Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book introduces a framework for the analysis of the changing environment for development work, in particular the widening gap between Russia and the West. It discusses activism and NGO work in East London in the 1970s and 1980s. The book focuses on capacity building and organisation development and examines there is a discussion about NGOs’ role in service provision and defending rights in the context of attacks on the welfare state. Civil society organisations: In the pages that follow, the term ‘NGO’ is used to denote a registered non-profit organisation of the type that works in development projects, at home or abroad, often with public funding. NGOs often function like a ‘school’, whether in basic management skills, professional skills or political activism.