036. Why the NGO Halo Effect is problematic: a conversation with Isabel De Bruin Cardoso

Summary

What is the 'halo effect' when it comes to NGOs, and why does it matter?

Here's a rough definition of ‘the halo effectj. The term comes out of the psychological academic literature: if the first impression of a person or an entity is positive for a person, this tends to stick with people. This tends to be the case for NGOs: NGOs are assumed to be ‘good’; thus they are glorified.

And why can this be problematic? Because when NGOs are assumed to be 'good' (i.e. morally, ethically good), they don't see their own 'shadow'. Moreover, that may make them justify questionable means for an end.  They may also feel morally superior -- which has all kinds of potentially unhealthy consequences, some of which I observe regularly as well.  And it can lead to moral naivete.

How can NGOs as a sector, individual organizations and as staff/leadership best keep alert to the dangerous downsides of this halo effect? 

 In this podcast episode, I discuss with Isabel De Bruin Cardoso, development practitioner, consultant, and PhD researcher, why and how NGOs as supposedly morally good organizations can behave badly - and why the two may be connected.

Isabel’s Bio:

• Ph.D. candidate researching unethical behavior of NGOs, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, the Netherlands
•  A practitioner and consultant with 15 years of experience in international safeguarding and child protection across UN agencies and NGOs 
• Advisory board member of the Society of Jesus

We discussed: 

• When NGOs expect safeguarding policies to go beyond staff to boards, ex-staff and volunteers, the policy becomes more meaningful
• Safeguarding is not just about minimizing its incidence, but also about enforcement of consequences when incidences happen
• Manifestation of the halo effect:
  • NGO missions may be assumed to be better than they actually are
  • The idea that NGOs know best what is good for the public is a dangerous one
  • People who work in the NGO sector are assumed to be morally superior
  • It is problematic when NGOs do not feel the need to be monitored or held to account due to the assumption that they are morally good
• How the halo effect may impact on the problem of 'white saviorism'? 
• How can NGOs as a sector best address this halo effect? A self-assessment tool (which Isabel is developing) could be one mechanism 

Quotes

“In the field of safeguarding, it can be difficult to operationalize worthy concepts such as 'respect': what does this actually look like, behaviorally?”

“Normalizing having conversations about safeguarding is a significant form of role modeling”

Resources:

Visualization of Isabel's main arguments about the Halo Effect 

Isabel’s LinkedIn

Isabel’s publications on Research Gate

Isabel's Twitter

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