The program efficiency of environmental and social non-governmental organizations: A comparative study

PLoS One. 2024 May 14;19(5):e0302835. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302835. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are becoming increasingly significant stakeholders in global governance and business operations. However, measuring their efficiency is a challenging task due to their mission-driven nature. While previous research has proposed financial and non-financial indicators to measure NGO efficiency, none of them has compared the differences between environmental and social NGOs. This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the program efficiency of NGOs in China and compare the differences between environmental and social NGOs. 12 indicators are employed and tested using data collected from the Chinese Research Data Services (CNRDS) platform. The study employs multiple regression analysis to examine the influential factors identified in the dataset. The findings demonstrated different influential factors of program efficiency among environmental and social NGOs. The results of the analysis provide valuable insights for NGO operators, policymakers, and researchers in the field of NGOs.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • China
  • Efficiency, Organizational
  • Humans
  • Organizations*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the UIC Start-up Research Fund [grant number UICR0700043-23]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.