Alian as Estratégicas: Articula es entre o Terceiro Setor e o Governo

This article focuses on the alliance between a third sector organization and the government, andthe articulations of the former as strategy in quest of sustainability. The objective was toinvestigate the feasibility of an alliance betweenan NGO and the City Hall, and how this alliance isset within a strategic process. The categories of analysis that led to the empirical study wereguided by the following dimensions: the forms, thenature of relationships and the types of linksamong those involved. The predominant approach wasof descriptive qualitative character. For data collection, the techniques of semi-structured interviews and analysis of documents were adopted.The analysis and interpretation were obtained by means of data triangulation. The results showedthat the NGO under study was able to become closer to the government, by attending part of thegovernment s demand, by offering quality care at reduced cost. Thus, the bind which should bebased on cooperation is also one of assistance. Butthere was also an opportunity for the NGO toexpand its area of operations, and learn about theinner workings of governments, decision-makingmechanisms and implementation of policies, thus enabling a better dialogue.