Non-governmental Organizations and Construction of Social Problems: An Ethnographic Study of Non-Governmental Organizations in Sardasht

The emergence of non-governmental organizations in Sardasht is tied to the diversity and intensification of social problems. This research analyzes the experiences of Sardasht non-governmental organizations in the construction of social problems within the framework of the constructivist approach. The current study method is urban ethnography and data is collected through semi-structured interviews and coded through thematic analysis. The studied samples included 34 civil activists who have been continuously active in 31 non-governmental organizations and were selected by sampling method with maximum diversity. Results: Based on the field data, "constructing social issues" as an approach has been the cause of the emergence of most non-governmental organizations in Sardasht. In order to make people aware of social issues, these organizations have used the strategies of "platforming", "sensitizing" and "needs/demand assessment" as "claim making strategies" and by resorting to measures such as "intellectual empowerment", "practical empowerment" and "providing services". Direct" have begun to build solutions. The solutions and actions of non-governmental organizations can be categorized under individual solutions and the direction of their actions has been focused on individual change. The mentioned approach does not lead to institutional and social changes due to the continuation of the structural conditions of social problems and harms.