Customer Reviews

Beyond the Magic Bullet: NGO Performance and Accountability in the Post-Cold War World

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I use Beyond the Magic Bullet all the time in my work with NGOs and students studying the NGO sector. Since this book was published in 1996 some of the case studies seem a bit dated, but the overall message is still fresh and the conceptual frameworks among the best available. Unusually in books about NGOs, this one is clearly written, rigorous and balanced, with no axe to grind either way and a genuine desire to help NGOs understand and deal with the problems of accountability and performance evaluation they face. For an update I would recommend some of Edwards' more recent work, especially Global Citizen Action (edited with John Gaventa) and NGO Rights and Responsibilities (which I bought from Amazon-UK).

For anyone wanting a comprehensive review of the lastest developments in the global voluntary sector with plenty of interesting case studies.

Starts with a great introduction and ends with a brilliant conclusion, which saved me reading what would have taken hundreds of hours research.

This book should be available to any student, practioner or academic because it applies to all

I used this book in a graduate course. I found it tremendously helpful in evaluating various considerations for non-profit effectiveness.

Edwards does give a reasonably comprehensive treatment of the topic but does avoid making the tough calls in his conclusions.

NGO accountability is a huge problem, far greater than Edwards is willing to admit.