Successful Engagement with Civil Society Organizations

8/3/2019 Successful Engagement with Civil Society Organizations

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Background

Social movements since the 19th century

have altered political systems and social

structures. At the core o these social

actions are inormal groups o individuals

or ormal organizations either espousing

or galvanizing resistance to social change.

Reerred to as civil society in more recent

times, they are characterized as non-stateactors whose aims are neither to generate

prots nor seek governing power. Civil

society organizations (CSOs) unite people

to advance shared goals and interests. At

the international and local levels, CSOs

tenaciously move toward having greater

inuence on decision making, governance,

and actions that directly afect people.

Specically, in Asia and the Pacic region,

most governments have recognized the

role o civil society in their respective

country’s development processes. Theiractual engagements, though, vary within

and across countries.

The advantages o working with CSOs,

such as nongovernment organizations

(NGOs), have been recognized by the

Asian Development Bank (ADB) since late

1980s. ADB’s operations have shown that

cooperation with CSOs has contributed to

the efectiveness, sustainability, and overall

perormance o ADB-assisted activities

in ADB’s developing member countries(DMCs). To strengthen the institutional

arrangements or engagement o CSOs

in addressing their concerns, ADB

established the NGO Civil Society Center

in 2001. The Center is mandated with

the primary responsibility or developing,

implementing, and assessing general

policy and practice relating to ADB

participations with civil society. Aside

rom NGOs, ADB has partnered with

community-based organizations (CBOs),

independent research institutes, people’s

organizations, labor unions, and various

nonprot oundations as collaborative

partners and/or under a contract

engagement. ADB cooperates with civil

society at diferent levels covering policy,

country strategy, and programs/projects.

Engagement o CSOs in ADB operations

has been through diferent roles, includingbut are not limited to (i) serving as

partners in project implementation and/

or operations, (ii) providing assistance to

recipients o ADB support, (iii) acting as

conancier, (iv) conducting monitoring

and evaluation o ADB-assisted activities,

and (v) participating in policy advocacy.

This synthesis ocuses on lessons rom

successul engagement o CSOs in ADB-

nanced operations. The lessons were

ramed according to the various roles o

CSOs and based on inormation extracted

rom project completion reports (sel-

evaluation) and independent evaluations.

CSOs have partnered with ADB in project

design and implementation underdiferent contexts. CSOs have served as

(i) acilitators in the identication and

provision o targeted services or the poor,

disadvantaged people, and women; (ii)

agents and intermediaries or micronance

operations that provide credit to the poor;

and (iii) service providers that contribute

to the attainment o project objectives

and sustained outcomes. The involvement

and contributions o NGOs and CBOs in

identiying the needs o the poor and the

disadvantaged (including women and

children) are critical to achieving desired

development results. For example, during

the project preparation phase o the Third

Livestock Development Project in Nepal,

representatives o local communities

conrmed the need to improve livestock

productivity among low-income amilies

with the ultimate goal o improvingamily incomes and health. During

project implementation, NGOs acilitated

the ormation and strengthening o

CBOs, specically, armers’ groups. This

engagement led to the improvement

o livestock production and household

incomes, and also contributed to the socia

and economic empowerment o the poor,

the disadvantaged communities, and

women. Similarly, the involvement o an

NGO was instrumental in the preparation

o the natural resource management

plan o district wards (barangay) in the

Cordillera Highland o the Philippines. The

NGO had been efective because o their

amiliarity with participatory development

planning practices, the region, and thepeople. The participatory approach in

the identication o community needs

and preparation o plans has heightened

awareness o development issues and

priorities, sense o ownership, and

community responsibility among local

inhabitants. In another project in the

Philippines, community participation was

accomplished through the engagement

o NGOs in community organization

and development o agrarian reorm

Successul Engagement with CivilSociety Organizations

July 2011

EvaluationIndependent

Cooperation with civil society organizations has contributed to

the efectiveness, sustainability, and overall perormance o

ADB-assisted activities in its developing member countries.



nsultation workshop is held in an agrarian reorm community in the Philippines. Community participation was accomplished

gh the engagement o NGOs in community organization and development o agrarian reorm benefciaries. ADB Photo Library

Learning Lessons

beneciaries. This contributed to greater

beneciary participation and ownership,

which were key actors or achieving the

intended targets o the country’s agrarian

reorm project. In Sri Lanka, experience

with a community restoration project

indicated that CBOs had acilitated the

selection o priority works and initiatives

or income generation, amid the

destruction o acilities and dislocation

o communities brought about by

protracted internal confict. With the

involvement o CBOs, the project was able

to ocus on highly relevant initiatives,

which were aimed at improving the

living conditions o communities that

comprised mostly o internally displaced

people. Similarly, in Nepal, the role o

CSOs in consensus building and social

mobilization, given the prevailing

lawlessness and insecurity at the local

level, was essential in acilitating design

and implementation o various programs

and projects. The evaluation o country

assistance programs in Nepal indicated

that the combination o programs and

projects and technical assistance support

channeled through CSOs helped address

the country’s concerns on exclusion

and lack o connectivity in rural areas,

micronancing, and education.

CSOs, such as cooperatives,

oundations, and associations,

have served as eective partners

in microfnance operations. In the

Philippines, or example, micronance

projects have successully engaged

NGOs as micronance intermediaries

or low-income entrepreneurs, poor

households, and disadvantaged women.

Among the attributes o these successul

micronance intermediaries were capable

and dedicated managers, established

accounting and control systems, active

participation o clientele, capability to

generate and mobilize internal resources,

eective management o loan portolio,

cost recovery, and appropriate pricing

o interest rates. Increased access to

micronance through NGO engagement

has contributed to increased incomes

and greater employment opportunities

among beneciaries. Similarly, the

NGOs’ extensive outreach capacity in

micronance was used eectively in the

participatory livestock development in

Bangladesh. Access to credit and income-

generating activities were extended to

small armer groups, beneting mostly

village women. CBOs involved in another

agriculture project in Bangladesh became

eective micronance intermediaries. They

competed with well-established NGOs and

improved service delivery. Smallholders

perceived water management cooperative

associations as a competitive alternative

to NGO microcredit programs.

NGOs and CBOs have assumed the

roles o service providers to acilitate

achievement o project objectives. In

a social protection project in Indonesia,

or instance, NGOs were engaged in

managing orphanages and halway

house or street children. These NGOs

have rejoined some children with

their amilies, served as conduits or

scholarships, and acilitated the conduct

o vocational trainings. CBOs have servedas reliable acilitators, connecting projects

and beneciary groups or project

implementation, and ostering operation

and maintenance (O&M). For example,

in the groundwater irrigation project

in Nepal, representatives rom each o

the water users’ associations (WUAs)

underwent training on appropriate

O&M or irrigation acilities and basic

agricultural extension. They subsequently

provided ee-based water irrigation

and extension services to their ellowarmers. Aside rom being contracted

to undertake earthworks and simple

gravel works, WUAs also carried out

annual maintenance o arm-to-market

roads, and took on the responsibility or

O&M o irrigation acilities. Women and

disadvantaged groups were represented

in WUAs, which acilitated their active

roles in local resource management,

and ensured their year- round access

to irrigation. Similarly, in the Lao PDR’s

irrigation project, WUAs employedsystematic water management and

conducted routine maintenance or

the irrigation systems using their own

resources. Having a reliable irrigation

water source or the armers subsequently

improved their agricultural productivity,

which translated into increased household

incomes. In addition, civil society can play

a role in helping to monitor impact o ADB

operations on intended beneciary.

CBOs can serve as reliable

acilitators connecting the

project and beneciary groups

or project implementation

and operation and

maintenance.





Documents

Successful Engagement with Civil Society Organizations