‘’TRUST ME, I’M AN NGO’’

Abstract

In hindsight of the various scandals that NGOs have been involved in during the past decade, regarding misuse of funds, sexual misconduct and high-pressure marketing strategies affecting the vulnerable population, there is a declining amount of trust in NGOs, from donors and beneficiaries alike. It is obvious that rebuilding trust is vital for NGOs, as they heavily rely on donors and subsidies for their funding, and the beneficiaries for their reason to exist. Perceptions of untrustworthiness therefore, can be an existential threat to NGOs, as funds from the private sector and governments could be allocated elsewhere, and their access to conflict and disaster areas declined. To avoid these consequences, there is often call for more accountability measures, with the most prominent feature being transparency, based on the notion that a more transparent organization will be perceived as more trustworthy. Many scholars, however, do not share the assumption that the accountability agenda can build more trust in NGOs, arguing that it could rather have an adverse effect. This study will examine the dominant rational model of trust, as well as the alternative that have been proposed in literature, namely the social trust model, with particular focus on the concept of accountability, its different types and how these relate to the issue of trust. Based on two case studies of humanitarian NGOS, ‘Oxfam’ and ‘More than Me’ (MTM), it will try to answer the following research question: How do NGOs restore their credibility after a scandal has occurred?