Challenges in Bringing Change: Structural, Legitimacy, and Accountability Constraints for NGOs

This article examines the structural, political, and ethical challenges that limit the capacity of non-profit organisations to achieve systemic social change. It identifies five interrelated constraints: donor dependency, methodological dilemmas in measuring impact, legitimacy crises, accountability conflicts, and external political and cultural resistance. Donor-driven funding structures and short project cycles encourage mission drift and reinforce upward accountability, while impact frameworks based on attribution overlook the collective and contextual nature of change. NGOs also face recurring legitimacy tensions—both from governments that portray them as foreign agents and from communities that question their representativeness. Acting as intermediaries between donors and beneficiaries, NGOs struggle to reconcile competing accountabilities and navigate ethical dilemmas of representation. These internal challenges are compounded by shrinking civic spaces and neoliberal market pressures. Framing these constraints as structural rather than incidental, the article underscores that NGO influence is shaped by the same power systems it seeks to transform, requiring continuous reflection, adaptability, and ethical resilience.