Title: Board Member Participation in Non Governmental Organizations: The Case
of Selected Non Profits in Tanzania
Author: Zabdiel Robinson Kimambo
Supervisor: Dr. Thomas Danborg
Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology
Course: Master’s Thesis in Business Administration, 10 credits
Background and Problem Discussion: Recent research findings have revealed that
Boards do often play an important hands-on role in the failure and turn-around
of Non-governmental organization. NGOs are very diverse and unique in terms of
set up, mission and mandate. There is therefore no single model on how NGO
Boards operate and perform its functions. However, there are common held
approaches that apply to effective Board participation practices.
Purpose: This research aimed at exploring the differences and similarities in
Board Member participation practices in selected NGO Boards in Tanzania.
Method: Qualitative and quantitative methodology was employed.
Theory: This section discusses the theoretical underpinnings relevant to NGOs,
NGO Boards, Board Members, and Board Member roles, Board Member recruitment,
participation and evaluation.
Analysis: Collected data has been analyzed by means of tables, figures,
classifying themes and transforming raw data into meaningful information which
assisted in responding to the research question and specific objectives of this
research
Main Findings
Evidence of best corporate governance practices in NGO sector in Tanzania such
as the role of the boards to recruit new board members, to set and ensure
compliance with organizational policies as well as recruit and evaluate the
performance of senior management were found. NGO sector in Tanzania has well
established standards and criteria for board member selection. However, these
practices are not applied to all NGOs interviewed during this research
Majority (75%) of board members in NGO sector in Tanzania are people that work
within NGOs and are drawn from senior management cadre. The remaining are drawn
from private sector, academia and government. Majority of interviewed members
indicated a strong sense of support, trust and confidence on the impact of NGOs
work in Tanzania as the main motivational factor for accepting to sit on NGO
boards
Key barriers that limit effective board member participation in NGOs in
Tanzania include: None availability to attend board meetings and activities;
lack of clarity on the roles and responsibilities of boards; inconsistencies in
relation to total numbers of board members; lack of capacity and lack of
induction and performance monitoring and reviews
Recommendations: More cap...
