Jakarta – While the number of non-governmental organizations has increased sharply since the collapse of the New Order, some question whether their professionalism has kept pace.
"Sustainability is the main threat for NGOs here, as most of them have weak leadership, poor planning and poor strategic management," Artanti Wardhani of the Center for Global Civil Society Studies (Pacivis) said Tuesday.
"They are also project-based oriented and dependent on funding agencies," she told The Jakarta Post after the opening of a training program on NGO management at the University of Indonesia.
Around 30 people from various NGOs across the country are attending the two-week training, organized by Pacivis to improve their leadership, strategic planning, financial management as well as network building.
One of the speakers at the training program, Bambang Ismawan, president of Bina Swadaya Foundation, said democratization was favorable for the growth of NGOs in the country. "However, they (NGOs) are still weak in terms of organization, human resources and finances."
The NGOs need to develop their business skills and economics in order to survive financially, he said. "A genuine NGO survives with its own resources, and does not depend on external funding to sustain their programs," Bambang said.
While many NGOs believe it is not proper to charge people for their service, Bambang said: "It's okay, they want to appreciate our work, and this should be developed because it could help the organizations sustain themselves."
Bina Swadaya Foundation, which has operated since 1967, runs several businesses, including publishing Trubus magazine and providing training for farmers.
He said that in a country like Bangladesh, NGOs that work in microfinance generate income from the public, making profits and growing steadily.
"Don't worry about criticism that NGOs should not run profitable businesses. It's the only way to survive, otherwise we will continue to have to beg from funding agencies," he said.
He added that the government should help to empower NGOs, because a more advanced civil society would help the government deal with social problems in the country.
"Currently there are plenty of initiatives from the people. The government should provide these community organizations with more favorable regulations to allow them to develop," he said.
He added that the current regulations on NGOs were loaded with political nuances that discouraged people instead of empowering them.