Non governmental organisations and public policy making in Tanzania: the case of Tanzania Gender Networking Programme and Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition

The study was observing the influence of Non Governmental Organizations and Public Policy Making in Tanzania. The objectives of the study were to examine the strategies used by NGOs to influence public policy making; to examine different tactics used by NGOs to influence public policy making and to find out the obstacles encountered by NGOs in influencing public policy making. The study used a case study design. The study used the case of two NGOs in Kinondoni District namely Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) and Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC). Data were collected through questionnaires and documents review and were analyzed using content analysis and presented using tables and texts. The findings revealed that the most commonly used strategies were networking, advocacy, lobbying and coalition for NGOs to influence public policy making. The findings also indicated that the tactics used to influence public policy making were research studies, consultative meetings and dialogues, analyzed reports, use of mass media, presenting position papers to include concerns of interest groups. The study also found out the obstacles that face NGOs in influencing public policy include: lack of cooperation from government institutions, shortage of resources, power struggles among different groups in the agenda setting, NGOs taken as opposition parties and capabilities deficiencies of NGOs to influence policy. The study ended by providing recommendations based on the objectives of this study by advising the immature NGOs to apply the strategies and tactics presented in this study so they may be able to influence public policy making.