IFGH 2012: The Utility of Brands for NGO’S and Their Stakeholders- Research Protocol

Authors:Hand KM.

Author Affiliations:Centre for Global Health, School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin

Option 2– lessons from the field; project and programme evaluations; and syntheses or analyses

Presented as – Poster

NGO’s play a very important role in global development and in 2005, the Union of International Organisations have estimated that there were more than 20,000 international NGO’s in the development space. The value-chain of an NGO is a complex one in which stakeholders hold at best partial understanding of what other stakeholder groups value and receive and where the weighting of stakeholders is not always based on absolute ‘need. The role of an NGO’s brand is at best a ‘short-hand’ for the essence of what the NGO actually delivers to all stakeholders (i.e. it’s net social value), at worst an ‘aspiration’ with no connection to reality. My research into this area is designed in two key studies – the first study is a ‘best-practice’ case study in which I interview key decision makers with OXFAM international head office and affiliates, inside and outside the marketing function, to understand how they see ‘the brand’ and how it’s use helps and/or hinders their objectives. The second study is a psychological experiment, which looks at different communication approaches with donors and the cognitive systems they trigger and investigates the short-term and long-term consequences for NGO donor support.