Government bodies

A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation. The concept is most often applied in the United Kingdom and, to a lesser degree, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United States, and other English-speaking countries. As its name suggests, a quango is a hybrid form of organization, with elements of both non-government organizations (NGOs) and public sector bodies. It is typically an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies.

In the UK, the term quango covers different "arm's-length" government bodies, including "non-departmental public bodies", non-ministerial departments, and executive agencies. One UK example is the Forestry Commission, which is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in England and Scotland.

The term "quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation" was created in 1967 by Alan Pifer of the US-based Carnegie Foundation, in an essay on the independence and accountability of public-funded bodies that are incorporated in the private sector. Pifer's term was shortened to the initialism "QUANGO" – later spelt quango – by Anthony Barker, a British participant during a follow-up conference on the subject.

It describes an ostensibly non-governmental organisation performing governmental functions, often in receipt of funding or other support from government, while mainstream NGOs mostly get their donations or funds from the public and other organisations that support their cause. Numerous quangos were created from the 1980s onwards. Examples in the United Kingdom include those engaged in the regulation of various commercial and service sectors, such as the Water Services Regulation Authority.

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