ABSTRACT
After several decades in the wings of development practice and debate, non-governmental organizations-NGOs-have quickly moved to centre stage. The explosion of interest in them has come from different quarters: from academic researchers, development activists, multi-and bilateral donor agencies, and not least from society itself. In academia this interest is reflected in research programmes and a growing body of published work focusing on NGOs. Society’s interest is reflected in the rising contributions to NGOs, and the growing frequency with which representatives from them are interviewed in the mass media. Some donor agencies, such as the World Bank, now have departments specially responsible for NGOs, and departmental statements that emphasize work with NGOs. Certainly they and northern governments are channelling ever greater amounts of money through the non-governmental sector.1
