THE NGOS IN NORWEGIAN ASSISTANCE - INDEPE NDENT ACTORS OR INSTRUMENTSUSED BY THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN-AFFAIRS

It has been argued that a significant own-financing by the humanitaria n organisations is required to secure their integrity and independent position. However, today's international humanitarian assistance and e mergency relief operations are huge, cost-demanding activities. It is, therefore, a need for major incomes to manage the demand for own-fina ncing. Other income sources that are available for humanitarian organi sations today also haveseveral critical side effects. In my opinion, d ependence on large incomes from companies and all sorts of games will, in the long run, be more destructive for a organisation's integrity t han dependence on government funding. The role of humanitarian organis ations has drastically changed the last ten to twenty years. They have become professional actors and an important part of Norwegian interna tional assistance. In many ways they are now service-producing compani es, and the Norwegian government is highly dependent on the services t hey provide. On that account I find it unreasonable that these service s be financed by traditional incomes. The organisations are facing a g reat challenge if they are to maintain the enthusiasm and support of t heir members and the rest of the population. One scenario is that new organisations will appear that in a better way take care of the need f or voluntary participation, while the big humanitarian organizations w ill concentrate on professional activities.