A Community of Practice for Chinese NGOs

Journal of Chinese Political Science 25(4): 575-589

16 Pages Posted: 1 Jun 2015 Last revised: 30 Oct 2020

See all articles by Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

University of Alberta - Department of Political Science

Jennifer Y.J. Hsu

Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales

Date Written: 2020

Abstract

A community of practice represents an important resource for the sharing of sector-specific knowledge. It is a mechanism for Chinese NGOs to learn from each other, and collaborate. Drawing upon original data elicited from over 100 NGOs, this article examines the organizational capacity for Chinese NGOs to cultivate a mature community of practice. We find that there are inherent headwinds that Chinese NGOs will have to navigate to accomplish this goal. On the one hand, the majority of NGOs in our sample do not see themselves as part of a community of experts, which presents a huge challenge for the possibility of a structured and institutionalized community of practice. On the other hand, in order to survive and prosper in the post-Charity Law regime, Chinese NGOs will have to learn how to adapt – implement best practices and avoid worst ones – to survive. This is best accomplished by developing a mature community of practice to share knowledge with each other.

Keywords: NGOs, community of practice, knowledge sharing, professionalization, China

Suggested Citation

Hasmath, Reza and Hsu, Jennifer Y.J., A Community of Practice for Chinese NGOs (2020). Journal of Chinese Political Science 25(4): 575-589, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2612686 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2612686

Reza Hasmath (Contact Author)

University of Alberta - Department of Political Science ( email )

10-10 HM Tory Building
Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H4
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://www.rezahasmath.com

Jennifer Y.J. Hsu

Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales ( email )

Sydney, 2052
Australia

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