Say it like you mean it: Helping NGOs communicate with authenticity

Monash Business School Accounting PhD student Tirukumar Thiagarajah.

May 29 2024

Monash Business School Accounting PhD student Tirukumar Thiagarajah spends a lot of his time on numbers, but he knows the secret to building trust is all about the power of clear and authentic communication.

Australia’s 61,000 non-government organisations are instrumental in driving social impact.

They provide humanitarian aid in times of crisis, advocate for marginalised communities, and fill crucial gaps in services when government resources fall short.

Yet, despite this vital work, NGOs often find themselves under a cloud of suspicion, which affects their vital levels of support, according to Mr Thiagarajah.

“These organisations are often the subject of concern and cynicism – people questioning how they spend their money, and whether or not they can trust them,” Mr Thiagarajah said.

The problem is not due to a lack of information, he said. “Quite the opposite - there’s so much information out there, yet the cynicism persists.”

Reasons for the lack of trust

“I’m intrigued by this deficit of trust – what are the barriers to NGOs effectively communicating their performance to the public? And how do the people working within this sector make sense of the performance information that is being produced?”

To answer these questions, Mr Thiagarajah interviewed 67 NGO managers and leaders across the country.

His research aims to uncover the barriers that hinder NGO managers from effectively communicating performance to volunteers, beneficiaries, donors, and boards.

To investigate what was behind this “authenticity gap”, Mr Thiagarajah devised a fictional scenario of an NGO offering performance data through traditional methods like balance sheets and profit and loss statements.

The scenario also provides alternative forms of information such as images, stories and narratives.

“Then I asked NGO managers which information they would use for specific stakeholders and why - what is the difference with how they communicate with a donor compared to how they communicate with the board, for example,” he said.

The responses were then analysed using a framework to gauge their authenticity in three different ways - value and belief consistency, sector standards conformity and an experience of connection for the recipient of the information.

The information and patterns he discovered promises to help NGO managers learn to communicate more effectively with their boards and donors.

Getting the message through to important audiences

“I found that NGO managers seem to cultivate their own authenticity as they go through the process of communicating performance information to stakeholders,” he said.

However, challenges do emerge, especially when communicating with boards or donors.

“While some NGO managers are able to cultivate their authenticity with ease, others tend to get frustrated and struggle to convey the full impact beyond the financial figures,” he said.

Mr Thiagarajah said he had grappled with some challenges of his own through the research process but was greatly supported by his supervisors Professor Matthew Hall, Professor Ralph Kober and Associate Professor Paul Thambar.

“I’ve had some struggles – anxiety, personal loss, becoming a dad, COVID – and through all that, my supervisors have been incredible and Monash Business School has provided me with a network to thrive,” he said.

“I’m about to submit my research in a couple of months, and I don’t believe I would have gotten to this point in an environment that wasn’t so supportive and enabling.”

Supervisor Professor Matthew Hall said the work would contribute real-world solutions for the charity sector.

“Trust in the work of charities is vital, especially as they are central to so many pressing problems in our societies,” he said.

“Tirukumar’s work directly addresses how NGOs can develop clear and authentic communication as a key building block in ensuring trust in our institutions.”

In the long term, Mr Thiagarajah hopes to expand his research to create awareness and foster engagement with accounting on a global scale.

“I’m inspired by making a difference and I’d like to expand this research to areas with a need to improve NGO engagement, especially in developing nations,” he said.

“I want to demystify the notion that accounting is all about numbers – it’s also about outcomes and impacts and the emotional experiences of the parties involved.”