This thesis deals with the topic of decision making of NGO's in the seventies and eighties. The model of 'webs of significance' is used to describe why the Dutch NGO Novib chose to support specific...Show moreThis thesis deals with the topic of decision making of NGO's in the seventies and eighties. The model of 'webs of significance' is used to describe why the Dutch NGO Novib chose to support specific projects in East-Africa and to reject others. By looking at the motivations which are present in the archival material for support or rejection this thesis argues that external actors did not have much influence on the decision making of Novib. Instead, it argues, internal criteria such as support to local organisations, support for small, sustainable projects, et cetera were very much present in the organisation. Novibs webs of significance (which lead to a decision) were internally formed and therefore Novibs decision making was not only ideological (western) but also independent, pragmatic and risk-averse.Show less
