Nongovernment Organizations and Civil Society

ADB and Partnerships with Civil Society

ADB is committed to working in partnerships with a wide range of development stakeholders. In ADB's new long-term strategic framework, Strategy 2020, ADB states that it will focus on five drivers of change, one of which is partnerships. ADB believes that working in partnership will help mobilize resources and maximize returns on its unique regional experience and comparative strengths within the evolving aid architecture.

ADB works in partnership with client governments and with the civil society organizations working on ADB projects and technical assistance. At any one time, civil society organizations are partnering with governments to implement dozens of ADB projects and technical assistance activities across Asia and the Pacific. Read examples in the NGO and Civil Society Center annual reports of ADB cooperation with civil society.

ADB has formalized its partnerships with three civil society organizations, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Read more about ADB's formal civil society partnerships.

In March 2004, ADB also began to promote partnerships between NGOs and private sector for poverty reduction. The NGOC and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals organized a workshop on Building NGO-Private Sector Partnerships Against Poverty in Pattaya, Thailand. Read the proceedings of the workshop. This document presents:

• case studies on NGO-private sector partnerships shared by workshop participants
• guidance for designing similar workshops
• a template for creating successful NGO-private sector partnerships
• a regional action plan to build momentum for such partnerships

In February 2009, ADB's NGOC and GlaxoSmithKline, in partnership with Save the Children UK, hosted a workshop, Strengthening the Impact of Asia’s NGO Community: Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Interventions– Immunization. During the three-day workshop in Manila, NGO, donor, and private sector representatives from MNCH and immunization programs in Asia and the Pacific shared experiences and good practice at a regional consultation. The objective was to provide a forum for Asian NGOs to share experiences in MNCH and immunization programming and to highlight best practices moving forward. Discussion narrowed in on the challenges relating to resource mobilization and MNCH interventions, in particular immunization. The workshop also considered practical ways to strengthen NGO impact in these areas.

Read Interaction's newsletter highlighting civil society and partnerships* [ PDF ]. InterAction is the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations.

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