“Collaborative NGO Analysis in NRM: When your collaborator is also your unit of analysis”

Abstract NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) continue to take more responsibility in Natural Resource Management (NRM). This requires in-depth analyses of the roles NGOs play in NRM. Collaborative NGO Analysis (CNGOA), whereby scholars take an expert role and partner with an NGO to study the organization, its impacts/activities, and its partnerships, can provide new insight into NGO roles in NRM. Existing collaborative studies in NRM primarily apply participatory and community-based approaches whereby researchers partner with organizations to study a problem, such as climate change. However, few studies use CNGOA. This research note addresses this gap by presenting three cases that use CNGOA. CNGOA can create new opportunities to apply theoretical constructs and open spaces for NGO reflexivity. Flexible agreements that include conditions for NGO involvement and anonymity support the approach and can protect the NGO and address some equity concerns. Findings lay the groundwork for additional studies that apply CNGOA in NRM.