QUANGO

From Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium

A quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization (QUANGO) is a hybrid between a fully private non-governmental organization and a government agency, typically providing some sort of assistance, usually reporting to a government but sometimes to a board of "stakeholders". They can operate within a country, be associated with single countries, or have a multinational scope.

Examples in democracy promotion include the "party foundations" (Stiftungen) of the German Federal Republic and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in the United States. The former was a collaboration among political parties, while the latter combined political parties with organized labor and business promotion.

On the international level, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers takes care of a core of technical functions, which also have a major policy impact on the development of the Internet. Its model contrasts with formal international bodies such as the International Telecommunications Union.