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Annual Report 2002 : Operational Priorities and Performance : Thematic priorities
Nongovernment organizations and civil societyADB’s policy on NGO cooperation (see http://www.adb.org Cooperation between ADB and NGOs continued to expand. In 2002, a total of 42 projects, or 52% of all approved projects, involved some level of NGO collaboration, with most focusing on the agriculture and natural resource sector. The majority of NGOs partnering with ADB are local and community-based groups, who help improve project quality by identifying the specific needs of their communities, and encouraging greater participation of intended project beneficiaries. In addition to project consultations, NGOs also continued to be involved in project implementation, monitoring, and other activities. ADB’s NGO Center (see http://www.adb.org/NGOs/ngocenter.asp) gave further impetus to ADB-Government-NGO collaboration through a 2002 regional technical assistance project, entitled Technical Assistance for a Framework for ADB-Government-NGO Cooperation (see Box below). The project was cofinanced by the governments of Australia and the United Kingdom. In 2002, NGOs were involved in consultations on ADB’s new environment and water policies, as well as in the review of ADB’s Inspection Function. In addition, some 80 participants attended the NGO Open Forum at ADB’s 35th Annual Meeting in Shanghai, PRC. ADB-Government-NGO Cooperation The objective was to bring people together where they could find common ground and shared goals. The result was the development of a guide for enhanced cooperation: ADB-Government-NGO (nongovernment organizations) Cooperation: A Framework for Action 2003–2005. ADB’s NGO Center began the consultation process by widely disseminating an “Issues Note” that addressed key elements of the current tripartite relationship, and served as the background doc- ument for country workshops in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Thailand, and for subregional workshops held in Sydney (for Australia and the Pacific), Almaty (for East and Central Asia), Phnom Penh (for the Mekong), and Kathmandu (for South Asia). Nearly 500 government, NGO, and private sector representatives attended the workshops. A Manila workshop solicited input from ADB staff. The country and subregional workshops were organized and facilitated by local NGOs or consulting firms, with the country-level workshops largely conducted in local languages. Workshop participants proposed activities to increase tripartite cooperation. These suggestions and activities were debated in plenary sessions. The proceedings of each workshop were posted on ADB’s NGO web site. Synthesis documents were produced so that each workshop built on the recommendations of earlier workshops. From the syntheses and other background materials, the NGO Center prepared a preliminary or “zero draft” framework document. In mid-November, selected participants from the earlier workshops met in small groups in Manila to draft or refine sections of the framework. To provide maximum public feedback, the document was posted on ADB’s web site at the same time it was circulated to ADB’s Board of Directors and staff. The Framework reflects the shared vision and understanding of government and NGO stakeholders.
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