Collaboration Mechanisms of Taiwan Nonprofit Organizations in Disaster Relief Efforts: Drawing Lessons from the Wenchuan Earthquake and Typhoon Morakot

Abstract

Participation of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) is important in emergency management because NPOs often work in conjunction with governments to offer assistance and resources in the emergency management process. NPO participation in disaster relief efforts is a valuable experience for public officials and practitioners, but research investigating NPOs’ experiences in disaster relief efforts is limited. This study examines Taiwan’s NPO collaboration mechanisms during disaster relief efforts and specifically examines the lessons drawn from two major catastrophes by focusing on the opinions of NPO managers in the 88 Flooding Service Alliance who joined the disaster relief operation for the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China and 2009 Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan. The vital strategies and factors that contributed to successful NPO collaborations in disaster relief operations were determined through a survey on NPOs’ strategies for resource sharing and service integration and semi-structured interviews with 19 NPO managers. The findings indicate that NPO engagement in disaster services was crucial for the relief efforts of the two disaster events, and that long-term disaster service alliances are effective mechanisms for emergency collaboration in relief work.