Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership

2015, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 244260

Is NGO Education Matching Up to the Demand?

The Case of Ecuador

Susan Appe
Binghamton University

Abstract

Democratic transitions in Latin America have been met with a growing focus on build-
ing the capacity of NGOs. In Ecuador, organizations are interested in observing more
the values of ethics, accountability, and transparency in their management practices
and have external pressures to do so from government, donors, and the public at large.
However, in previous literature, it has been identified that NGO leaders in Ecuador
perceive that NGO education created and delivered in higher education institutions
does not meet the demands of the sector. This assumption had not been systematically
tested. As such, I systematically analyzed the curricular content of an NGO manage-
ment course at an Ecuadorian university to assess if it meets the demand. I provide rec-
ommendations for ways in which courses at universities can better meet the demands
of the sector and propose several avenues for further research.

Keywords: nongovernmental organizations; capacity building; transparency;

accountability; Ecuador

Susan Appe is an assistant professor, Department of Public Administration, Binghamton University. Please
send author correspondence to sappe@binghamton.edu
Acknowledgements. I thank several people who helped provide information and data for this article: Wilson
Araque, Eulalia Flor Recalde, Oswaldo Viteri, and Lidia Garca.

244
 NGO Education in Ecuador 245

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are vital actors in providing public

goods and services in Latin America (Brautigam & Segarra, 2007; Cabrera & Vallejo,
1997; Heinrich, 2007; World Bank, 2005). Since the 1980s, NGOs in the region have
repositioned themselves toward governments, often recognizing the state is not an in-
herent enemy, and have adapted their operations to the context of the emerging struc-
tures of democracy (Bebbington, 1997; Leiva, 1995; Oxhorn, 2000; Sainz & Garcia,
2000). These transitions have been met with a growing focus on building the capacity
of NGOs in the region so they are better able to meet their organizational objectives
and contribute positively to democratic social development.
For some time, formal NGO education programs were limited in the region (see
Mirabella, Gemelli, Malcolm, & Berger, 2007), but this is changing as several nonprofit
management/NGO education programsinside and outside of higher education in-
stitutionsare emerging in Latin America (Appe & Barragn, 2013). NGO education
programs in Latin America include formal academic programs and coursework in
colleges, research centers, and universities as well as capacity building for the sector
developed and delivered by NGOs. For example, the focus of innovative educational
opportunities for NGO managers in Ecuador is on knowledge and skills related to ac-
countability and transparency through short-term training courses in person and on-
line (Appe & Barragn, 2013). These trends are a reflection of organizations interested
in observing more of the values of ethics, accountability, and transparency in their
management practices as well as external pressures to do so from government, donors,
and the public at large.
In this article, I focus on NGO education in a higher education institution set-
ting in Ecuador. Andean University in Quito is one of the only, if not only, higher
education institutions in Ecuador to offer an NGO management course. The course
is innovative, but some NGO leaders have perceived it as not addressing many of the
current needs of NGOs in Ecuador, particularly related to accountability and transpar-
ency (Appe & Barragn, 2013). However, in previous research, this perception was not
tested. Therefore, I surveyed the curricular content of the NGO management course at
Andean University. It builds on research about the development of NGO education in
Ecuador and contributes to NGO education literature more generally in Latin America
and other developing regions.
First, I present literature on questions about the location and content of NGO
education. Then, I introduce the case of Ecuador. I examine the curricular content of
the NGO management course at Andean University. The systematic content analysis
enables a more robust understanding of curricular content of NGO education in a
university setting in Ecuador and Latin America more generally. I then make recom-
mendations for ways in which courses in higher education institutions can better meet
the demands of the sectorthat is, an interest in ethics, accountability, and transpar-
encyand discuss next steps for research.

Location and Content of NGO Education

There is a rich, growing nonprofit studies literature related to nonprofit and NGO
management education programs and their curricula (Burlingame, 2009; Mirabella
& Young, 2012; ONeill, 2005; Wish & Mirabella, 1998) as well as a growing body of
comparative approaches to NGO education research (Donmoyer, Libby, McDonald, &
246 Appe

Deitrick, 2012; Jackson, 2009; Mirabella, 2007; Mirabella et al., 2007; Schmitz, Raggo,
& Bruno-van Vijfeijken, 2011). In addition, despite scholarship about Latin American
NGO education in particular being limited, several research institutions in the region
are making important contributions in NGO education curriculum development and
advancing applied research in the NGO sector, for example, the Communications and
Development Institute (Instituto de Comunicacin y Desarrollo, ICD) in Uruguay
(lasociedadcivil.org); Autonomous Institute of Technology of Mexico (Instituto
Tecnolgico Autnomo de Mxico, ITAM; www.filantropia.itam.mx); and Ecuadorian
Center for Environmental Law (Centro Ecuatoriano de Derecho Ambiental, CEDA).
In addition to the debate about whether ethics can be taught (Hejka-Ekins, 1988;
Martinez, 1998; Menzel, 1997; Worthley & Grumet, 1983; Wu & He, 2009), the values
of accountability and transparency have also increasingly been subject areas of interest
in nonprofit studies scholarship. The discussion on NGO education in Ecuador is time-
ly as it can be framed by emergent scholarly conversations related to accountability and
transparency mechanisms in the sector and the growing interest in self-regulation by
nonprofit organizations across the world (Bies, 2010; Bothwell, 2000; Ebrahim, 2003;
Gugerty, 2008; Prakash & Gugerty, 2010; Sidel, 2005). In this context, accountability
can be understood as the process of organizations reporting to an authoritative body to
be held responsible for their actions (Edwards & Hulme, 1996) and transparency is the
practice of disclosing information, mechanisms, and processes to eliminate corruption
(Weil, Fung, Graham, & Fagotto, 2006). Few researchers have covered NGO education
and its relationship to these subject areas in Latin America.
Through participatory methods and document analysis, researchers have cited
that NGO leaders in Ecuador perceive that NGO education created and delivered in
NGOs is substantively different than NGO education created and delivered in higher
education (Appe & Barragn, 2013). Therefore, I turn to the literature about the loca-
tion and content of NGO education programs. Professional education such as NGO
management has most often been linked to university education, but there has been
debate in the United States about whether managementin public or private sec-
torsshould be considered a profession (see ONeill, 2005). Although management
in the context of the public sector eventually found its place in university-provided
professional education, training opportunities were offered outside of the university
initially, for instance, the Training School for Public Service in 1911, which eventu-
ally became housed in Syracuse University (ONeill, 2005). Before the large growth
of university-based nonprofit education programs in the 1980s, short-term training
from national training agencies offered nonprofit professionals several opportunities
for management training (Bies & Blackwood, 2007; ONeill, 2005). Although nonprofit
management education has steadily grown to be housed in universities in the United
States (ONeill, 2005), university-based programs, as mentioned above, are still limited
in other regions (see Mirabella et al., 2007).
Attention to location in the university setting confirms that NGO education pro-
grams can produce several degree programs and are housed in varied disciplinary
settings (Bies & Blackwood, 2007; Wish & Mirabella, 1998). For example, looking at
subjects and concepts relevant to this study, Bies and Blackwood (2007) examined the
extent to which accountability, ethics, evaluation, and governance existed in nonprofit
management courses in the United States and if there was variation depending on the
 NGO Education in Ecuador 247

location of the program. They analyzed and coded course material (course descriptions
and syllabi from 153 universities and colleges from Mirabellas census of nonprofit
management education) for the mention of accountability, ethics, evaluation, gover-
nance, and related words (Bies & Blackwood, 2007). When the sample was parceled
into program location, public affairs degree programs with a focus primarily on non-
profit management were more likely to have courses on accountability, ethics, evalu-
ation, and governance. However, still only 4% of their entire sample offered courses
specifically on accountability.
Mirabella and Young (2012) have also scrutinized the relationship between loca-
tion and content. They found that the location of a social entrepreneurship program
in a business school versus a public affairs schoolinfluences the content of the pro-
gram (Mirabella & Young, 2012). Young and Grinsfelder (2011) examined literatures
across business, public sector, and social entrepreneurship to produce an understand-
ing of commonalities and distinctions in required skills. They determined three sets of
skills: market skills, political skills, and management skills. Later, Mirabella and Young
expanded management skills to include philanthropic skills, generic management
skills, and leadership skills. Market skills allow managers to be successful in a mar-
ket environment. Political skills are needed for negotiation within what Mirabella and
Young determined as public sector environments. Philanthropic skills are the unique
skills required for acquiring philanthropic resources, managing volunteers, and so on
(Mirabella & Young, 2012, p. 48). Generic management skills are needed for operating
an organization, and leadership skills are needed to achieve leadership outside of the
internal organizational leadership.
Like Bies and Blackwood (2007), Mirabella and Young (2012) found that location
matters and can influence curricular content. In particular, social entrepreneurship
programs in business schools are focused more on market skills, whereas public affairs
schools are more likely to cover a variety of skills including market, political, philan-
thropic, generic management, and leadership (Mirabella & Young, 2012, p. 55).
Researchers of NGO education curricular content address skill sets and subject ar-
eas and their relation to the location of a program. In the case of Ecuador, NGO educa-
tion is in its nascent stages. The offerings in higher education are limited, and more and
more NGOs engage in leading their own capacity building and developing curricu-
lum through training courses such as Moving Forward: Concepts and Mechanisms for
Transparency and Accountability of Civil Society Organizations offered by the envi-
ronmental think tank Ecuadorian Center for Environmental Law (Centro Ecuatoriano
de Derecho Ambiental, CEDA). As mentioned, curricular content of NGO education
in Ecuador that exists in higher education is perceived as not relevant to the current
needs of the NGO sector; however, these perceptions have not been confirmed. Given
this previous research, I tested the assumption that an NGO course offered in higher
education in Ecuador does not address (supply side) the perceived needs of the NGO
sector (demand side). Simply put, is NGO education in Ecuador matching up to the
demand? I assessed the curricular content of a formal NGO management course of-
fered at an Ecuadorian university. Skills and subject areas identified above were used to
examine the courses curricular content. In the following sections, I will introduce the
case of Ecuador and the methodological approach I used for this study.
248 Appe

The Case of Ecuador

I systematically examined the curricular content of a university NGO manage-
ment course in Ecuador. In many ways, the pressures in public affairs education, more
specifically NGO education, are universal: pressing societal issues related to good gov-
ernance, public health, and eradicating poverty (Rubaii & Pliscoff, 2013) and external
pressures such as higher demands for accountability and expectations to prove pro-
grammatic effectiveness (Bies & Blackwood, 2007).
In Latin America specifically, as civil societystate relations are still developing
under democratic frameworks, the legitimacy of NGOs is fragile. Thus, for many NGO
managers in the region, an enhanced level of professionalism is paramount to the sec-
tors success. Rubaii and Pliscoff (2013) explained that in the context of Latin America,
professionalism is not only the knowledge and skills needed for good governance, but
also the values of public service such as accountability and transparency, among others.
Regionally in Latin America, many initiatives are related to NGO education; how-
ever, Ecuador is a particularly relevant and rich case because of the heightened debate
across government and the nonprofit sector about NGO accountability and transparen-
cy (Barragn, 2010). Political officials from the current administration, under President
Correa, have publicly discredited NGOs in statements and press conferences, target-
ing organizations at national and international levels (Flores, 2010; La Prensa Latina,
2010).1 Officials assert that organizations avoid paying taxes, meddle in Ecuadorian
political activities, and represent international interests. These tensions heightened in
2008 with the release of government regulatory policy related to NGO operations. As
a result, several public exchanges between NGOs and the government have been cov-
ered in the Ecuadorian media. In December 2013, for example, Ecuadors government
shut down an NGO, Fundacin Pachamama, because of its involvement in protests
against mining developing by the Ecuadorean state-run oil company Petroamazonas.
The government accused the organization of ensuing violence during protests (Alvaro,
2013). In light of this, in 2014 the broader issue of freedom of association in Ecuador
was brought to a hearing at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Ahuja,
2014).

Method
I examined the curricular content of an NGO management course. Data for the
study were annual data of student participation since 2001 and were also collected from
archival curricula documents produced by Andean University. The content analysis of
the course was based on a close reading of course documents including syllabi, class
session PowerPoint slides from the instructors, and other printed documents given
to students. The course materials were from the 20112012 academic year, and the
curriculum has remained the same as of this writing. In addition, data included notes
from participant observation as I observed several class sessions of the course. Like
other scholars who have examined curricular content (e.g., Bies & Blackwood, 2007;
Mirabella & Young, 2012), my intention was to examine the course material systemati-
cally and code for certain skills (market, political, philanthropic, generic management,
1
In recent, relevant literature, researchers expand on the tense relations between Correa and social movements
and organized civil society in Ecuador (see Becker, 2011, 2013; Rosales, 2013; Villalba, 2013).
 NGO Education in Ecuador 249

and leadership skills) and subject areas (ethics, accountability, and transparency) that
have been identified as important in the NGO sectorin the literature and in the con-
text of Ecuador.
The Open NGO Management Course in Ecuador
The course is an open course in NGO management offered through the
Management Department at Andean University. The aim of having open courses at
Andean University is to offer educational opportunities for a greater scope of sectors
and people. The target for these courses are students who want to further their edu-
cation but have limited time and other resources. The NGO management course is
different from what may be seen in other contexts in which nonprofit graduate train-
ing is offered in a nonprofit management degree program or nonprofit courses are
offered within other degree programs such as public administration, social work, or
arts management. In addition to the NGO management open course, open courses in
the department are offered on microfinance and small business management. In the
department, masters degrees and specializations are granted in topics including busi-
ness, social development, and human resources. In these degree-bearing programs, no
other courses on NGO management are offered in the department. The department
also has a doctoral program in administration, which covers program management
and strategic planning in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.
The NGO management course runs for three modules (OctoberDecember,
JanuaryMarch, AprilJune) and is open to the general public. Students are able to
take all modules or only one or two if desired. Completion of any or all of the mod-
ules does not result in a degree, but rather a certificate of participation, which in the
context of Ecuador has professional value. The course pedagogy includes presenta-
tions by instructors and practitioners, open class discussions, suggested readings, and
final group projects. There are three regular instructors, who are adjuncts, and one
academic program coordinator, who is faculty in the Department of Management at
Andean University. The three modules have different instructors, all full-time profes-
sors in other universities. For example, one instructor, who teaches the Design and
Administration of Projects and Logic Models module, is foreign trained (in Spain)
with his PhD in business administration and is currently a faculty member at the
Department of Administrative Sciences at a public university in Quito, Ecuador.
Instructors and the academic program coordinator design the curriculum together.
The course meets for half days on Saturdays; each module meets five times for a total
of 90 hours face-to-face with expected work between class meetings. The 20132014
academic year is the 13th year the course has been offered. Table 1 shows the number
of registered students for the course since 2001. Over the 13 years, an average of 42
students a year has participated in the course, for a total of 560 students participating
since 2001.
250 Appe

Table 1
Registered Students in the Open Course of NGO Managementa

Academic period Number of studentsb

20012002 34
20022003 31
20032004 47
20042005 62
20052006 54
20062007 61
20072008 50
20082009 37
20092010 40
20102011 51
20112012 38
20122013 27
20132014 28

Average Number of Students 43
Total Number of Students 560

a
Data were collected and tabulated by the Management Department, Andean
University. bStudents are only counted once, so it is not possible to decipher how many
of the students took all three modules versus taking one or two only.

Findings: Curricular Content

The general objective of the course is to provide a set of principles and application
tools necessary for the effective and efficient management of a nongovernmental orga-
nization (Flor, 2013). Specific objectives of the course include to analyze management
tools to carry out an effective and efficient NGO, to provide principles and application
tools for the planning and administration of projects, and to familiarize students to the
legal aspects of a well-functioning NGO.
Content analysis was conducted across all modules: Marketing Applied to NGOs,
Design and Administration of Projects and Logic Models, and Basic Legislation of
NGOs. Marketing Applied to NGOs is described as examining the question, what are
NGOs? and the process of developing marketing strategies for communication and
public relations. Design and Administration of Projects and Logic Models is described
as introducing management indicators and the theory and practice of logic models.
The third module, Basic Legislation of NGOs, covers the tax code, labor legislation,
and other regulatory requirements for NGOs. A close reading finds that all five skills
market, political, philanthropic, generic management, and leadership skillsare pres-
ent in the course curriculum, but subject areas of interest (ethics, accountability, and
transparency) are less integrated into the course material. In the following sections, I
present the findings based on the content analysis.
 NGO Education in Ecuador 251

A Social Market Orientation: Market and Philanthropic Skills

The content of the course emphasizes questions around the market. In the intro-
ductory lecture given on the first day of the course, the instructor explains that it is the
market that produces change and that the NGO sector needs to take better advantage
of the market. In Ecuador, an example of this is that NGOs are starting to shift from a
relying on external funding, often by international donors, to engaging in more mar-
ket-based self-financing. Market skills are needed to manage this shift.
The course instructor emphasizes social marketing. The instructor defines social
marketing as marketing that helps to solve social and health problems. The central ar-
gument to a social marketing orientation is that marketing can encourage the purchase
of products; therefore, marketing can also produce other desired human behavior. A
class session PowerPoint slide reads, The goal of social marketing is to change and/
or modify behaviors, ideas, practices, and perceptions. Tools presented and discussed
throughout the course are consistent with market principles. For example, common
assumptions presented in class sessions include solutions proposed by NGOs are goods
to be exchanged in the marketplace, NGOs encourage social investment, and NGOs
need to understand the supply and demand of the social market.
In addition to the (social) market orientation of the course, a close reading of the
class materials shows that market skills are often blended with skills that in other con-
texts may be considered philanthropic skills. These skills correspond to the uniqueness
of the NGO sector. Although the term philanthropy is not used in the course, these
skills are presented most often in content about stakeholders or actors related to the
work of NGOs. For example, class sessions include the importance of bringing in dif-
ferent stakeholders in the marketing and planning processes of an organization. This is
still discussed within a context of a competitive market, but pulls in skills that may be
considered exceptional to NGOs.
During lectures about social marketing and project design, words such as social
sustainability, gender equality, and citizen participation were common. For example, in
project design and administration, these concepts were framed as important to the vi-
ability and sustainability of project development. A course document reads,
Projects should contribute to maintaining and growing social capital in [the NGOs]
area of influence. The resources of the project should be used in a way that[pro-
motes] equality and social justice, [and]reduce social gaps. One finds this with ac-
tive community participation.
Philanthropic skills are required to manage NGO stakeholders such as its board, volun-
teers, and community members to better achieve social sustainability, gender equality,
and citizen participation. Likewise in project design and administration, institutional
alliances are presented as important to social coordination. Exercises to map out in
diagrams the groups and organizations that may be directly or indirectly involved with
a social problem and/or with a proposed NGO project are class activities conducted
during several class sessions.
Management and Leadership Skills
Topics about the social market and stakeholder inclusion are prevalent in the
course content, yet the design and management of projects is an important subject
area found in the course curriculum as well. As with the market-oriented language de-
252 Appe

scribed above, management principles are infused into the course lectures. Tools such
as SWOT analyses, logic model matrices, and problem and decision trees are taught
and encouraged as part of an NGOs management plan. Deriving indicators for project
design, implementation, and evaluation is a first step to many of the instruments used.
Generic management skills are needed to operate an NGO. In addition to generic
management skills, leadership skills are framed by Mirabella and Young (2012) as skills
beyond those needed to lead an organization internally. Key dimensions included in
leadership skills could be mission-driven leadership and leadership for sustainability
(Mirabella & Young, 2012). In the NGO management course, management and lead-
ership skills are often conflated. In the course, it is explained that management and
leadership decisions are informed by the NGO mission and the external environment
(more about the external environment next) through a process of normative planning.
In normative planning, generic management and leadership skills are merged by link-
ing proposed projects to the mission, values, philosophy, and politics of an organiza-
tion as well as with its external environment.
Political Skills
The work of an NGO is not isolated, but more and more is conducted in networks
and with the exchange of information among NGOs and across sectors. Within the
course, political skills are present during several references to the external environment
of an NGO. In course materials, questions are posited relating to the external environ-
ment and its relationship to NGO practice. For example, content on social marketing
raises a key assumption of greater and greater interconnectedness as being fundamen-
tal to the work of an NGO and its marketing.
The multiple dimensions of the external environment of an NGO are covered in the
course. In particular, political skills are important as NGO managers need to negotiate
local, national, regional, and international levels of norms. For example, international
influences are present in the curriculum. Tools are used from international bodies such
as the European Union (e.g., the use of the European Awareness Scenario Workshop
method in building consensus among stakeholders for sustainability practices) and the
Inter-American Development Bank (e.g., the use of the banks strategic planning meth-
odology is taught during the course). In a context such as Ecuador, understanding the
local, national, regional, and international levels and other components of the external
environment (e.g., stakeholder relations and working in networks) is important.
Ethics, Accountability, and Transparency
The subject areas of ethics and accountability are not mentioned in any of the
course materials or in classes during observed sessions. Materials include recognition
of the effects of NGOs; on one PowerPoint slide, it explains that NGOs can impact the
perceptions, decisions, and actions of those they integrate and of the majority of the
social actors in the context where they act. In another class session, it is mentioned
that NGO responsibility is being diffused and making the sector distinct. In the mate-
rials, several actors are linked to NGOs operations: board of directors, donors, NGO
staff and members, beneficiaries, other NGOs, and government. These actors are pre-
sented as being part of project design and implementation. In several class sessions, it
is emphasized how project design should be collective and that NGO managers must
include different stakeholders in the marketing and project planning of their organiza-
 NGO Education in Ecuador 253

tions. However, beyond these implicit examples, the concepts of ethics and account-
ability are not mentioned in the course materials.
The subject area of transparency is also not prevalent in the course. Transparency
is only covered briefly in the context of NGO legislation as NGOs are to adhere to the
Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information (LOTAIP). The LOTAIP, for
which civil society played a large role in lobbying, was approved in Ecuador in June
2004 (World Bank, 2007). The law guarantees the right to access, knowledge on, and re-
ceiving information that is of concern to the public. It allows the expectation of trans-
parency and accountability in the management and performance of the public sector in
Ecuador. Since LOTAIP, NGOs working on social accountability have worked with the
government on its implementation and creation of public information systems (World
Bank, 2007). However, transparency was not covered beyond it being mentioned on
one PowerPoint slide about the law.

Discussion: Is NGO Education Matching Up to the Demand?

Is NGO education matching up to the demand in Ecuador? Yes and no. I analyzed
only one slice of NGO education in Ecuador: NGO education in a university setting.
In the open NGO management course at Andean University, all five of the skills are
present throughout course materials. The consistency throughout the three modules of
the five skills is a strength of the course. However, meaning and application of values
as well as skills can depend on context (Rubaii & Pliscoff, 2013). There are observa-
tions related to the skills that may highlight particulars to the case of Ecuador and the
region of Latin America. In the course materials, market and philanthropic skills are
often blended. That is, content demonstrates that market and business principles are
present in NGO management instruction, and this is consistent with many nonprofit
management education programs and the sector in general (see Eikenberry, 2009).
However, the course material in Ecuador starts with instruction about the develop-
ment of the NGO sector and then launches into social marketing. The social market
orientation frames NGOs as providing goods and services in a marketplace that can
be competitive but also have the power to change behavior and solve social problems.
Philanthropic skills are taught and practiced because of the distinctiveness of this mar-
ket. Management and leadership skills are present, particularly in the context of project
design, implementation, and evaluation. Negotiation among stakeholders as well as
among local, national, regional, and international norms is a key dimension of political
skills that is covered throughout the curriculum.
In regard to the subject areas of interest such as ethics, accountability, and trans-
parency, little is purposively integrated into the course instructional materials and class
sessions. This is an important finding as it validates the perceptions of NGO managers
in Ecuador who are concerned about the lack of professional training and capacity
building opportunities on these topics (Appe & Barragn, 2013), particularly given
the tense debate among many NGOs and with government about NGO behaviors and
operations.
254 Appe

Recommendations for NGO Education

This research allows for several recommendations for NGO education, for the
NGO management course at Andean University and other similar courses in universi-
ties in developing settings. The first recommendation is related to collecting informa-
tion and data from key stakeholders to better understand the demands of NGO educa-
tion. The second and third recommendations are related to the supply of curricular
content and the structure of the course.
Collect Participant and Course Data
A first recommendation would be to encourage Andean Universitys Management
Department and all NGO education programs to collect participant data and conduct
course evaluations. Given that the model at Andean University may be different from
other models, for example, degree programs in nonprofit management or courses and
concentrations in nonprofit management within related fields, the course and its cur-
riculum would benefit from continual and systematic in-house data collection and as-
sessment. Although the results presented in this article were intended to be a content
analysis of course content, researchers in future research should consider course par-
ticipants in particular.
Anecdotally from observation and conversations with course instructors, the
course has students from diverse backgrounds including people currently working in
NGOs, recent graduates interested in the topic but with little hands-on experience,
and students in other degree programs. This information, however, is not collected
and therefore not informing curricular content decisions. Conventional demographic
data as well as data on professional experience would be helpful and a means to inform
curriculum decision making. Furthermore, module or course evaluations are not con-
ducted in the open course at Andean University. Not only a programmatic assessment
tool, course evaluations about curricular content would also be a way for NGO educa-
tion programs to stay abreast of the demands in the sectors capacity building.
This recommendation is about stakeholders and NGO education demand. In this
study, I identified gaps in the NGO management course curriculum, especially with the
subject areas of ethics, accountability, and transparency. Based on these findings, uni-
versities in a similar position to Andean University may benefit from conducting focus
groups with several target populations. Focus groups may include students taking the
class, NGO managers not taking the class but working in the field, and alumni of the
course. Focus groups can be moderated to address the skills and subject areas of inter-
est to NGOs in the given context and time. This may yield further findings to pinpoint
needed curricular content even beyond the skills and subject areas tested in this study.
Integrate Subject Areas Into Current Skills and Course Topics Covered
This recommendation includes restructuring the subject areas covered in an NGO
management course to include more subject areas related to ethics, accountability, and
transparency. As mentioned, challenges related to teaching these subjects, particularly
ethics, have been debated, particularly in the public affairs education literature (see
Hejka-Ekins, 1988; Martinez, 1998; Menzel, 1997; Worthley & Grumet, 1983; Wu &
He, 2009), but external pressure for greater accountability and transparency in the
NGO sector warrants a concerted effort. There are several ways to expand and experi-
ment with course content (see Table 2). For example, the curriculum may be further
 NGO Education in Ecuador 255

enriched if curriculum designers were to build on what is currently covered on NGO

relationships with stakeholders and how these influence NGO practice. The current
curriculum includes some of this, particularly in the first several class sessions, but
there is opportunity to go deeper into these topics as shown in Table 2. In particular,
integrating more about the responsibilities to stakeholders can allow for the incorpora-
tion of subject areas such as ethics, accountability, and transparency without drastically
changing the course structure and timeline.
Expand (and Experiment With) Content
Another consideration is to expand an NGO management course like Andeans
into a second year and include an Issues in NGO Management module. In the current
three modules, effective management and leadership in the NGO sector is addressed
through examination of the basic principles of NGOs and associated social market and
management challenges. In an additional module, the current debates that are chang-
ing how NGOs operate could be further addressed. Instructional methods would be
similar but may also include case studies and simulations to apply ethics, accountabil-
ity, and transparency to NGO practice.

Next Steps for Research

The content of Andean Universitys nonprofit management course speaks to the
debate in the literature on NGO education programs in regard to the relationship be-
tween location and content. In the case of university education, curriculum tends to fall
behind the market and contextual demands (Bies & Blackwood, 2007; see also ONeill,
2005), and this may be the case in Ecuador. A next step for research is to take the for-
mal curricula of other NGO education programs in Ecuador and conduct the same
analysis to compare them systematically. Given the previous literature on location and
content as well as the results of this content analysis, several hypotheses may be drawn
that could be further tested. For example, programs created and delivered in NGOs in
Ecuador may score higher in accountability and other related subject areas given that
these programs were created outside of the university in response to the little available
training on these topics in Ecuador; however, these NGO education programs may
have gaps related to other knowledge and skills important to the sector. This research
can too be applied at the regional level through a comparison across Latin American
countries. Comparing NGO education programs will result in a rich assessment of the
supply of NGO education in a given context and could help better match that supply
side with the demands for capacity building opportunities in the sector.

Conclusion
This study was the first systematic examination of the curricular content of a
university NGO management course in Ecuador. The curricular content framework
proposed by Mirabella and Young (2012)market skills, political skills, philanthropic
skills, generic management skills, and leadership skillsoffers a means to systemati-
cally examine the content of NGO education in Ecuador. In addition, subject areas
ethics, accountability, and transparencythat are important to the NGO sector gener-
ally and particularly salient in Ecuador were included. A close reading of the course
material demonstrates that all five of the skills are present within the instruction, but
that the subject areas of interest are not explicitly covered.
 Table 2
Recommendation 2: Integrating Subject Areas to Current Skills and Expanding Content
Subject areas
Skills Ethics Accountability Transparency
Social Market Current implicit inclusion social sustainability, bringing stakeholders into bringing stakeholders into
Orientation (Market of subject area gender equality, citizen planning processes planning processes
and Philanthropic participation, social
Skills) justice, and equality

Recommendations for relationship building with stakeholder mapping and disclosure policies in
more explicit inclusion or stakeholders the challenges of multiple NGOs and disclosure as
expansion of subject area accountabilities of NGOs social marketing

Management and Current implicit inclusion distinction of the sector linking proposed inclusive project planning
Appe

Leadership Skills of subject area projects to mission, Law of Transparency

values, philosophy of an and Access to Public
organization Information

Recommendations for organizational and board internal processes and determining the
more explicit inclusion or governance mechanisms information to be
expansion of subject area disclosed

Political skills Current implicit inclusion distinction of the sector recognition of national, exchanging information
of subject area regional, and international within networks
levels of norms

Recommendations for what to report to what to report to what to report to

more explicit inclusion or stakeholders and why stakeholders and why stakeholders and why
256

expansion of subject area

 NGO Education in Ecuador 257

Over the last 10 years, NGOs have expanded their role in providing public goods
and services, which has included informing and formulating public policy and debat-
ing regulatory policy in Ecuador. This growing influence of the sector leaves NGO
education at an important crossroad in the country. As Bies and Blackwood (2007)
wrote, How nonprofit management education programs anticipate the learning needs
of nonprofit managers, especially during times of expansion and change, becomes a
question of critical significance (p. 543). NGO education, like the open NGO man-
agement course at Andean University, is a model that paves the way for universities in
Ecuador and in other countries to make key contributions to building capacity in the
sector. As the environment and demands of the sector change, providers of courses like
the one examined in this study will need to predict, adjust, and respond. Inclusion of
important subject areas such as ethics, accountability, and transparency can enrich al-
ready innovative curriculum. Conversations among higher education institutions and
the NGO sector will lead to a better match between the supply and demand of NGO
education in Ecuador. These conversationsin Ecuador and beyondwill help NGO
education match up to the demand. Indeed, the large quantities of people who benefit
from NGOs goods and services would benefit more if these conversations were to hap-
pen sooner than later.

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