Nongovernment Organizations and Civil Society

NGO and Civil Society Center

• What is the NGO and Civil Society Center?
• The NGO Network
• Personnel

What is the NGO and Civil Society Center?

ADB created the NGO and Civil Society Center (then 'NGO Center') in February 2001 to strengthen cooperation with civil society actors and to respond to their concerns. The Center serves nongovernment organizations, including community-based organizations, people's groups and foundations, as well as trade unions.

The NGO and Civil Society Center rests under the Public Management, Governance, and Participation Division located in the Regional and Sustainable Development Department (RSSD). The NGOC is made up of five full-time staff and it:

• facilitates integration of CSO knowledge and experience into ADB operations
• remains abreast of issues of concern and areas of work in Asia and Pacific CSOs
• engages CSOs in a continuing dialogue, and manages ADB's overall communications with civil society
• identifies and develops strategic alliances between ADB and CSOs
• improves ADB's institutional capacity to collaborate productively with CSOs
• provides resources and guidance to ADB staff on consultation and participation issues.

Top

The NGO Network

Another activity of the NGOC is the coordination and training of the NGO Network. ADB is building up an institution-wide network of key staff, or anchors, with clearly defined tasks. The Network brings together staff of the NGO and Civil Society Center, Regional Sustainable Development Department (RSSD), and the Department of External Relations, designated anchor staff in each of the regional departments, civil society specialists in the Resident Missions and Representative Offices, and anchor staff in other ADB departments, including the Office of the Secretary and the Operations Evaluation Department.

The Network's goals are to:

• Monitor NGO-related needs in the operational divisions
• Provide the inputs into NGOC annual work program and prioritize the Center's activities
• Ensure consistency and synergy in NGO cooperation initiatives across ADB
• Enable active exchange on best practices around the Network and throughout ADB

Top

Personnel

Following are the staff members of the NGO and Civil Society Center (NGOC):

• Head, NGO and Civil Society Center, is responsible for the NGOC's institutional interactions, planning, capacity building, and outreach programs. He also coordinates the NGO/Civil Society Network within ADB.
• Senior Civil Society and Participation Specialist, Sari Aman-Wooster. Ms. Wooster is responsible for the NGOC support to operations departments on public participation, including stakeholder consultation, particularly in the development of the country strategy and program for ADB developing member countries.
• Civil Society and Participation Specialist, Lainie Thomas. Ms. Thomas is responsible for information dissemination for the NGOC and supports training initiatives for staff. She also provides information and advice on CSO-related issues.
• Civil Society Cooperation Officer, Suzanne Nazal. Ms. Nazal is responsible for knowledge management and reporting issues within the NGOC. She also coordinates major consultations with civil society organizations at ADB headquarters, contributes to staff training, and organizes the NGO/CSO Program at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors.
• Senior Operations Assistant, Michelle Tan. Ms. Tan provides operational support services for NGOC's various activities relating to policy and strategy-related work, knowledge dissemination activities.

Read the NGOC's latest Annual Report [ PDF: 1.41mb | 32 pages] to learn more about its specific activities of the past year.

Learn more about how NGOs and other civil society organizations can work with ADB.

The NGO and Civil Society Center welcomes ideas on how it can best fulfill its mandate. Contact us with your suggestions.