Cooperation with NGOs - The Bank's Experience with NGOs

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Introduction

The NGO Sector

The Bank's Experience with NGOs

Approaches to the Bank's Cooperation with NGOs

Institutional Implications

A Policy with NGOs

Cooperation Between the ADB and NGOs

The Bank's Experience with NGOs

A. NGOs and the Bank

The Bank's 1987 policy The Bank's Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations defines the Bank's policy framework for cooperation with NGOs. Since the time of the 1987 policy paper, however, the developmental roles of the Bank and NGOs have changed significantly, as has the developmental environment in which the Bank and NGOs work. Over the past decade, the Bank's loan and technical assistance activities have shown steadily increasing levels of NGO involvement, with NGOs engaged in a variety of ways, and at all stages of the project cycle. Increasing levels of NGO involvement are reflected in other areas of Bank operations, including program-related work and policy development.

B. Policy Paper of 1987

Through its first two decades, the Bank's cooperation with NGOs was relatively limited. As NGO cooperation began to expand in the late 1980s, a policy framework outlining existing and possible new areas and opportunities for Bank-NGO cooperation was considered necessary. In addition, the persistence of poverty in the region prompted the Bank to rethink its own strategies and those of governments to tackle poverty directly. Expanded cooperation with NGOs to supplement the efforts of the Bank and its executing agencies was seen as necessary.

The main objectives of Bank-NGO cooperation stated in the 1987 policy paper were oriented toward addressing the basic needs of disadvantaged groups in developing member countries (DMCs), and supporting improved natural resource management and conservation. The 1987 policy paper identified environment, agriculture, irrigation, fisheries, livestock, forestry, urban development and housing, water and sanitation, health and population, and education and training as among the sectors in which cooperation with NGOs was possible. NGOs were seen mainly as sources of information on local conditions or as implementing agencies for specific components of projects. In addition to the project involvement outlined, the 1987 policy paper suggested that the Bank could draw on NGO expertise and knowledge of local conditions to facilitate its own efforts in helping to identify, prepare, monitor, and evaluate projects.

The Bank's 1987 policy paper saw cooperation with NGOs as an effective means of supplementing the Bank's own efforts in pursuing economic growth and improving the living conditions of the poor, as well as efforts in environmental protection. NGOs were seen as possessing valuable expertise on local conditions, and realistic perceptions of the constraints and prospects in the areas of development in which they were involved. Because of their grassroots and small-scale approaches that directly address the needs of target groups, NGOs were seen as possessing comparative advantages in the delivery of some development services. The scope of cooperation with NGOs as defined in the 1987 policy paper was to cooperate selectively with NGOs that are well established and that have gained extensive expertise and experience in socioeconomic development activities in the Bank's DMCs.

The 1987 policy paper identified four roles for NGOs in Bank-NGO cooperation: (i) as a source of information, (ii) as consultants or contractors, (iii) as executing or cooperating agencies; and, where appropriate (iv) as cofinanciers. The 1987 paper identified Bank mechanisms to facilitate broader Bank-NGO cooperation: (i) maintaining records and information bases about NGOs for easy identification of interested NGOs, (ii) providing more information to NGOs about Bank projects, (iii) encouraging contacts between executing agencies and NGOs, (iv) expanding coordination with bilateral and multilateral institutions, and (v) holding tripartite workshops involving the Bank, governments, and NGOs to exchange views on NGO involvement in Bank operations.

The 1987 policy paper did not draw distinctions between commercial and contractual relationships between the Bank and NGOs, and operational relationships centering on cooperation and consultation. This distinction is important in that commercial and contractual relationships would be governed by policies such as those relating to engagement of consultants and procurement, while operational relationships would relate to the Bank's processes for project, program, and policy development.

C. The Bank's Operational Experience in Cooperation with NGOs

Direct NGO involvement in the Bank's loan and technical assistance activities has been increasing steadily. For 1997, 27 of 72 loan approvals (38 percent) involved NGOs directly in some manner. This compares with the experience for 1996, with 25 of 76 loan approvals (34 percent) involving NGOs; for 1995, with 20 of 67 loan approvals (26 percent); for 1994, with 10 of 48 approvals (20 percent); for 1993, with 19 of 77 approvals (25 percent); for 1992, with 11 of 69 approvals (16 percent); for 1991, with 6 of 76 approvals (8 percent); and for 1990, with 4 of 73 approvals (5 percent). From 1981 to 1986, only 17 approved loans involved NGOs. NGO involvement in technical assistance activities and other aspects of the Bank's operations has shown a trend parallel to NGO involvement in loan activities.

Specific areas in the Bank's project- and program-related cooperation with NGOs have included basic information-sharing, practical assistance in identifying development needs and in project identification, and participation in developing and implementing specific projects and programs. Areas in which NGOs and the Bank have worked closely have included agriculture and rural development, urban development, water supply and sanitation, forestry, fisheries, health and population, education and human development, small-scale industry and credit, and environmental management and protection. Increasingly, cooperation with NGOs in projects is moving into areas such as infrastructure and energy. In some DMCs, NGOs have been consulted in country work and in the development of annual country assistance plans and programs. NGOs are being consulted in the development of operational and sectoral policies.

In project work as well as in country-level and policy development work, as the Bank has gained more experience in working with NGOs and as NGOs strengthen their capacity, Bank's cooperation with NGOs is showing an increasingly positive and productive trend, with new possibilities for cooperation emerging. This conclusion is consistent with and validated by literature in the international community relating to NGOs and development, and the experience of other development institutions. In the Bank's early cooperation with NGOs in project work, a range of difficulties were encountered, to a significant degree based on a lack of experience and familiarity on the part of the Bank, NGOs, and executing agencies in working together and identifying viable modalities for cooperation. However as lessons have been and are being learned by the Bank, NGOs, and executing agencies, and as experience and familiarity are gained and capacities developed, NGO involvement in Bank projects is expanding and outcomes are showing increasing success.

Box 1: THE BANK AND COOPERATION WITH NONGOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS

Cooperation between the Asian Development Bank and NGOs in essence began in the early 1980s, though mostly on an informal basis. NGO involvement in Bank operations often took the form of providing information and background in the course of project preparation; there were no modalities or frameworks for the Bank and NGOs to work together. The 1987 policy, The Bank's Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations, was the first formal structure defining a relationship and operational modalities for cooperation between the Bank and NGOs. In 1988, the NGO Microcredit Project in the Philippines was the first Bank project to formally involve NGOs in an implementation capacity. Since 1988, there has been steadily increasing NGO involvement in Bank operations, in a variety of roles and through a variety of mechanisms.

As cooperation with NGOs expands overall, the range of countries in which the Bank is cooperating with NGOs is expanding, though such cooperation has shown significant differences. The Bank often has worked with NGOs in countries with established NGO communities, such as in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Philippines. In these countries, NGOs traditionally have played a significant role in development efforts, both official and nonofficial, and have established some degree of comparative advantage in various aspects of the development processes.

Nonetheless, the emergence of NGOs is becoming apparent in a number of other countries. As the NGO sector develops and as development processes widen to address interests such as human development, social development, and environmental protection, a role for NGOs is emerging in countries in which NGOs traditionally have not played a major role

Over the past decade, the Bank and NGOs most often have cooperated in projects that affect communities and that are designed to meet basic needs and demands of people. Sectors in which the Bank and NGOs have most often cooperated include agriculture and rural development, water supply and sanitation, health and population, education and human resources development, small-scale industry and microcredit, and environmental protection. However, with the Bank's closer focus on social and environmental concerns, the social and environmental dimensions of initiatives more often considered traditional growth projects, for example, transport and communication, infrastructure development, and power sector development, are becoming more apparent. The Bank is experiencing significantly greater cooperation with NGOs in these kinds of projects. While NGOs may not have the capacity to participate in the technical aspects of infrastructure or power projects, they often do have the capacity to address the social and environmental elements.

In an increasing number of cases, NGOs are being engaged as implementing agencies for Bank loan and technical assistance projects. Such cooperation with NGOs is being realized in health and education projects, in microcredit projects, and in projects addressing environmental protection. As NGO capacity develops, it is likely that new occasions for such cooperation will emerge.

Consultation with NGOs is a feature of policy development in the Bank. The recently approved policy on fisheries, for example, was sent for comment to some 65 NGOs active in the fisheries sector, the draft policy on gender to more than 120 gender-related NGOs, the draft indigenous peoples paper to 160 NGOs and indigenous peoples groups, and the draft water policy paper to more than 140 NGOs. The draft policy on cooperation with NGOs was seen by more than 300 NGOs.

D. Approaches of Other Multilateral Organizations

The World Bank views NGO cooperation as an important feature of its operations. The World Bank recognizes the expanding role and influence of NGOs, as well as the benefits NGO involvement brings to its operations. Areas of NGO involvement in World Bank activities include analysis of development issues; project identification, design, and implementation; and monitoring and evaluation. World Bank policy encourages the involvement of NGOs in operations, though within the framework of national legislation and policy. Capacity building for NGOs is encouraged in projects that involve large-scale World Bank-NGO cooperation. The World Bank maintains a consultative committee comprising World Bank staff and NGO representatives. This committee meets on a regional basis as well as at World Bank headquarters. The World Bank has made significant efforts to develop NGO coordination capacity in its resident missions, and has established several facilities through which funding can be provided to NGOs directly.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has not established a formal framework for cooperation with NGOs. Cooperation with NGOs is largely on a project-by-project basis, with direct cooperation achieved through projects departments and project staff. Cooperation also is achieved through the representative offices that IDB maintains in its client countries. Several funding facilities have been established within IDB that are used to provide direct assistance to NGOs as well as capacity-building support. A liaison officer at IDB headquarters in Washington, DC, is responsible for headquarters communication with NGOs.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a policy for cooperation with NGOs in 1991, although implementation of this policy in projects and programs has not been completely successful. AfDB currently is in the process of reviewing its procedures, mechanisms, and guidelines for cooperation with NGOs, and has identified a number of operational initiatives toward strengthening its NGO cooperation efforts. Under review in AfDB are the role of NGOs in the social and economic development of Africa, the institutional framework within AfDB for operational linkages, and the process of NGO participation in AfDB operations.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) does not have an NGO policy or framework for cooperation and does not actively consult with NGOs as a part of its operations. Selected policy-related information, however, including environmental reports, is shared with NGOs. Some interaction with NGOs takes place through EBRD's Environmental Advisory Council. There is an NGO liaison office in the Department of Communications. EBRD does require that project sponsors or executing agencies undertake consultations with the public at the initial stage of projects; this consultation process sometimes involves NGOs.

Within the United Nations (UN) system, there is a shift toward the development of new frameworks for cooperation with NGOs. UN agencies are in a process of reassessing and revising established approaches toward NGO cooperation, in response to new operational priorities and directives. Many member states are urging UN agencies to make greater use of NGO capacities. Decentralization is another element pressing the review of cooperation with NGOs. The imperatives of developmental, financial, and political realities also are pushing the UN system toward more effective, efficient and responsive field operations. Leading the way in UN system cooperation with NGOs are the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the United Nations Population Fund. Agencies such as the International Labour Organisation are working directly with NGOs in project activities and other initiatives.

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The NGO Sector

Approaches to the Bank's Cooperation with NGOs

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