Nongovernment Organizations and Civil Society

	Table of Contents
p. 3 of 10 BACK | NEXT I. Introduction II. ADB and NGOs: Effective and Sustainable Development III. Directions in NGO Cooperation: A Changing Environment IV. Assessment of ADB Cooperation with NGOs V. Summary of Issues and Areas for Strengthening VI. Task Force Considerations VII. Recommended Core Team-with-Network System VIII. Recommended Network Operation IX. Implementation Plan Appendixes

Report of the Task Force on Institutional Arrangements for Cooperation with Nongovernment Organizations

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III. Directions in NGO Cooperation: A Changing Environment

11. Two sets of developments coming together emphasize the need for a review of ADB's institutional arrangements for NGO cooperation. The first is external - developments in the NGO sector, the other is internal - developments in ADB's strategic objectives and business practices. To respond effectively to these developments, ADB's institutional arrangements and processes for NGO cooperation must be significantly strengthened.

A. Developments in the NGO Sector - and the Imperative to Respond

12. Emergence of Civil Society. Globally, civil society is demanding a greater voice and a greater role in decision making, in governance in general, and specifically in actions of others that affect people directly. With NGOs as representatives of specific segments of civil society, ADB must recognize and anticipate an expanding NGO presence in its operations.

13.Expanding NGO Activism. Within the expanding civil society and NGO presence, a vocal segment of the NGO sector critical of the mainstream international development agenda is growing. This community of NGOs has in recent years chosen confrontation as a mode of engagement. The 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle is seen as a watershed event in confrontation with international organizations. Most recently, the trend was confirmed at the September 2000 annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Prague, ASEM in Korea, and WEF in Melbourne. For ADB, this aspect of NGO activism was visible for the first time at its May 2000 annual meeting in Chiang Mai. ADB must therefore anticipate this mode of interaction with NGOs.

14. NGO Advocacy. The advocacy role of NGOs in development is becoming increasingly significant. Advocacy NGOs are effective in influencing the policies and operations of governments and development agencies, and in affecting the directions of public policy and of public opinion. The past decade has seen growth in the number of "technical" NGOs - NGOs specialized in sophisticated analysis and information dissemination on a range of development, environmental, and sector-specific issues.

15. NGOs in Development. The size and influence of the NGO sector in development has expanded dramatically. Some estimates suggest that NGOs as a whole deliver more aid than the entire United Nations system. The effectiveness and efficiency of many NGO programs is recognized. ADB must develop modalities to engage effectively and productively with NGOs in their developmental role, as well as undertake capacity building and institutional strengthening initiatives that will support the NGO role in development.

16. Diversity in the NGO Sector. Diversity is an important characteristic of the NGO sector. Given the wide range of NGOs that exists and with which ADB works, a continuum of ADB's relationships with NGOs must be recognized. A single view of NGOs is not realistic and a single approach to NGO cooperation will not be successful. Measures for NGO cooperation must be appropriate to the country, the type of NGO, the set of circumstances that exist, and other factors that may be relevant.

17. NGO-Government Relationships. NGOs are taking a closer interest in governance processes in general and development processes specifically. At the institutional level, ADB must develop modalities to recognize and address NGO-government relationships in its donor countries, and NGO efforts to affect donor country official development assistance programs. At the operational level, NGOs in an increasing number of DMCs are demanding a greater voice in ADB's country-level operations. At the same time, ADB must continue to respond to the priorities and concerns of DMC governments. Thus, ADB's cooperation with NGOs at the country level necessarily is becoming a dynamic process involving ADB, NGOs, and governments, with ADB, as a policy objective, working to foster effective and positive tripartite relationships. In several countries, ADB has provided or is considering capacity building support that would contribute toward strengthening of NGO-government cooperation.

B. Developments within ADB and their Implications

18. Engagement with NGOs. Engagement with and participation of civil society and civil society organizations such as NGOs is a significant element of ADB's current and emerging development strategies and the supporting framework of policies and business practices, at both the institutional level and the operational level. As the most visible and most active representatives of civil society, in both donor countries and DMCs, NGOs are now considered an important external constituency and stakeholder group. In this context, there is a serious desire within ADB, with the full backing of Management, to develop new and effective modalities for engagement with and participation of NGOs, including strategies for improving communication with NGOs and establishing channels for the effective two-way flow of information. For example, in early 1999, as part of an initial review of its country operations planning, programming, and project preparation processes, ADB organized a regional workshop on how to enhance DMC stakeholder participation in ADB's business processes. The workshop participants included both NGO and government representatives from 12 DMCs, and the conclusions of that workshop have been incorporated in a major business process redesign that is currently being implemented.

19. ADB's Poverty Reduction Strategy. As mentioned in the Introduction, in 1999 ADB renewed its dedication to poverty reduction as its overarching objective. With poverty reduction as the crosscutting mission of the organization, effective cooperation with NGOs and addressing the variety of NGO-related issues in ADB operations requires, more than ever, effective interdepartmental coordination, seamless internal communication, teamwork and cooperation. The operating principle of enhancing strategic alliances with other development partners in the DMCs--including NGOs, civil society and the private sector--also figures prominently in ADB's long term strategic framework for 2001-2015.

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