Cooperation with Nongovernment Organizations and Civil Society

The Asian Development Bank recognizes the important role NGOs and other civil society organizations play in the processes of development and regards NGOs and community organizations as important partners in development activities. Through its policy Cooperation Between the Asian Development Bank and Nongovernment Organizations, ADB has established a framework through which ADB and NGOs can

• identify development priorities

• work together more effectively in designing and implementing development projects and strategies

• incorporate NGOs' expertise, experience, and perspectives in specific development efforts

• help strengthen NGOs themselves as agents of development

• strengthen working relationships between ADB, NGOs, governments, and even the private sector.

During 2000, ADB completed a comprehensive review of its NGO-related activities, with a view toward developing new internal organizational arrangements to better serve ADB-NGO cooperation. Following on to the conclusions of the review, in early 2001 a new NGO Center and NGO Network were established, and a range of new NGO-related initiatives identified.

A review of ADB's cooperation with NGOs during 2000 shows NGO cooperation expanding steadily in many aspects of its operations:

• in 2000, 41 of ADB's 70 approved public sector projects (59 percent) involved NGOs in some significant way, with NGO involvement ranging from participation in project design and development processes, to direct responsibility for on-the-ground implementation of project components

• since 1990, more than one-third of all ADB public sector projects have involved NGOs, compared with only 17 projects from ADB's creation in 1967 up to 1990

• NGO involvement in technical assistance is steadily expanding, with cooperation with NGOs in technical assistance projects addressing loan project preparation becoming especially important

• NGO involvement in country programming processes is increasingly significant, with NGOs being engaged in country programming and country portfolio missions, as well as in a range of other country programming activities, including economic and sector surveys

• NGOs are consulted as a matter of course in the development of ADB's operational policies and strategies, and approaches to regular ADB-NGO consultation are being developed

While ADB's cooperation with NGOs historically has focused most closely on agricultural and natural resources development and in the social infrastructure sectors such as urban development, housing, education, health, and water supply and sanitation, project-level cooperation with NGOs is broadening to other sectors.

Increasingly, NGOs are becoming active in sectors such as transport, communication, finance, and other "hard" sectors. There is a central role for NGOs in multisector projects, such as post-conflict or post-disaster recovery.

The social dimensions of development have become a central consideration in all of ADB's project activities. NGOs by their nature are centrally placed to effectively address social concerns, and ADB is expanding its NGO cooperation in this aspect of development. Often, NGOs can play an important role as intermediaries between governments and development agencies such as ADB on one side, and people, particularly those affected directly by projects, on the other.

In addition to working with NGOs in its operations, ADB also provides capacity building support to NGOs, to help strengthen their wider roles in development. Capacity building support is provided regionally, on the country level, and within the design of specific projects. In addition, where appropriate, ADB provides capacity building support to governments, to strengthen governments' capacities to work with NGOs, and to help strengthen government-NGO relationships.

Examples of NGO involvement in ADB projects approved during 2000 include:

• the Northwest Crop Diversification project in Bangladesh, in which four NGOs engaged in rural and agricultural development will undertake specific community development activities addressing crop diversification and work as intermediaries in disbursing some $16 million in microfinance to support the development of new crops

• the Rural Credit and Savings project in Cambodia, in which NGOs involved in rural development helped organize and facilitate participatory workshops during the project design and development phase, and will help disburse more than US$20 million in microfinance directed toward agricultural and small enterprise development

• the Housing Finance II project in India, in which NGOs working in urban areas and community-level financial institutions played an important role in the design of the project, and, in cooperation with a government agency, will disburse and supervise housing loans for the poor

• the Calcutta Environmental Improvement in India, in which community-level NGOs helped in project design, and will take responsibility for aspects of solid waste management, including waste segregation and composting activities, and for community education and community empowerment toward improved waste management practices

• the Decentralized Health Services project in Indonesia, in which NGOs based in local communities, in cooperation with local government units, will become engaged in health-related community education and community consciousness raising activities and will deliver training programs focused on poverty reduction, gender and health, and participatory planning and development

• the North-West Frontier Area Development (Phase II) project in Pakistan, in which environmental and community development NGOs will support the project's component addressing sustainable use of natural resources, through community mobilization provision of services, and provision of education and training services, with a particular focus on women's concerns, including education for girls, teacher training for women, health and family planning education, and skills and enterprise development training for women.