How to address tensions between growing demand and decreasing resources as a NGO : the case of ATLAS

• Autor(a) principal: Carvalho, Matilde Cura Mariano de
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/22794
• topic: NGO; Challenge; Tensions; Resources; People; ONG; Desafio; Tensões; Recursos; Pessoas; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão

The goal of this thesis is to provide insight into how a local NGO can address the tensions between the growing demand for its services and the decreasing number of resources available to meet that demand. This question is crucial for Portuguese NGOs, since Portugal is slowly recovering from a crisis. To investigate the research question, a qualitative, single case study methodology was employed. Interviews were the key technique to collect primary data, and internal and external documentation provided secondary data. The data collected was treated through the coding system, yielding an exploitable and organized structure for analysis. The company studied is “ATLAS People like us”, a small NGO that is currently only operating in the Portuguese market. The study identifies some distinctive strategies that are being used in order to address these tensions. Firstly, the organization is focused on its volunteers, treating them the right way and giving them autonomy; secondly, it is exploiting networks; and thirdly, it is focusing its resources in one main project, in order to get more resources and visibility.