(The World Bank, 1996, 38 pp.)
This publication was prepared by the Participation and NGO Group of the World Bank. It is intended to outline "the ways in which the World Bank and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can work together in partnership." According to the Bank, NGOs’ "local knowledge and expertise and their ability to foster and promote people’s participation...give(s) them strong comparative advantage and can make them valuable and experienced allies."

NGO involvement in Bank-financed projects goes back to the mid-70s, but it has recently become a major element in the Bank’s work, as NGOs have become increasingly important agents in inter-national development. In 1993, according to the World Bank, international NGOs’ development assistance programs amounted to $8.5 billion per annum, or 14% of all international development assistance. Within the Bank’s own lending programs, NGOs were involved in 40-50% of all projects approved in fiscal years 1994 and 1995.

The World Bank’s Partnership with Nongovernmental Organizations describes the World Bank and how it is organized; outlines concrete ways in which the Bank and NGOs can work together; suggests steps NGOs can take to intitiate or strengthen collaboration; and highlights "some of the principal challenges that arise in operational collaboration between the Bank and NGOs, as well as ways in which the Bank is seeking to address these issues."

Among the useful information to be found in Partnership:

• The World Bank defines NGOs as “any group or institution that is independent from government, and that has humanitarian or cooperative, rather than commercial, objectives.” The Bank distinguishes between two main groups of NGOs— advocacy NGOS (ANGOs) and operational NGOs (ONGOs)—and works with both, depending on the nature of specific projects. However, the focus of the Bank’s interest is in NGOs which "work in the areas of development, relief or environmental protection, or that represent poor or vulnerable people."

• The Bank’s Participation and NGO Group manages an NGO Profile Database which contains information on more than 8,000 NGOs. Information from the NGO Profile Database is available to Bank staff, NGOs, and others upon request to:

Mr. Arthur Thomas
Systems Manager (NGO Database)
Participation and NGO Group
Tel: (202) 473-1155
Fax: (202) 522-3237
E-mail: [email protected]

• Bank-financed Social Funds (SFs) offer one way for the Bank and NGOs to work together. SFs generally are set up in individual countries to improve poor people’s access to social services, employment opportunities, and income-generating assets. NGOs operating in countries where SFs have been established can submit requests for financing of their projects to the national agency in charge of administering the fund.

• A section of Partnership lists five recommended steps that NGOs interested in working with the Bank should take. The first is to meet with staff in the Bank’s field offices, some of which have NGO liaison positions. NGOs planning to visit Washington, DC, should contact:

Mr. John D. Clark
Senior NGO Specialist
Participation and NGO Group
The World Bank
1818 H St., NW
Washington, DC 20433
Tel: (202) 473-1840
Fax: (202) 522-3237
http://www.worldbank.org/

For more information or to order a subscription, see our publications page.

The URL for this page is: http://solar.rtd.utk.edu/~ccsi/csew/96-05/wrldbook.htm
Last updated: August 2, 1996

Center for Civil Society International [email protected]