NPOs in China: Capacity-Building Development Since the 1990s

The development of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in China has experienced unprecedented growth since the 1990s. Capacity-building is a critical aspect of NPO research. Based on data through document reviews and personal interviews, we conducted a systematic analysis and presented a conceptual framework to examine NPO capacity-building in China. Three main bodies - government agencies, educational institutions, and supporting NPOs - lead NPO capacity-building, and its development has experienced four critical stages: starting, localization, standardization, and diversification. A major implication for international literature and policy lies in the discovery of an evolving environmental context of NPO development in China.