The Future of Non-Governmental Organisations in the Humanitarian Sector: Global Transformations and Their Consequences

Read this paper. Read it carefully. Take the time to think about what it says. This paper has been
commissioned by operational agencies because it’s time to think ahead. The message of this paper may
be gracefully delivered, but it contains a fundamentally challenging question: for how long will NGOs
remain a legitimate humanitarian actor?
This paper explores just how much NGOs will need to adapt in the coming few years. No organisation
survives without changing. The average life expectancy for a multinational corporation Fortune 500
Company is less than 50 years. Many international NGOs are reaching that age. Those readers who are
unwilling to contemplate a dramatic scenario should be at least asking some hard questions about the
viability of today’s NGO business model.