To what extent do Brazilian NGOs in the state of Pará choose their organisation/ project locations

To what extent do Brazilian NGOs in the state of Pará choose their organisation/

project locations based on assessed need?¹

Konrad Franz Seibel

Abstract

Following democratizing reforms and the introduction of new legislation in the late 1990s, NGOs in Brazil

underwent a series of shifts regarding their funding and relationship with the government. In this context, this

research project investigates the motivations for location choice of NGOs in the Brazilian state of Pará using

a theoretical framework consisting of three theories. While the research project aims primarily to investigate

to what extent the needs-based hypothesis applies, it will also engage with the self-interest motivation and the

political connectivity motivation. Based on a mixed methods research methodology consisting of a regression

analysis and multiple semi-structured interviews with NGO directors, this research comes to the conclusion

that there is little quantitative evidence for clustering based on need on a national level, but fi nds an NGO

sector reporting a very high commitment to the need-based hypothesis which is arguably not realized due to

extensive funding and infrastructure constraints and an inability to account for duplication eff orts. While the

overall relationship between NGOs and the public sector is fraught, personal relationships and boundary-cross-

ing are perceived as advantageous for gaining access to funding, though more explicit forms of rent-seeking

behaviour are not reported.