In June 2012, The Global Journal commissioned an independent review of its own NGO ranking methodology — a candid, self-critical examination of how the Top 100 NGOs list was built, what it could and couldn’t claim, and where its real limitations sat.

About the 2013 Methodology Paper

Published in February 2013 and authored by Cecilia Cannon, then completing her PhD in Political Science/International Relations at Geneva’s Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), the paper situates the ranking within a broader shift: after decades of largely unquestioned goodwill, NGOs entered a period of genuine public scrutiny in the years following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, as their scale, credibility, and accountability came under closer examination.

What the ranking set out to do

The paper outlines four stated aims behind the ranking: to showcase the genuine diversity of organisations operating under the “NGO” label; to evaluate them comparatively, across geography and activity; to stimulate real debate around impact, innovation, and sustainability; and to track how the sector changes year over year.

Empowerment is at the heart of the Jordan River Foundation’s mission to alleviate poverty for local community and refugee women in Jordan. JRF (Jordan River Foundation) has sought to create sustainable economic opportunities capitalizing on their potential as independent breadwinners within their families.

That mission is realized today through JRF’s social enterprises; a model that trains and employs female beneficiaries in projects that revive and celebrate traditional culinary arts and handicrafts; leveraging their employability, social skills, and business acumen. Through a series of social enterprise initiatives and collaborations, JRF has helped create jobs for local community women across Jordan, 513 last year, while reviving the heritage of traditional cooking, as well as rural and Bedouin community arts.

Six months after Operation Contenção in Rio de Janeiro’s Penha and Alemão Complexes, Fogo Cruzado’s data show that armed violence in the area has not decreased.