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in Brazil. Furthermore, I believe that the infor- organization; (2) its adaptability as measured
mation in question is likely to be useful and will by the organization’s capacity to redefine its
inspire new investigations to illuminate the sig- objectives so as to adjust to changes in its
nificant changes that are taking place in the environment; (3) its degree of autonomy as
forms of interaction between society and state in suggested by financial dependency on a single
Brazil, and elsewhere. or more sources of support; and (4) its profes-
The first point to be observed is that sionalization as suggested by the number of
NGOs, as defined here, are indeed a recent people on their payroll. Taking all of these
development in the country. The large major- indicators into account, one could expect that
ity of the NGOs in our sample (84%) came the older the NGO, the better the chances that
into being in the last twenty years, as illus- it will become more adaptable, less dependent
trated in Figure 6.1. Actually, the growth of upon a single source of financial support, and
NGOs was even more intense in the 1990s more professional in its structure.
than in the 1980s, as is suggested by a more Looking at the data, one observes that NGOs
comprehensive study of the governmental display significant flexibility as measured by
agency of Brazilian statistics (IBGE, 2004). changes in their objectives and/or publics. Thus,
Taking into account the recency of the non- Table 6.1 shows that around one-third of the total
governmental organizations in the sample, I sample (32.3%) indicates that they have experi-
wondered if one could find the first signs of enced changes in their goals and/or clientele.
institutionalization in this universe. Were they The data also suggest that age seems to affect the
moving toward established patterns of struc- NGOs’ capacity of adaptation: the proportion of
turing and action, or were they still undefined organizations that changed objectives is higher
as to their way of acting, or even to their the earlier the period they started to operate.
chances of survival? The answers to such Next, I asked if the propensity to adapt to
questions must certainly be taken as very ten- contextual demands varies across the sector
tative. With this word of caution, I looked at in which the NGOs act. Are there variations
indicators, such as: (1) the ‘generation’ of the in adaptability according to the kind of activity

50.0%

40.0%

Percent 30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0%
Up to 1984 1985-1994 1995-2004

Figure 6.1. Distribution of NGOs according to year of establishment.
Source: As Fundações Privadas e As Associações sem Fins Lucrativos no Brasil, 2nd ed., Rio de Janeiro: IBGE, 2004, Sample
Survey 2004/2005.