Working with NGOs to Empower the Poor

Introduction

A common assumption about the relationship between the World Bank and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) is that of a long-standing rivalry. Many NGO and World Bank staff alike vividly remember the protests that emerged at the 2000 Annual Meetings. NGOs are known for lambasting the World Bank for alleged exportation of capitalism, unreasonable conditions attached to lending, and lack of attention to social and environmental concerns. While conversely, articles like "NGOs: Fighting Poverty, Hurting the Poor" by Sebastian Mallaby in last fall’s Foreign Policy Magazine illustrate another side of the story: unaccountable NGOs who make a lot of noise at the detriment of the world’s poor.

However, behind the rhetoric is an involved, complex relationship between the World Bank and NGOs.

What is an NGO?

Technically, NGO stands for "non-governmental organization." The term ‘NGO’ implies an organization that operates independently from the government, without commercial interest and generally on behalf of humanitarian causes. John Garrison from the World Bank Civil Society Team says that NGOs are "usually non-membership intermediary organizations," but actually "only a slice" of the broader term CSOs or "Civil Society Organizations."* NGOs also make up part of what is referred to as the "third sector" in addition to the public and private sectors.

NGOs operate at the local, national, and international levels, and their size and nature vary widely, undertaking work ranging from providing services at the local level to influencing international policies. In many countries, NGOs fill in the gaps, offering services that governments either cannot or will not provide. Hence their role is generally to provide what are perceived as "public goods."

Strong NGOs, as part of a vibrant third sector, often espouse the cause of empowerment or giving voice to those who may get crowded out by people or groups with more power, money, and influence. NGOs represent a range of concerns and needs which may be overlooked in the other two sectors of society such as those of the homeless, the disabled, children, and the poor and vulnerable.

The power, influence, and breadth of NGOs are on the rise, both nationally and internationally. According to one article, there are now 25,000 international NGOs, up from 400 a century ago; and although their formal powers are few, their informal powers are noteworthy. The lobbying of NGOs can alter a national government policy or a multinational business decision. Additionally, NGOs are also generally trusted by the populous. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, a survey of 1,500 global opinion leaders by a New York based public relations firm, NGOs rank as the most trusted institutions in the United States, Europe, Latin America and much of Asia, putting them above government, media, and business.

The Bank and NGOs working together

NGO complaints against the World Bank are well known: the Bank is not transparent, it has undue influence on the fates of poor countries, the staff is arrogant, etc… However, despite the complaints and miscommunications, The World Bank and NGOs are working together on both the macro and the micro levels more than ever. According to the 2003 report, Issues and Options for Improving Engagement Between the World Bank and Civil Society Organizations, the relationship between the World Bank and NGOs can be described as in its third period of engagement. During the first period, the early 1980s to the early 1990s, the Bank was first "opening its doors" to collaboration with CSOs/NGOs. During the second period, 1992-1999, the Bank was expanding and mainstreaming this engagement at both the policy and project levels. Now, in the third, the Bank is endeavoring to enhance and deepen this relationship.

The trend toward a more thorough rapport with Civil Society, particularly during Jim Wolfesnsohn’s tenure, is fairly obvious. Since 1995, the Bank wide Civil Society Group has been operating at headquarters and in 70 countries, with a staff of around 130.

Additionally, there has been a steady trend toward more thorough engagement with Civil Society in Bank policy documents. According to Garrison, currently, no major policy decision is taken at the Bank without some form of consultations with Civil Society. The Civil Society website captures this trend, naming the many policies and documents in which "the need to reach out to civil society has been reflected":

• 15 Bank operational policies or directives
• IDA Replenishment reports
• 2000 World Development Report on Attacking Poverty
• Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF)
• Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) processes
• a number of Bank studies over the past decade and an expanding body of anecdotal data.

The trend for deeper engagement with NGOs/CSOs is also obvious at the project level. NGOs are involved throughout the project life cycle, in design, implementation, and monitoring. According to Garrison, "in 1970, only 20% of Bank projects had Civil Society involvement. Last year, in 2004, it was up to 74%." The Issues and Options Report mentioned above also lists a number of studies conducted by groups like the Bank’s Operations and Evaluations Department (OED) and the Quality Assurance Group (QAG) which show a correlation between involving CSOs/NGOs in Bank projects and better development outcomes. Says Jeff Thindwa from the Social Development Unit, "The statistics show that working with CSOs leads to better results."

Not surprisingly, the picture of CSO/NGO involvement isn’t perfect. For example, the number quoted above by Garrison regarding NGO involvement in projects is ex ante; it reflects projects which intend to consult with Civil Society and does not measure actual follow-through. An additional problem with these figures is that they don’t say anything about the type, extent, and quality of the level of engagement. A paper by Carmen Malena called "Beneficiaries, mercenaries, missionaries and revolutionaries: 'unpacking' NGO involvement in World Bank-financed projects" makes the case. "As currently recorded, NGO involvement in a Bank project could indicate anything from genuine and sustained participation of a large number of NGOs throughout the project cycle, to the contracting of an NGO for purposes of service delivery, to an informal lunch meeting with the local Oxfam representative."

There may also be certain weaknesses or lack of capacity in the performance of NGOs working in Bank projects. Malena’s paper comments when NGOs work with Bank projects they may "overstretch their capacity" or "bite off more than they can chew." Garrison says that NGOs/CSOs are not particularly strong in the area of monitoring and evaluation. While Thindwa notes that usually their performance in project implementation and monitoring depends directly on involvement in project design.

Another important factor to a successful relationship between the Bank and NGOs/CSOs in a particular country is the relationship between the NGOs and the government in power. If a government is supportive and open to civil society involvement, NGOs can provide innovative ideas and grassroot support. However, if that relationship is strained or hostile, it is difficult for the Bank to develop a close relationship. Thindwa characterizes the relationship between CSOs and the government as the "single most important determinant" for CSOs to perform successfully in a country. He comments, "This is where the Bank’s comparative advantage is. Since we are working with governments, we can help encourage them to create civic space."

In addition to these concerns, there may be disparities in representation among NGOs in regards to which NGOs have access at the policy level and which NGOs are primarily involved as service providers in Bank projects. As the World Bank Headquarters is situated in Washington DC, chances are that more northern NGOs will have the opportunity to influence policy dialogue than those who reside further away. According to the CEO and Secretary General of CIVICUS, Kumi Naidoo, in an article in Pambazuka News, there is a need for more Southern NGOs to play a greater role in policy dialogue with groups like the World Bank, and not act just as service providers. He says, "…the majority of civil society organizations in the South are currently heavily engaged in project delivery, rather than policy advocacy. [M]any civil society organizations in developing countries are finding that putting all their eggs in a project delivery basket with tackling policy deficits does not get us very far."

Issues of Accountability

Ostensibly working with NGOs enhances the Bank’s performance and its credibility; however, in some quarters, resistance about NGOs remains. Within the Bank, Thindwa attributes remaining resistance to "being poorly educated on the issues" and "the high costs of engagement." While to Garrison, the cause can be skepticism or bias that NGOs have no expertise, complain too much, or are partisan.

In general, the biggest and most common criticism about NGOs is that they do not have standards for accountability and transparency, and that unlike government officials, they exert their influence and perform their work without standing for election. As the influence, power, and notoriety of NGOs grow, more requests are made for stronger systems of accountability.

In an effort to monitor and "bring accountability" to the NGO sector, the American Enterprise Institute has launched a website called NGO Watch. The site authors claim that many NGOs have superseded their mandates and have reached new heights of influence without the responsibilities of accountability. The authors of the site ask, "Do NGOs influence international organizations like the World Trade Organization? What are their agendas? Who runs these groups? Who funds them? And to whom are they accountable?"

In addition to this initiative, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that a number of international charities are allowing inspectors from NY based Social Accountability International to perform audits and inspections on the organizations. The purpose is to verify that the organizations are following a certain code of conduct, a process of scrutiny which is largely unknown to many of the groups. The Journal reports that this undertaking is in part to preempt a move by the US Congress to regulate the world of NGOs.

Initiatives such as these will address one kind of accountability, upstream to donors; however they neglect downward accountability to beneficiaries.

This is not lost on NGOs and some are questioning the motives of the recent attention to upstream accountability. In a speech at the UN in April of 2003, Naidoo of CIVICUS said, "More probable is that these criticisms are, in essence, political – deployed by actors who feel threatened by the growing power and influence of citizen groups who often define and articulate key problems as structural in nature."

Conclusion

The mandate and mission of the World Bank is poverty reduction, and ultimately the goals of the World Bank mirror the goals of many NGOs. Approaches and styles may vary, roles may be different, but the developing world presents challenges that require the concerted efforts of national governments, international organizations, civil society, and all those interested and committed to these goals.

Dialogue between the Bank and NGOs is an evolving process. According to Garrison, the root of many of the misunderstandings is in the approach. "The Bank works at the macro level with governments and very large projects and CSOs work more at the grassroots level. We do a lot of the same thing. We identify a social problem and address it. But just because we haven’t mingled together much, the macro and micro view, sometimes we don’t even speak the same language."

However, the quest to understand one another better continues. In April, the Bank will host a World Bank - Civil Society Global Policy Forum, focusing particularly on the PRSP process and how to better dialogue and collaboration between NGOs and the Bank.

In the future, the relationship between NGOs and the World Bank ideally will continue to evolve so that all parties, particularly those living in affected societies, can have an active voice in the approaches taken to achieving poverty reduction and sustainable development. The World Bank and NGOs are not only in a position to collaborate toward the fulfillment of a common aspiration, but also to provide the checks and balances needed to ensure that each is doing its job in an open, transparent and accountable way.

* The Bank’s has traditionally focused on NGOs in both operations and dialogue. However, the Civil Society Group now uses and prefers the more inclusive CSOs, which include, trade unions, community-based organizations, faith based organizations, foundations, etc… This article focuses on NGOs as a subset of this term, in part because outside of the Bank, NGO is a more recognizable, widely-used term.