How Does The Stability And Instability Of Funding Shape...

How does the stability/instability of funding shape the nature of activities that international organizations choose to engage in? How has the trend of increasing extra-budgetary funds affected the general international climate on development (issues of competition, overlapping mandates etc.)? What are the implications of contract-based funding for the culture, institutional memory and staffing of international organizations? Introduction At the heart of the functional capability of every international organization (IO) is the issue of funding. Financial sustainability remains to be one the most important elements of IOs. While funding is critical to every IO, the source and the amount of funds has huge effects on the life of the†¦show more content†¦How the stability/instability of funding shape the nature of activities of international organizations The funding sources for IOs are not exactly the same. While some depend on regular budgetary contributions, others depend on voluntary contributions for the fulfillment of their mandates. In either ways, the flow of funds could be stable or not stable. The stability or instability of these funds could affect the nature of activities IOs choose to do in several ways: it could affect the execution of mandates, planning and timing of programs, and sustainability. First, the flow and availability of funds is the life blood of very IO. Even though every IO designs the nature and type program of activities based on its mandates for a given period, the implementation of such programs are dependent on the availability of funds. Thus, the timing of the program implementation is tied to the availability of funds. Programs with stable funds will be carried out on time and programs with delayed or no funds will be delayed in implementation or not carried out at all. Therefore, which programs to carry out and when to carry them out is dependent on the stability or instability of funds. Secondly, given the fact that the stability or instability of funds are dependent on donors, donors capitalize on it to control the types of activities that IOs engage in. Donors therefore attach