ABSTRACT
In recent years, the international development community has shown a strong interest in supporting capacity-building for Chinese NGOs. The eagerness of donor agencies to give money to this cause has contributed to an outburst of NGO capacity-building programmes. Many international and Chinese organizations have run training programmes for Chinese NGOs. Training programmes tend to rely heavily on materials that have been designed and used in other countries, and often invite experts from outside mainland China, such as from Europe, America, Hong Kong and Taiwan, to be the trainers. Observers of the Chinese NGO sector generally share the view that the sector is still in the early stages of development,1 and its capacity-building needs are vast. Assessments of such needs have generated long lists that include everything from strategic planning, programme management, staff training, public relations and image-building, to fundraising and communication skills, and the ability to mobilize volunteers (Young and Woo 2000; Deng 2001a; Kang 2002). Under the circumstances, those who are concerned to build up the capacity of Chinese NGOs have naturally tried to introduce them to the latest international NGO management theories and practices.
