Transforming neoliberal governance of non-government organizations : the case of welfare sector subvention reform in Hong Kong

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the transformation pathway of NGO governance subsequent to the NPM reform of the welfare sector, which was spearheaded by the Lump Sum Grant (LSG) Subvention Reform. The subvention reform allowed higher efficiency gain and flexibility in resources deployment to meet community needs but also hampered staff stability and interagency collaboration. To mitigate the adverse impact of Managerialism and Marketization brought by neoliberal restructuring, the Government attempted to foster NGO Corporate Governance by re-regulation through implementation of Best Practice Manual (BPM) and control on cross-subsidization, whereas the NGO sector ventured in social enterprises either as a strategic mission to regain autonomy or a coping response to funding needs. From the qualitative study analyzing the reform experience of the top management collected through semi-structured interviews, the NGO governance reform pathway was diversified and moderated by crucial institutional variables like mission diversity, entrepreneurial leadership and subvention dependency. There was also controversial opinion among the CEOs in the welfare sector on whether LSG had done more harm than good and if regulation by BPM was necessary. Moving into post-NPM period, the public focus on good governance of NGOs was conceived to shift from efficiency, effectiveness and economy to transparency, participation and accountability in response to new social trends. The concomitant development was the gradual transformation of Neoliberal Governance to Multi-stakeholder Governance. Despite weak institutionalization of the latter at the early stage, Multi-stakeholderism destined to bring new challenges to NGO governance. NGOs will need to address problems that arise with multiple accountability, alignment of stakeholders’ interests, and the necessary development of shared mission among stakeholders.