, preferring instead to work towards directly changing local conditions. So they are generally not seen as being partisan. Many for-profit organizations (e.g. businesses) prefer to exercise their right to influence policy (thereby acting “as members of civil society”) by hiring lobbying firms, or by joining associations that defend and promote their interests (e.g. Chambers of Commerce) and by making financial contributions to political candidates or by sponsoring activities that further their interests.

The relationships between individuals such as trust and reciprocity, are generally reflected in the kinds of governance structures that define the community. As a governance anthropologist I look for how relationships between people in a community are reflected in the kinds of social institutions they create. Neighborhoods that organize social events, block parties, neighborhood beautification programs, crime reduction groups, are generally ones in which the residents know and trust each other. The individual and organizational levels usually reflect each other. Countless studies have shown neighborhoods and communities that have many local NGOs are generally “strong” communities that recuperate rapidly to natural disasters and have low crime, irrespective of their income level.      

CSOs

Civil society organizations are a type of NGO whose purpose is to influence policy. The main characteristic of civil society organizations (CSOs) that makes them unique among NGOs is that CSOs engage in advocacy vis-a-vis policy makers (and the voters who elect those policy makers). Political parties are not considered part of civil society because whereas civil society organizations try to influence power, political parties try to assume power. (The line is a fine one and many people mistakenly consider political parties to be part of civil society).

Civil society (often referred to as “the civic sector”) is a broad term that refers to that aspect of a democratic society that is defined by its right to advocate for a cause or for policy change. When a group, organization, or individual “acts as civil society”, it is performing a civic function, i.e. it is advocating for a cause or policy change. A civil society organization(CSO), is an organization whose entire purpose is to undertake civic actions, i.e. to do advocacy to change policy. CSOs generally don’t undertake direct action to change conditions “in the street” the way NGOs do. CSOs bring about change through civic action. CSOs generally try to bring about largescale change and use strategies such as letter-writing campaigns, information sessions targeting policy members, and similar activities. Some of these actions are also used by NGOs but remember, the difference is that CSOs trying to bring about change by influencing policy.

Human rights organizations or nature conservation organizations, for example, exist to defend and advance human rights or nature conservation. As that is the purpose of those organizations, they are civil society organizations. A private business that promotes human rights or nature conservation is also advocating those causes, but its primary objective as an enterprise is to conduct business, generate profit and distribute the profit among its shareholders, not to advocate. As a member of a democracy, any business has the right to advocate an issue or policy change, but its chartered purpose is to engage in business, so it is not considered a civil society organization. The tax-free status of CSOs is a tangible way that government finances the right of citizens to influence policy.

One could say that CSOs are a subset of NGOs, -a subset that has an advocacy purpose. CSOs are generally referred to as "any organization or group of individuals that works to defend or promote the interests of a community or sector through influencing policy or public opinion." When an NGO, or business, or an individual takes on a particular cause, it is undertaking a civic action, or “acting as” a member of civil society”. Clearly, civil society is best described as a function, whereas civil society organizations are essentially NGOs dedicated to advocacy.

Civil society as a sector is made up of a wide range of organizations with sometimes contradictory and competing interests. Even if they oppose each other’s positions, they are all civil society organizations as long as they are working to defend and promote the interests of their members or community through influencing either policy or public opinion. Strengthening governance includes building the practices and capacities of civil society organizations irrespective of their political, social, or religious positions. Every aspect of peoples’ relationships ultimately contributes to the way NGOs and CSOs, the institutions of governance, function.