Authors
1
PhD in Sociology, Institute for humanities and social studies, ACECR
2
MA in Social Science, Center for Social Impact Assessment at the Institute of Humanities and Social Studies , ACECR.
Abstract
In urban areas, there are some overlaps between the activities of municipalities and NGOs, especially in the social and cultural fields, and in some cases, the existing parallel functions can be considered as a negative point. Nevertheless, creating synergy and improving the interaction between the municipalities and NGOs will lead to their effectiveness and performance improvement. The aim of this study was to identify the issues and problems of interaction between Tehran Municipality and NGOs and provide appropriate solutions and suggestions to improve the existing interaction. In order to collect data, this qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 active NGOs in Tehran and 6 well-informed officials in related organizations, namely Tehran Municipality, Ministry of Interior, and Synergy Committee. The findings were described and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase model for thematic analysis. The results show that the main problems related to the interaction between NGOs and public organizations such as the municipality are as follows: complex bureaucratic administrative procedures, a multiplicity of administrators and overlapping functions of public organizations, lack of understanding of NGOs and their position and potential, lack of monitoring and evaluation of NGOs’ performance, arbitrary positions of officials toward NGOs, mistrust, mutual irresponsibility regarding their obligations, weaknesses in legislation and regulation, knowledge and competence deficits of NGOs, weaknesses in group work, lack of transparency of NGOs, weaknesses in intra-organizational coordination of city administration, i.e., regional municipalities and affiliated organizations, and inter-organizational coordination, i.e., public organizations and institutions, and disempowerment of NGOs by law
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