Phase-Two Selection Launched for NGOs in PRC Poverty Reduction Work

BEIJING, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA - ADB and its partners involved in a unique poverty reduction project in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have launched the second round of a selection process for nongovernment organizations (NGOs) to serve as partners in state-funded poverty programs.

The launch falls nine months after project partners announced the competitive selection of six consortia of NGOs to work with local governments, poor villagers, and other stakeholders in Jiangxi Province. Those NGOs have since collaborated with local officials to undertake participatory village planning and are now beginning village projects, based on priorities identified by the poor communities.

Direct participation by NGOs in village poverty alleviation and development planning, the keystone of the Government’s flagship grassroots-level poverty reduction program, marks a major first in the PRC.

The Jiangxi pilot test is supported under an ADB technical assistance (TA) project on NGO-Government Partnerships in Village-level Poverty Alleviation, which is being executed by the State Council Office of the Leading Group on Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOP) and Jiangxi counterparts. The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA), a leading national NGO active in poverty reduction and related fields, is acting as implementing agency for the TA’s focal pilot test component.

The experiment builds on the PRC’s “clear guiding principles and a new mindset that is based on international practice,” according to Wu Zhong, Director General of the LGOP Department of International Cooperation and Social Mobilization.

The project underscores the fact that the Government “is proactively seeking better mechanisms,” says Director General Zhang Zhihao of the Jiangxi Province Poverty Alleviation and Development Office, who adds that “the pilot’s true breakthrough lies in structural innovation.”

The pilot test has begun to bear fruit. According to Liu Dongwen, Assistant Executive Director of CFPA, experience so far illustrates that NGOs are well-suited to carry out poverty reduction activities because they are able to focus their attention, staff inputs, and skills on the views and needs of local communities.

“The accomplishments so far in the first-round pilot test villages and today’s launch of the second phase marks the culmination of effective policy dialogue and cooperation, as well as strong foresight and support from LGOP, Ministry of Finance, and partner agencies in Jiangxi Province,” says Christopher Spohr, a Social Sector Economist based at ADB’s Resident Mission in Beijing.

The launch of the pilot’s second phase has attracted attention from the media and various civil society stakeholders, including NGOs already working under the first phase. “This project marks the first time the Government has outsourced to NGOs,” notes Gao Xiaoxian of the Shaanxi Research Association for Women and Family. “We are exploring new mechanisms for cooperation, building on each partner’s strengths. From NGOs’ standpoint, this is a major breakthrough and a new mindset.”

Chen Taiyong, Director of the China Project Office of Heifer International, adds that NGOs’ experience of building participatory approaches has helped pilot communities to identify and address core priorities. “I am confident that this kind of project can be replicated to promote innovation in government poverty reduction work and improve efficacy in addressing the most pressing needs of the poor and their communities,” he says.

The project's progress is also welcomed by the international community and private sector.

“Effective community participation at village level is vital to achieving effective progress and lasting impact, and this initiative is an exciting opportunity to involve local communities in decisions that affect their future” notes Holger Grundel of the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, which has provided $1.0 million to support the TA under its Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund.

The project is also supported by RGM International, a Singapore-based firm, which recently contributed about $80,000 to CFPA to support capacity building. “As a global proponent of comprehensive community development to overcome poverty and foster economically viable communities, we see this pilot as a key innovation for China,” says Huang Jinping of RGM China.

At a more macro-level, the project is helping to put into practice recent calls by high-level PRC leaders for transforming the Government’s role in poverty alleviation and other spheres. It also paves the way for expanding the role of non-government actors in rural development, as prescribed recently under a key Central Communist Party directive.

“The pilot has the potential to fundamentally change the way the PRC pursues poverty reduction efforts and state-funded programs more broadly,” Mr. Spohr adds.

Information and application materials for phase 2 of the pilot test have been posted on the TA’s CFPA-hosted website at http://www.fupin.org.cn/new/default.asp.

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