An NGO disaster relief network for small and medium-scale natural hazards in China
- 3 February 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Natural Hazards
- Vol. 106 (3), 2689-2709
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04560-9
Abstract
As China is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to small and medium-scale natural hazards (SMNHs), its NGOs have had a great deal of experience in dealing with disaster relief, especially since the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake; however, there have been few studies that have comprehensively examined China’s NGO disaster relief networks (NDRNs). One Foundation (OF), which is one of the most active public-fund raising foundations in China, has been engaged in developing a nationwide NDRN made up of 20 independently operating provincial networks that are focused on SMNHs. This paper explored the structures, operations and challenges in the representative North-Sichuan network, from which the following key factors for sustainable NDRNs were identified: (1) a combined hierarchal and networked organizational structure; and (2) a coordinated external and internal network operations mechanism that has a specific entry threshold to ensure healthy network expansion, periodic member NGO training to enhance network capacity, and reciprocal and cooperative government-NGO relationships. These findings provide a useful reference for the establishment and development of NDRNs in other countries.Funding Information
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (71704124)
- Humanity and Social Science Youth Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (17YJC630096)
- Major Program of the Social Science Foundation of Sichuan (SC18EZD026)
- Sichuan University (2018hhf-43)
This publication has 62 references indexed in Scilit:
- Earthquakes and civil society: A comparative study of the response of China’s nongovernment organizations to the Wenchuan earthquakeChina Information, 2011
- Asymmetry in structural adaptation: The differential impact of centralizing versus decentralizing team decision-making structuresOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2011
- Disaster response preparedness coordination through social networksDisasters, 2010
- Trust in Governance NetworksAdministration & Society, 2010
- The politics of risk in the Philippines: comparing state and NGO perceptions of disaster managementDisasters, 2009
- Post-Earthquake Relief and Reconstruction Efforts: The Emergence of Civil Society in China?The China Quarterly, 2009
- The strength of networks: the local NGO response to the tsunami in IndiaDisasters, 2007
- Non‐profit response to catastrophic disastersDisaster Prevention and Management, 2007
- Modes of Network Governance: Structure, Management, and EffectivenessJournal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2007
- Public Management in Intergovernmental Networks: Matching Structural Networks and Managerial NetworkingJournal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2004