S K I L L S E N H A N C E M E N T&

T E A M B U I L D I N G

Consultations with Civil Society:A Sourcebook

Working Document

C O N S U L T A T I O N S W I T HC I V I L S O C I E T Y

A Sourcebook

Working Document

Prepared by Paula Lytle, Consultant

[Guidance for the project was provided by William Reuben and Najma Siddiqi]

The Sourcebook builds upon the “Guidelines forConsultations with Civil Society” produced by theNGO/CS Unit in 1999. It is intended as a practicalguide to organizing consultations. The“Guidelines” established the themes to beaddressed, the Sourcebook expands on thesepoints in greater detail, adding background infor-mation and illustrative examples.

Feedback on the Guidelines provided by TaskManagers and other operational staff highlightedthe need for a more detailed discussion and illus-trative examples to facilitate practical applicationof the Guidelines. The preparation of aSourcebook was discussed and agreed upon dur-ing the process of finalizing the Guidelines.

The first steps in developing the Sourcebook wereidentifying examples of consultations. Exampleswere taken from the recent bi-annual reports onthe Bank’s work with civil society organiza-tions. Published records and documentation ofconsultations were also reviewed for examplesof good practices and the impact of consulta-tions on projects and/or policy developmentand implementation. In addition, a few exam-ples of consultation were taken from regionaldevelopment banks, bilateral agencies, andother international development organizations.

Twenty (20) civil society / social developmentspecialists working in World Bank country officeswere contacted and fifteen (15) interviewed. Threerepresentatives of other organizations were alsointerviewed. A set of questions was sent inadvance with a description of the proposedsourcebook. Interviewees were asked about con-sultation practices and for examples where theycould describe the results and impact of the con-sultation.

Based on the input from these interviews, and thewritten material available, cases were recordedand lessons drawn for inclusion in the source-book. Existing World Bank publications on thesubject were also reviewed carefully to ensure that

lessons recorded match with experience from thefield.

The first draft of the Sourcebook was completedin April 2000. Using material from this draft andselecting the CAS examples, a more focused ver-sion was prepared as a contribution for the e-CASlater on in the calendar year.

Each case example recorded here has since beencross-checked with the person/s interviewed forthe particular case. Feedback has also beenreceived and incorporated from NGO/CS andDevelopment Communications / EXT team.

The Sourcebook is designed as an interactive doc-ument, hyperlinked throughout the text. It isintended to be used as a reference document thatcan be consulted for information on specificpoints, but it can also be browsed for a more gen-eral overview. The intended audience is Bankstaff seeking information and ‘know-how’ on theuse and organization of consultations forenhanced development effectiveness.

This is a printed draft version of theSourcebook. This document will be convertedinto an electronic sourcebook with hyperlinks.

There are two main entry points for this docu-ment. The first is the Guidelines which is hyper-linked into the body of the text. By clicking onhighlighted terms in the Guidelines, the linksconnect the user to a discussion of those specificitems in the Sourcebook. From there on, the usercan follow other links to specific case examplesand to other parts of the Sourcebook. The secondentry point is the table of contents of the docu-ment itself. There are several highlighted wordsand phrases that, when clicked, take the userdirectly to the identified section in the discussion.“Cases and Examples” form a separate section inthe Sourcebook, which can also be browsed usingthe tables within this section. Throughout thedocument, illustrative cases are linked to a dis-cussion of issues in the text.

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Consultations with Civil Society: A Sourcebook

Background Note

For example, the user can choose to click on theword “venue” in the Guidelines and read somegeneral observation on selecting a venue forconsultations. The user can then click to a casethat discusses venue choices in more detail.Alternatively, the discussion of venue can fol-low from reading the section on “organizing aconsultation”. This section places venue choicein the context of other organizational considera-tions, such as information flow and timing.

The Sourcebook also contains an overview ofhow consultations have been used by Bankstaff; a section on definitions of civil societyorganizations; and a final section includinga bibliography and a brief note on theemerging uses of information technologyfor consultations.

As it stands, this Sourcebook can be usedthrough the existing hyperlinks without beingonline. The document could be placed online,which would allow the web-links in the docu-ment to be enabled to material on the WorldBank external website and elsewhere on theweb. It could also be placed on a CD-ROM withother publications of the NGO-CS Unit, but thiswould limit the ability to update theSourcebook.

The structure of the Sourcebook allows it tobe updated and expanded through addition-al links. One area that could be expanded isa discussion of consultations in PRSP. Anotherimprovement would be adding a discussion ofthe limits of consultation. Finally, while the doc-ument has hyperlinks throughout, these linkscould be made more systematic and each caseexample given several links throughout the text.Additional cases could also be added that illus-trate other issues not yet addressed in the cur-rent version.

The current version of the Sourcebook has beenprepared by Paula Lytle, Consultant NGO/CSUnit, and is being presented as a working docu-ment. Feedback on the first draft was receivedfrom several sources and incorporated as far aspossible. However, feedback from Task Teamsand other operational staff who actually use thematerial in the course of their work will beinvaluable. Over the next six to eight months itis expected that this document will be sharedwidely. Active use and feedback from the fieldwill help to further improve the Sourcebook inits next iteration.

Contributions made by World Bank’s countryoffice staff, and feedback provided by PaulMitchell, and Carolyn Reynolds (EXT) aregratefully acknowledged. These contributionshave been extremely useful to improve thequality and specificity of the document. Inaddition, we have received useful commentsfrom other members of the civil society themat-ic team. Contributors from country offices andexternal agencies are the key resource peoplefor future refinement of this document. Thedocument would not have been possible with-out their involvement and support.

Direction and supervision for this project wasprovided by William Reuben, Manager NGOand Civil Society Unit. Najma Siddiqi, SeniorSocial Development and Learning Specialist,provided overall guidance for the project,helped reorganize the material, and made sub-stance edits. Editorial support for the final draftwas provided by Barbara Mascarenas, TrainingConsultant, NGO and Civil Society Unit.Barbara is also developing a training modulebased on this document, for staff involved inorganizing consultations.

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NGO and Civil Society Unit, Social Development Department

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

I. Consultation Guidelines

II. Overview of World Bank Consultations with CivilSociety

III. Designing a ConsultationDeveloping a Profile of Civil SocietyOpportunities and Constraints Organizing a ConsultationConsultative Process and After Consultations

IV. Cases and Examples

V. Definitions and Typologies

VI. Resources/Uses of Information TechnologyBibliography

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I. Consultations with CivilSociety Organizations (CSOs):General Guidelines for World Bank Staff 1

Since the early 1990s much progress has been made inconsulting with civil society organizations (CSOs) inWorld Bank financed projects and policy work. Suchconsultations have generally been recognized to haveimproved the quality of policy-making, positivelyinfluenced the direction of country programs,strengthened national ownership of key reforms, andcontributed to the promotion of public-sector trans-parency and accountability. CSOs can provide essen-tial "local knowledge" in the policy process and givevoice to the opinions and experiences of the poor.These contributions have been further recognized inthe Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF)and the Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) approachwhich place partnerships between governments, civilsociety and business at the center of developmentplanning. CSOs are also playing an increasinglyimportant role in influencing Bank strategy and poli-cy, and efforts are underway to incorporate CSOs intoglobal policy making processes.

However, civil society consultation is a complexprocess which the Bank and client governments musthandle with sensitivity. Consultations that arepoorly planned can increase "consultation fatigue"and lead to disappointment on all sides. With amodest investment of time and resources suchproblems can be avoided. The NGO/Civil SocietyUnit has prepared the Civil Society ConsultationGuidelines to provide assistance to World Bankstaff who organize these consultations. The guide-lines were prepared in response to requests fromtask managers and others for specific guidance andsupport in facilitating consultations with CSOs onprojects, and policy-based and investment lending.Although neither organizing consultations nor follow-ing these guidelines is mandatory, it was considereduseful to take this step forward and prepare “TheCivil Society Consultation Sourcebook” that reflectsthe advice and lessons distilled from experience, and

builds upon "the Guidelines" with additional materi-als, tools and techniques.

The role played by Bank staff in these consultationsvaries from one situation to another. In someinstances, the Bank may need to act as a facilitator,convening the relevant actors, assisting governmentsand CSOs in the consultation process, and ensuringthat relevant input from CSOs is adequately incorpo-rated in follow up actions. In others, it may beappropriate to participate in the dialogue as an inter-locutor or alongside other stakeholders. In most ofthese situations, the Bank should, ideally, remain inthe background while supporting a constructive dia-logue among governments, business and civil society.

The key to effective civil societyconsultation lies in:

• giving CSOs ownership by involving theirrepresentatives in the design of the con-sultation process

• being clear from the outset what is and isnot an offer, to avoid unrealistic expecta-tions, and laying out clear roles andexpectations

• demonstrating respect for those consultedthrough careful follow-up and feedback

• using appropriate selection procedures toensure that all relevant interests are repre-sented

• tailoring types of interactions to theknowledge and capability of differentgroups

When consulting on World Bank policies, however,the staff takes an active role in convening and partic-ipating in the consultations.

1. Consultation Objectives

The primary objective of organizing consultations isto improve the quality of decisions by capturing theexperience of specialized non-governmental organi-zations and other similar groups, tapping the knowl-

1These guidelines have been prepared by the NGO and Civil Society Unit, based on an earlier paper by John Clark, revised by MichaelEdwards with suggestions incorporated from several members of the Civil Society Thematic Team and the NGO Working Group on theWorld Bank. This document, in the form of an elaborated Sourcebook is by Paula Lytle, reviewed by William Reuben, and edited by NajmaSiddiqi and Barbara Mascarenas.2Additional guidance on engaging civil society can be found in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Sourcebook which has been prepared forgovernments developing participation strategies for civic engagement in the PRSP/process.

Box 1 Elements of successful consultations with civil society

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edge of CSOs that work at the community level, giv-ing voice to the poor and the excluded by consultingwith CSOs whose membership comprises suchgroups, and promoting sustainability for proposedreforms, projects, programs, and policies beyond anygiven government administration.

Secondary objectives of adopting a consultativeapproach may be: to appreciate the range and thevariation in the needs of different population groups(e.g. gender, ethnic or geographical variations); to setthe grounds for broad-based participation in theensuing design and implementation of developmentinterventions; and to assist governments in increas-ing transparency, public understanding and citizeninvolvement in development decision making.

The Bank’s former General Counsel has explainedthat it is appropriate for the Bank (a) to advocate tomember governments that they use participatoryapproaches in the selection, design, implementationand evaluation of development programs, on thegrounds that this enhances development effective-ness; and (b) to advise governments to allow andfoster a strong civil society that can participate inpublic affairs3.

2. Definitions, Classifications andSelection Criteria

There are many definitions of the term "civil society."Practitioners and scholars have emphasized variouselements in these definitions. However, what isimportant about the civil society debate in the con-text of consultations, is not that we agree who is "in"and who is "out" in some abstract sense, but that weagree on a working definition - and classification -that helps us make appropriate decisions about whois best to involve in different situations and for dif-ferent tasks. Civil society comprises a wide varietyof private organizations that have a presence in pub-lic life expressing the interests and values of theirmembers or others, based on cultural, economic, eth-ical, political or religious considerations. Civil socie-ty represents a broad arena containing a huge arrayof different interests, types of associations, andexpressions of values, some of which will necessarilyconflict with the others.

Against this background, civil society organizations

could be classified in many different ways - by sec-tor, focus of work, origin, scale, level of formality,values, or theoretical perspectives. As with defini-tions, there is no universally-accepted schema, andthe details of each typology will always need to beadapted to reflect the purpose of particular tasks. Inconsultations on policy and projects, it is essential torecognize that CSOs differ in the degree to whichthey can perform the following six functions:

• representation (organizations that aggregate andpresent voices of groups of citizens)

• technical expertise (organizations that provideinformation and advice)

• advocacy (organizations that lobby on particularissues)

• capacity-building (organizations that provide sup-port to other CSOs to strengthen their capacity tofunction and improve their capacity to mobilizeresources)

• service-delivery (organizations that support theimplementation of development projects or pro-vide services directly to the public)

• social functions (organizations that foster collectiverecreational and other social activities)

Many CSOs serve more than one function. Even so,it is essential to specify their main function(s) so asto match organizations with the purpose of a consul-tation. Once such a classification has been made, thenext step is to select a number of CSOs to take partin the consultation. This is always a difficult andsensitive task.

The process of selection is best carried out by CSOsthemselves, e.g., through their own umbrella or apexbody (such as an NGO federation) or a nationalsteering group. However, it is important to monitorwho is left out when self-selection occurs, recognizethis as a gap, and make appropriate arrangements tofill this gap (e.g., separate consultations may beorganized for indigenous people’s groups if theseare left out). In cases where representative groups donot exist for selected sections of society, or they arenot geared up for this purpose, the Bank may needto promote efforts to develop their capacity to partic-ipate in such consultations.

The Bank can reduce the dangers of bias by (a) tak-ing the advice of staff who are most familiar withcivil society in the country (e.g. Resident Mission

3"Prohibition of Political Activities in the Bank’s Work", legal opinion to the Bank’s Board, July 12 19954”NGOs and Civil Society: Definitions and Classification,, Note from the NGO Unit to CODE, 1996; "The Bank’s Relations with NGOs: Issuesand Directions", NGO Unit 1998; James D. Wolfensohn, "AProposal for a New World Bank Development Strategy and a Postscript onInternational Financial Architecture," January 1st 1999.

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Function of CSOs Examples of CSOs in this category

Representation Membership organizations, e.g., labor unions, women’s associations, peasant organizations.

NGO federations and networks

Faith-based organizations

Organizations of indigenous people

Technical Expertise Professional and business associations

Think-tanks and research groups

Advocacy Trade Unions

Environmental NGOs

Human Rights groups

News and media groups

Capacity-Building Foundations (local and international)

NGO support organizations

Training organizations

Service-Delivery Operational NGOs (local and international)

Credit and mutual aid societies

Informal, grassroots and community-based associations

Social Functions Sports clubs

Cultural associations

NGO/CS, EXT, or Social Development specialists);(b) requesting the advice of credible leaders in civilsociety; (c) ensuring that participants represent thefull range of groups and interests that exist (by gen-der, ethnic origin, region and social class); and (d)using an objective selection criteria agreed uponwith key stakeholders, including the organization’srecord of performance and credibility among itspeers. For example, if the organization claims to rep-resent the poor it is important to establish that theyare genuinely close to poor people’s experiences andviews, and that they are accountable to those theyrepresent.

3. Potential Problems, and How toOvercome Them

Problems or disappointments over a consultationtend to fall into one of four categories:

• The policy environment within the country may

not be conducive to participation of civil society;it may be highly polarized or characterized by anatmosphere of mutual mistrust.

• The organizers may plan inadequately, in arushed and non-transparent manner, or makeonly token efforts to include representativegroups, resulting in disagreements on the selec-tion and the consultation process itself.

• CSOs may have unrealistic expectations or expec-tations that do not match the objectives of theorganizers. Bank staff may not be willing to takethe view of CSOs seriously.

• Documents or knowledge shared in preparationor following the consultation may be publicizedby one stakeholder without permission of otherstakeholders, breaking confidence.

Additional challenges faced in the organization of aconsultation include:

• Conflicts and antagonisms that are manifested

Table 1 Functions of Civil Society Organizations

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during the consultation process between govern-ments and CSOs or within different groups ofCSOs themselves.

• Low participation of some groups because of lackof financial capacity on their part to participate.

• Lack of trust among stakeholders.• Lack of consensus or unity among CSOs, affecting

their ability to engage constructively in the dia-logue.

These complications can be mitigated or avoided bycareful planning, using the following principles:

• Clarify the scope and objectives at the begin-ning. The scope and purpose of the consultationmust be clearly stated and agreed upon at theoutset; otherwise, CSO expectations will be toohigh, and participants will become cynical. The1998 Board paper on NGOs states that, "The prin-ciple is to conduct open-minded consultations,not to enter into negotiations" between parties. Inother words, it will be appropriate, in this context,to spell out whether:

• Everyone’s views will be incorporated• Participants will have a chance to comment on

future drafts or at other occasions• The final product with the participants will be

shared with participants.

• Prepare to listen and be influenced.Consultations can be and should be powerfuland serious exercises; they do not always leadto consensus. It is critically important that theybe balanced and well facilitated; otherwise theBank will be accused of window-dressing, andboth CSO leaders and Bank management willquestion whether the time and resources werewell-spent.

• Aim for ownership of all key stakeholders.Where consultations concern country / nationalpolicy issues, they can only be effective if the gov-ernment is as fully engaged in the process as theother stakeholders.

• Do not oversell. If a single meeting with a limit-ed number of organizations is being organized,do not project it as full-fledged consultations orimply in subsequent statements that "civil societywas consulted" or that a "participatory processwas used." Consultations provide input to deci-sion-making, but do not guarantee influence. Anongoing process of consultation can build civilsociety capacity for participation5, but this should

not be confused with shared control over eitherthe process or the outcomes.

4. Planning the Consultation

When planning a consultation, the following pointsshould be borne in mind:

• Ensure adequate government awareness of andcommitment to the process, and clarify the extentof government involvement. Care should betaken to ensure that the consultations supplementand build upon, not duplicate or undermine,existing mechanisms for deliberation at the coun-try level.

• Ensure that adequate resources and time are allo-cated for the consultation process, including follow up actions. This includes ensuring that staffresponsible for planning have made provisionsfor adequate time in their work-plans; that thenecessary physical presence, local skills andknowledge exist (in particular, the Civil SocietySpecialists and/or External Affairs Officers andSocial Development Specialists in the CountryOffices) and that the resources required, includingskilled external facilitators where needed, havebeen identified in advance. The budget should

5In the World Bank Participation Sourcebook "participation" is defined as "a process through which stakeholders influence and share controlover development initiatives, decisions and resources which affect them."

What can be done if the policyenvironment is not conducive to

civil society involvement?

In cases where civil society consultation ismistrusted or opposed, the Bank must besensitive, but can still advise and use itsinfluence (especially alongside other donors)to encourage improvements in the policyenvironment through considered discussionsand knowledge sharing with government onthe benefits of broader participation. In addi-tion, the Bank can consult with selected civilsociety leaders to improve its understandingof the local situation and the range of localopinion, leading to more informed decisions.It may also be possible to reach an agree-ment with the government to engage withthe required expertise CSOs as consultantsto an adjustment or research team.

Box 2 Working in a policy environment not conducive to civil societyinvolvement

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include adequate provision for travel and expensesfor CSO participants, especially if these consulta-tions are limited to the capital or big cities only.Remember that the pace and timing of civil societyinvolvement may differ from that of governmentand the private sector.

• Ensure that adequate information is provided wellin advance of the consultations, and in a languageand style that is appropriate for the stakeholdersconcerned. This can mean simplification of texts,avoidance of jargon, and translation into local lan-guages. If sharing the whole document is regardedtoo sensitive or problematic in other ways, a sum-mary note can be prepared and the consultationshould start with a verbal briefing. Staff should beas open and transparent in their interactions aspossible, and provide people with enough infor-mation to participate in an informed manner, with-out jeopardizing negotiations with government.

5. Organizing Consultation Events

When organizing consultation events, organizersshould:

• Give adequate notice to participants, and makechanges in schedule of meetings only if unavoid-able. An impression of tokenism is conveyed whenmeetings are organized in a rushed manner orchanged at a few days’ notice.

• Find suitable venues. This may mean holding aseries of consultations at different locations on asubject where it is important to reach a diversity ofgroups throughout the country. It also meanschoosing venues which are easily accessible to par-ticipants (thinking through issues of security clear-ance and convenience), and finding space wherethey can express their views freely. Ideally, beyond

the capital city.• Use a facilitator. Meetings where opinions are

deeply and passionately divided are usuallymuch more productive when an external, profes-sional facilitator is used, who can be seen as neu-tral by all participants.

• Talk to the poor and excluded groups.Complement the main set of consultations withsome direct discussions with the poor and theexcluded, e.g. through focus groups and partici-patory poverty assessments. (PPAs)

• Where possible, go beyond dialogue to focus onfuture actions. Try to ensure that the dialogueidentifies areas for future action, either jointly orin parallel. Make sure that commitments are sum-marized at the end of the meeting.

6. Feedback and Follow-up

It is critical to provide full and candid feedback aftera consultation meeting, or at the end of the overallprocess. At a minimum this feedback should convey:

• A written summary of what the Bank heard dur-ing the consultation (inviting corrections andomissions). This should be sent to participantsshortly after the consultation, and they should begiven time to comment on it.

• A list of items or points made that the Bank and /or government accepts and those that are notincorporated in the final documents - giving thereason for these decisions.

• An account of any future steps or actions that theBank is planning to take.

• Regular progress reports on the process, whichwill help to recognize the time and experiencecontributed by the CSOs.

Consultations around adjustment operations

Adjustment lending forms an increasingly important part of the Bank’s portfolio, and presents specialchallenges in organizing civil society involvement. The time available for consultation is often tightly-constrained, and there may be more restrictions on the disclosure of information. However, it is still pos-sible to involve CSOs (especially if there are pre-existing umbrella or apex bodies that can be broughtinto the consultations quickly) and representatives of groups with specific expertise and interest whomight perceive themselves to be winners or losers in the process. Prior agreement of government onlevels of information disclosure can be obtained in order to go forward with a consultation.

Bank staff have already involved CSOs in adjustment operations, in the following ways: preparing sum-maries of information to be disclosed to the public after signing an agreement on confidentiality; anddiscussing objectives, strategies, rationale, social impact and mitigation measures even in situationswhere actual documents were difficult to disclose.

Box 3 Consultations and adjustment lending

Box 5 Tips for effective consultations

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• Plan well, and make sure adequate time andresources are available

• Work in partnership with government or keepthe government fully apprised of the process

• Give CSO umbrella organizations a clear rolein designing the process and in CSO selection

• Make sure the ground-rules are clear andacceptable in advance, that CSO expectationsare not inflated, and that CSO views are con-sidered seriously

• Ensure an appropriate diversity of CSOs • Use Resident Mission civil society/ social

development specialists and other sources oflocal knowledge

• Make sure adequate information is available inadvance, in the appropriate language and style

• "Receive as well as transmit:" listen carefully

and note CSO experience and opinions• Use a professional facilitator• Focus on future actions where possible• Send participants a note of the meetings

shortly afterwards, inviting corrections andomissions

• Give further feedback on which points havebeen accepted and which not - and why

• Follow-up after the process concludes, espe-cially if it is possible to offer opportunities forcollaboration

• Maximize transparency: make available asmuch documentation as possible

• Encourage "trialogue" - engage governmentsto the fullest extent possible, and encourage apositive environment for government - civilsociety partnership.

Civil society consultations around the Philippines CAS: an example of good practice

With over 75,000 NGOs in the Philippines, careful selection proved crucial to the success of consulta-tions with civil society on the CAS. These consultations were carried out in conjunction with an infor-mal NGO advisory group, and facilitated by an independent, respected local NGO called "Co-TrainMultiversity." Meetings were organized in four regions of the country, plus the capital Manila, and regu-lar feedback on both process and outputs was provided to participants so that the CAS could be valuedas a "living document." NGO comments were synthesized by the facilitators and presented to the gov-ernment by the Bank. The government’s reactions were then fed back to those who had contributedtheir thoughts and comments. Bank staff and a large number of NGOs in the Philippines speak highlyof the process and the difference it has made to the quality of the CAS, and also to the commitment ofthe government to implement the recommendations.

Box 4 CAS and Civil Society Consultations: the Philippines

7. Summary of tips for effective consultations

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II. Overview of World BankConsultations with Civil Society

Civil society input to World Bank projects and policywork in the form of consultations has increased in thepast decade. Consultations range from local levelmeetings aimed at getting feedback or reaching con-sensus on a specific project to national-level fora ondevelopment policy to global and regional reviews.The Bank has facilitated consultations between civilsociety organizations (CSOs) and borrower govern-ments, acting as a convener or facilitator. It has alsoengaged CSOs directly in consultation on matters ofBank policy. Growing experience with consultationshas also yielded practical advice on how to make theprocess effective.

Consultations with civil society have reshaped proj-ects and helped to define priorities. On the projectlevel, participation by CSOs has extended from inputinto design and analysis of projects to implementationand monitoring. On the policy level, the potentialcontribution of CSOs as development actors hasextended to the formulation, implementation, moni-toring and evaluation of national strategies.

Consultation involves a two-way flow of information.In an ideal consultative process, the Bank is not onlygathering input, but sharing information as well.Although consultation does not grant stakeholders ahigh degree of influence, it can lay the groundworkfor civic engagement. The following discussion isnot intended as a systematic review of all the Bank’sconsultations with civil society. Rather, it is a briefoverview of the different ways in which consultationhas been used for communication, quality enhance-ment, and consensus building.

Consultations on Country Policy

Country Assistance Strategies (CAS)Inclusion of civil society input into the formulation ofthe Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) is a relativelyrecent phenomenon. The CAS document contains adescription of the country’s priorities and the compo-sition of assistance required, and since 1994, is pre-pared with the assistance of the government.Beginning 1996, civil society has been increasinglyconsulted on the contents of the CAS.

Over the past two years, experience with participato-ry CAS has grown. Of the 25 CAS documents pre-pared in FY1999, CSOs were involved in the prepa-ration of 22. In FY 2000, all new CAS documentsincluded a consultation with CSOs. Consultationswith civil society for the CAS have been held indiverse country contexts. Some consultations havebeen quite extensive, involving consultations acrossthe country including the poor and the excluded.Various participatory techniques have beenemployed in assessing developmental priorities, e.g.the CAS in Colombia used innovative informationtechnology in workshops held with a range of CSOs.

The expected two-way flow of information has notalways been achieved. Some CAS documents whichwere prepared with civil society input were notreleased to the public, a practice which led to criti-cism from CSOs who had participated in these con-sultations. In July 1998, the Bank’s Board ofExecutive Directors directed Bank staff to publiclydisclose CAS reports at the request of governments.Bank staff are also to prepare a CAS public informa-tion notice which will summarize the main issues ofthe development agenda and Bank strategy. Therelease of this information, however, is still depend-ent on an agreement with the concerned govern-ment. At the same time, IDA CASs are now pre-sumed to be publicly disclosed upon Board approvalunless there is an objection. And although that isnot the same for IBRD, most countries are now dis-closing their CAS documents.

LINKS- Click here for CAS examples in Cases

Click here for a table comparing participatory CAS in LAC- CAS able

Click here for Additional Technical Resources which includeslinks to reviews of civil society in CAS formulation.

Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF)In 1999, the Comprehensive DevelopmentFramework (CDF) pilot phase was launched in thir-teen self-selected countries/territories6. As a processfor reaching consensus on development prioritiesand poverty reduction, the CDF is supposed to becountry-owned; i.e., the goals and the phasing, tim-ing, and sequencing of the country's developmentprograms are to be determined by the country itself.Governments participating in the CDF pilot agreedto engage civil society and private sector groups inthe process of setting long-term goals and objectives.

Engaging CSOs in consultation has proceeded in

6Bolivia, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Morocco, Romania, Uganda, Vietnam, andWest Bank and Gaza

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various phases in the pilot countries. The KyrgyzRepublic has established working groups with civilsociety’s participation to coordinate the consulta-tions. Some other countries have organized work-shops or built on existing networks for such consul-tations. As with CAS consultations, there is no uni-form CDF consultation process. Country teams andgovernment agencies have selected processes thatthey thought best suited their context, capacity andpriorities.

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP)

Like the CDF, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers(PRSP) are envisaged as country-driven and are tobe developed with the participation of civil societyand the private / business sector. The participatoryprocess envisaged for PRSPs is extensive, involving civil society in the diagnosis of poverty, the choice ofpublic action and the monitoring of poverty reduc-tion outcomes. Consultation plays a substantial rolein this process. Although there is no blueprint for aPRSP consultation, certain elements are likely to becommon. Among these elements, an outline of thestrategy for participation will identify the steps acountry plans to take to ensure adequate participa-tion of key stakeholders including government andnon-government groups; private / business sector;parliamentarians and other elected representatives.A CS consultation strategy for PRSP may describe:the format, frequency, and location of consultations;a summary of the main issues raised and the viewsof participants; an account of the impact of theseconsultations on the design of the strategy; and adiscussion of the role of civil society in the imple-mentation, monitoring and evaluation of povertyreduction strategies.

In-Country Consultation Groups

Consultative Group meetings (CGs) are aid coordi-nation meetings involving senior officials from anaid-receiving country and representatives from mul-tilateral and bilateral aid agencies. These meetingswere often co-chaired by the World Bank and held inParis or Brussels. Moving many of these meetings towithin the country has allowed for a greater oppor-tunity for the participation of civil society in the dis-cussions. Recent in-country CGs (for instance,Uganda, 1998; Côte d' Ivoire, 1998) and a mid-termCG in Vietnam (1999), have all included some partic-ipation by civil society organizations.

CSOs are also involved in various reviews of Bankprocedures and policies at the country level. While

many of these occur independently of the Bank,some have been organized by Bank staff as inputsto the Bank’s own consultation processes.

Structural Adjustment Participatory ReviewInitiative (SAPRI)SAPRI was jointly launched by the World Bank andinternational NGOs in 1997. This initiative hasinvolved governments, civil society, and the private/ business sector in seven borrower countries(Bangladesh, Ecuador, Ghana, Hungary, Mali,Uganda, Zimbabwe) in debate, research, andassessment of structural adjustment policies. SAPRIis seen differently by the constituencies involved,and Zimbabwe is no longer part of the initiative.However, at the end of fiscal 1999, all SAPRI coun-tries had held national fora organized by multi-stakeholder committees. Local NGOs in three othercountries are conducting their own debates andresearch through their involvement in a globalNGO network. This process is expected to culmi-nate in a global forum in the year 2001. The SAPRIcivil society networks have also served as an organ-izing foundation for other policy inputs. In addi-tion to the cross-country SAPRI process, in-countryconsultations have been held on structural adjust-ment policy.

LINKS – Click here for a discussion of SAPRI networks in theGhana CDF

Click here for an illustration from Argentina of information dis-semination and feedback in a consultation on structural adjust-ment policy.

In India, five consultations were held on theApproach Paper for OD 4.20. The consulta-tion in Orissa was organized by a non-gov-ernmental rural funding agency which hassupported over 300 NGOs/CBOs. In addi-tion to specific comments on the issues andframework, participants in the meetingexpressed strong opinions that the Bankshould provide feedback and update partici-pants on further developments in the debateover the revision. Minutes from the consulta-tions were distributed to participants, and theprocess by which regional consultations fedinto the national and global consultations wasoutlined. Participants were positive about theprocess even when their specific commentswere not reflected in the later versions.

Source: Interview with Ellen Schaengold

Box 6 Operational Directive on Indigenous People

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Global ConsultationsGlobal consultations have been organized as nation-al processes repeated in different countries and asregional consultations which bring together nationalrepresentatives in a joint forum. Both of these meth-ods can serve as inputs to the global process. Inaddition, the expanding use of information technolo-gy has also facilitated a form of consultative processin which materials are posted on the Bank’s externalwebsite and comments are invited.

This has its own advantages and disadvantages.Information technology (IT) limits outreach to thosegroups who have access to IT. This tool should beused in consultations with other tools that are easierto access.

Operational Directive on Indigenous People(OD4.20)The consultation process for the revision of theOperational Directive on Indigenous Peoples (OD4.20) linked national / in-country consultations tothe global process. An Approach Paper (outlining astrategy and recommendations for revision) wasdeveloped for national consultations and translatedinto several languages.

The national consultations were organized withsmall groups of representatives of indigenous peo-ple’s associations, NGOs, government representa-tives, academics, and experts on the subject.Members of the Bank’s Working Group onIndigenous People also attended the 1998 Meeting ofthe UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations,and held briefing sessions for bilateral and multilat-eral agency personnel, indigenous organizations,NGOs, and subject specialists in attendance.

Information on the review process was posted ontwo electronic networks to obtain feedback from thesubscribers on the Approach Paper: the Society forApplied Anthropology's Development Policy Kioskand the Common Property Resource ManagementNetwork (CPRNET).

Forestry Policy Implementation Review andStrategy (FPIRS) The Forest Policy Implementation Review andStrategy (FPIRS) aimed to re-examine the Bank’slending and strategy in the forestry sector.Partnering with IUCN (International Union forConservation of Nature), the Bank held nine regionalconsultations from February to April 2000.Participant lists (with contact information) for theregional consultations were posted on the Bank’sexternal website, naming government officials, busi-

nesses, and CSOs expected to attend each session.Other information available included: documentsbeing circulated for the meetings, background materi-als, papers prepared specifically for the reviewprocess, notes on meetings held and monthly updateson the process of the review. The web design encour-aged and facilitated feedback by posting contact infor-mation of the organizers on each page and requestingcomments on the materials. A preliminary synthesisreport of the concurrent OED review on the forestrysector is among the documents available on the web-site in English, French, and Spanish.

Projects

Consultations with CSOs on proposed projects occurwith increasing frequency, and many examples can becited of such consultation influencing project design.In most instances, the basic framework is in place bythe time a project is considered "prepared," and con-sultations are used to modify the framework and itscontents. In some cases, however, key components of aproject get revised as a result of the consultationprocess. In the Peru Rural Roads project, a preferencefor footpaths instead of roads in some areas was iden-tified through consultation, resulting in substantialchanges to the original project.

A consultation may be designed as a means for man-aging conflict prior to a project’s inception, when somekind of controversy exists in the given situation. In theLa Serna bridge project in Argentina, a group oppos-ing the construction of a bridge in Buenos Aires hadvoiced strong objections to the project, threatening topresent their complaints to the Inspection Panel. TheWorld Bank proposed to the municipality that theyconvene a public hearing, which was subsequentlyorganized by an NGO. In other cases, consultationshave been undertaken in response to failed implemen-tation efforts or protests over an existing project. In thePlanafloro case in Brazil, the original project wasredesigned following such consultation.

Assessments

As methods of gathering information from key stake-holders, assessments may incorporate participatoryelements, preserve an external expert stance, or reflecta combination of the two. Both EnvironmentalAssessments and Participatory Poverty Assessmentshave explicit consultative elements, in that the processof assessment is defined as a two-way flow of informa-tion. The objectives of the assessment are described tothe stakeholders along with information on the projector diagnostic research envisaged. At the same time,

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information, knowledge, opinions, and insights areexpected from the stakeholders as specific inputstowards the findings of the assessments

Environmental Assessments (EA)The Operational Directive on EnvironmentalAssessment (OD 4.01) requires that "the borrowerconsults project-affected groups and local non-gov-ernmental organizations about the project's environ-mental aspects and takes their views into account."OD 4.01 also requires that relevant information beprovided to local affected groups, such as a summa-ry of the proposed project and its potential positiveand negative effects. Once a draft EAhas been pre-pared, information to be disseminated shouldinclude a summary of conclusions and a discussionof recommended mitigating activities and plans. EAsalso usually include a record of consultations andare made available for public scrutiny.

The impact of public consultations conducted as partof an EA has reshaped certain projects by identifyingpotentially negative social and environmentalimpacts not anticipated by the team. Elements of awaste management project in Grenada were changed

to protect an endangered species that would havebeen affected by a proposed landfill. A water man-agement project in Brazil was modified to protectaccess of an artisan community to clay deposits.

Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPAs)PPAs "use a systematic research process that directlyinvolves the poor in defining the nature of poverty,with the objective of influencing policy." (Robb, 1999)Different tools may be used to facilitate this process,and the poor are participants in the analysis, ratherthan subjects from whom data is gathered. PPAsmay be conducted in conjunction with householdsurveys, using the two to analyze various dimen-sions of poverty.

In some countries, NGOs have conducted researchor have partnered with universities, consulting firmsand government departments. As Robb notes, "In Argentina and Brazil the field work has beenlinked with the work of country NGOs and govern-ment line ministries. As a result, the potential nowexists for moving from information sharing to con-tinuous dialogue with various stakeholders, includ-ing those at the community level."

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databases (for selected countries with required tech-nology are being set up and are expected to beupdated regularly.

In the context of specific projects or previous consul-tations, there may have been some profiling of theNGO sector. These may consist of stakeholder analy-ses or mapping, social assessments or capacityassessments, but are generally limited to NGOsrather than other CSOs. In Mali in 1995, a project tosupport anti-hunger grassroots initiatives commis-sioned an NGO capacity assessment. This assess-ment identified the areas in which NGOs intervenedand their relationship with other partners, includingCommunity Based Organizations (CBOs). In certaincontexts, the process of organizing for a specific con-sultation itself has included informing groups of theintention to consult, and through this process, gath-ering information about these and other groups thatneed to be included in the consultations.

The following process flow chart provides someguidance in preparing a country specific profile ofcivil society. The information required to prepare theprofile can be obtained from:

• Bank NGO/ Civil Society Specialists• External Affairs Officers• researchers working on the NGO/CS sector, insti-

tutes or academic institutions in the country orthe region

• civil society organizations or umbrella groups • other donors or development agencies• informal or published reports on the subjectThe process chart given below also identifies someexamples of how the questions might be answered.Clicking on the blue highlighted headings in the leftcolumn will provide a flow chart with guidancequestions to help in responding to a particular topic.[NOTE: Sample answers in the right column illus-trate a civil society profile for Argentina.]

III. Designing the Consultation

Developing a Profile of Civil Society

Analysis is the first step in organizing a consultation.Developing a profile of civil society will identify keystakeholders for the Country Assistance Strategy(CAS) and civil society organizations to be includedin the consultative process. An important resource isthe civil society, external affairs or social developmentspecialist (NGO/CS, EXT or SD Specialist) based incountry offices. This member of the country team isexpected to have a range of information, both formaland informal, regarding the activities of NGO/CSOsand their relationships and contact with the Bank andwith government agencies. A profile of civil societymay be developed utilizing stakeholder analyses ormapping tools and methodologies, social institutional,and capacity assessments. In many cases, the CS spe-cialist has established a database of information. TheNGO/ Civil Society Unit also maintains a database ofNGO/CS across countries and regions. This databaseis built on a self-reporting basis and cannot be consid-ered comprehensive. Geographical and sectoralsearches are conducted upon request. In-country

In Hungary, the CS specialist developed aquestionnaire to identify the activities ofCSOs. The civil society sector has undergonerapid expansion over the past ten years.Organizing an NGO conference on prioritiesfor interaction with the government con-tributed to the identification process.Source: Interview with Tunde Buzetzky

Box 7 Identifying CSOs

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1. Association

• restrictions on activities, incentives, and/orrights

• monitoring/governing/ control mechanisms • registration requirements and location• flexibility/ multiplicity of registration options

CSOs register at the ministries in the relevant sec-tor (e.g., Education, Labor) and with the Ministryof Justice. The Ministry of Justice grants legal per-mission to exist as CS organizations. Theoretically,there is follow-up of the activities of registeredCSOs, but little monitoring actually takes place.

2. Resource Mobilization

• opportunities to mobilize resources• principal source of finances and support• continuous vs. ad hoc flow of funds• core vs. project support• reliance on external vs. self-generated

resources• privileges / tax relief for donations and not-

for-profit work• opportunities to build institutional capacity

The government is a principal source of funding.Many CSOs that provide services are funded bythe fees which they receive for those services.Seven foundations of large enterprises (such asCitibank) have formed the Foundation Forum,which gives grants to CSOs.CSOs are exempt from the Value Added Tax, butthere is no tax exemption for individual donationsmade to CSOs.

3. Communication and Access toInformation

• costs of communication• restrictions• access to and timely availability of relevant

information• language• importance of education for information access• means of communication and dissemination of

information

There are no particular restrictions on communi-cation specific to CSOs; i.e., the same restrictionsapply as to citizens in general. The prevalentform of access to information is the media.

Enabling Environment Example : Argentina*

4. Institutionalized Rules of the Gameand Mechanisms for Negotiation

• presence of existing mechanisms on which tobuild

• functioning ways to express civic interests• round-tables, task forces, committees• special office for NGO/CS relations• mandated representation of CSOs on local

councils and other such structures • formal and informal systems for government

working together with NGO/CS

There is a National Center of CommunityOrganizations located in the Ministry for SocialDevelopment. In Parliament, there is a specialcommission on NGOs.

Table 2 Enabling Environments Based on Discussion Paper: Enabling Environments for Civil Society with Particular Attention to PoorPeople and Poverty Reduction Strategies by Alan Fowler, June, 2000.

* Based on an interview with Sandra Cesilini and on Mario Roitter et. al., "Argentina" in Salamon et. al., Global Civil Society: Dimensions ofthe Nonprofit Sector

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1. Changes over time time-frame (when formed:by type in terms of organizational structure andmandate)• rationale (why: by reasons, external factors, inresponse to what)• changes and transition in the CS (over time: bygeographic spread, mandate, sectors, diversity ofconstituents)

Civil society organizations have a long tradition,beginning with colonial era social assistanceorganizations, and including many Catholic-church organizations. In the late 19th and early20th century, mutual benefit organizations wereformed. Many of these transformed into laborunions and social welfare institutions. CSOsestablished closer links to the state in the post-World War II period. Human rights organizationsemerged during the military dictatorship of 1976-1983. With democratization in 1984, some humanrights organization began working in other areas,e.g., nutritional rights of poor people.

2. Quality and Nature of Inter-relationships[confrontational or collaborative; with or with-out trust, credibility, recognition, acceptance]• between different types of CSOs• inter and intra-constituency linkages• with their own constituents (membership /

beneficiaries)• public sector (national, regional, local govern-

ment)• bureaucracies, administration and parliaments• elected representatives• political parties• business sector• donors and other development agencies• within their own sector (international NGOs,

CBOs, intermediary NGOs, research organi-zations, religious groups, trade unions, pro-fessional associations, etc.)

The more traditional service-oriented organiza-tions tend to have closer ties to the government.NGOs that came into existence in the 1970s tendto be advocates for an independent civil societyand for civil control over government actions.

In past few years, the government has begun toconsult NGOs for their viewpoint on a numberof topics.

The private sector is beginning to partner withNGOs, but this partnership is at an early stage.Relationships tend to be closer at the local level.

Table 3 Historical Perspectives and Trends

Historical Perspective and Trends

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Characteristics of Civil Society

1. Size

• number of organizations• scale of organizations (financial, technical,

and human resources)• organizational structure (single or multi-lay-

ered)• outreach and coverage

There are over 60,000 registered organizations.Estimates of unregistered organizations vary,the more common estimate being around10,000.

Caritas and the Red Cross operate at the nation-al, provincial and local levels. There are envi-ronmental organizations throughout the coun-try. Grassroots organizations predominate inthe poorer areas. While environmental groupsare organized throughout the country,Patagonia is also a focal point. Organizations ofand for indigenous people can be found in thenortheast, northwest and the south.

2. Spread

• national / regional / local• urban / rural• diverse constituencies

3. Presence of Umbrella Organizations orNetworks

• cross-national• national / regional / local• sectoral (e.g. education, health)

There is no general network of CSOs, but thereare networks with specific focus such aswomen’s issues, AIDS, and human rights.

4. Nature of Representation and Constituency

• forms of representation (interests, values)• forms of constituencies (membership, affilia-

tion)

Many CSOs are membership organizations pro-viding services for their members.

5. Scope / Focus of Action [by sector, function, level]

• representation • technical expertise• advocacy• capacity-building • service-delivery • social functions

Many CSOs focus on or provide social servicesin areas such as AIDS or health; and for specificgroups such as women or indigenous people.Human rights organizations have been active.There are parents’ groups active (dating back tothe 19th century) in connection with publicschools. There are public education and aware-ness groups on environmental issues through-out the country.

Table 4 Characteristics of Civil Society

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The flowchart below identifies some of the steps in collecting information about the civil society sector and link-ing it to a consultation design.

Figure 1. Information Collecting

The following flow charts will be activated by clicking on the blue highlighted topics in the table to bring upguidance questions. These guidance questions will help in developing the profile of civil society in a specificcountry and show how the information gathered can be used in organizing consultations.

Has informationabout civil societybeen collected bythe Bank?

Has the informationgathered been usedas the basis for anymeetings betweenresident mission staffand civil society rep-resentatives?

Do civil society regionalnetworks or umbrellaorganizations have data-bases of civil societyorganizations?

Research institutesand academicinstitutions mayhave informationeither on civil soci-ety as a whole oron organisations inspecific sectors.

NO NO

YES

Regular meetings canserve as the basis onwhich to build CASconsultations. Someresident missions meetwith an NGO contactgroup or a standingcommittee. There maybe groups with a sec-toral focus.

YES

YES

Review the database to determine theextent of coverage of the sector.• Is the database or directory restrict-

ed to organizations affiliated withthat particular network?

• What methods are used to collectthe information?

• How often is the material updatedand by what means?

• Do civil society organizations self-report? [If so, some may have cho-sen not to register.]

NO

Consider holding abackground meetingfor CSOs, sharinginformation that hasbeen collected and/orpresenting informationabout the Bank.

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Environment for Association

NO/orminimally

YES

NO

YES

Are CSOs restricted in theiractivities, rights or ability toorganize? If so, how?

CSOs operating in a restrictedenvironment may find it difficultto participate in large, publicconsultations.

Are NGO/ civil societyorganizations requiredto legally register?

Have there been delays inapproval, suspension, orderegistration of NGOs?

These acts may be perceivedby NGOs as intimidation orsubtle social / political pres-sure by the government.

Has there been a recent removal ofrestrictions? Were CSOs active inhaving the restrictions removed? Bylinking information on the back-ground to the current state of associ-ation, a more complete picture ofcivil society can be obtained.

Some NGOs see registration as a form of legalprotection or possible tax benefits and as a wayof establishing credibility. Other organizationsconsider registration a burdensome process,which places additional reporting obligationsand/or costs on them. Community-based organi-zation may be less interested in registration thannational NGOs operating on a larger scale.

Locus of registration may be:• Local district courts • Sectoral ministries • Ministries of Interior or JusticeWhere publicly accessible, this infor-mation (used together with othersources) may help identify CSOs forpossible participation in CAS andother consultations.

YES

Figure 2 Association of CSOs

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Figure 3 Resource Mobilization

YES

YES

Do CSOs rely on “external”resources to function?

Is the support CSOs receiveearmarked for specific func-tions or projects?

Is the flow of funding adhoc and /or interrupted?

CSOs receiving core program support mayhave the resources to establish and maintainrelationships with other organizations,including engaging actively in consultations.

If not, identify the resources mobilized by CSOs: asfees for services, contributions, loans, membershipfees. Identifying the resource base will help withmapping the relationship between CSOs, theirsponsors, membership, and/or beneficiaries.

Civil society organizations may be weak or lack capaci-ty under these circumstances, and it may require addi-tional effort and resources to organize their participa-tion in consultations. Dependency on external fundsmay hinder the independence of CSOs, and therefore,their potential role as monitoring agencies.

NO

NO

Resource Mobilization

YES

Negotiation

Existing mechanisms can serve as animportant foundation on which to buildconsultations. Identify sector-specific aswell as broad-based mechanisms.

What are the established mechanismsfor CSOs to express civic interests? Whatforms does such expression take?

Established by government

Establishedby CSOs

Do CSOs use networksto determine agreed /collective positions?

Figure 4 Negotiation

Do these mechanisms function as mandated?Are they formal and / or ongoing? Do theyhave a specific purpose and objective or dothey represent a space for all dialogue?

Additional diagnostic questions:What are the sources of external funding?What restrictions exist on mobilizing resources?What are the systems of accountability to theregulators, sponsors and beneficiaries?

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Characteristics of Civil Society

Spread of the Sector

Where are most CSOs located? Are they dis-tributed throughout the country? Are thereareas that have relatively few organizedCSOs, limited to specific sectoral interests?

What are the linkages betweenCSOs? Does one organizationhave branches or units at dif-ferent levels? If so, how dothey interact to share informa-tion and join action?

If there are geographic divisions, dothey correspond to functional divi-sions? (For example: advocacy organi-zations located in the capital and serv-ice organizations in rural areas)

Answers to these questions can help in designing a consul-tation strategy for CAS and other consultations. For exam-ple, if CSOs focusing on the environment are concentratedin one region, a special consultation could be held focusedon issues in that sector. Organizations with links betweendifferent levels and areas can communicate and coordinatetheir inputs. In areas where there are fewer organisations,outreach efforts for a consultation could include informa-tional meetings and workshops for CSOs

Figure 5 Spread of the Sector

Presence of Umbrella Organizations or Networks

Who belongs to umbrella organizations / networks? Whatis the criteria for membership inthese organizations?

In what activities do the networksengage? Do they cater only totheir own membership / affiliatesor do they take up action onbehalf of a wider group?

Do member organizations pay feesto belong to the network? Do theyregister with the network?

What is the coverage of networks?Are they regionally based? Do theylink urban and rural areas? Are theyfocused on a particular sector?

Figure 6 Presence of Umbrella Organizations or Networks

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Inwhat sectors are

CSOs active? Is there aconcentration of activi-ties in one sector over

others?

Whatare the functions

CSOs perform? What is thedistribution of those who focus

more on representation, advocacy,service delivery, and / or pro-

viding technical expertiseand support?

Whatis the distribution

of organisations byfunction and

sectors?

Scope / Focus of Action

Figure 7 Scope/ Focus of action

Click here to return to table of contents.

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Box 8 Government / NGO Partnership

Opportunities and Constraintsin Facilitating Consultations

Previous Consultations

Experience with previous consultations, in the sameor related subjects, may provide a foundation forplanning a specific consultation. Concerns and issuesraised in earlier consultations may serve as a basisfor organizing specific thematic discussions eitherprior to or within the selected project, program, orpolicy dialogue. Previous consultations may also beuseful to identify potential conveners, facilitators,and participants. Lessons drawn from these consul-tations also help to plan and organize more produc-tive consultations.

Related initiatives that can serve as a basis for newconsultations at the country, regional, or global levelinclude:

• Voices of the Poor • Participatory Poverty Assessments • Beneficiary Assessments• Preparatory work for social funds• Civil society participation in Consultative Groups

• Sectoral and corporate policy dialogues such as theForestry Policy Implementation Review; consulta-tions on SAPRI; and HIPC social safeguard poli-cies; Partnerships for Development; Learning toPartner; and consultations on CAS, CDF, PRSP

• Donor development agencies and IFI initiated con-sultations

• Government initiated consultations, such asnational dialogues on development programs andstrategies or consultations to develop a long-termnational development agenda

MechanismsGovernments or CSOs may have established mecha-nisms in which they interact. The process of develop-ing a profile of civil society will help to identify thesemechanisms or structures. These may be:

• mandated civil society representation on commit-tees or management councils

• offices established in the government or legislatureto interact with CSOs (e.g., in Hungary a specialoffice is established within the Prime Minister’sOffice for NGO relations) Click here for anotherexample from Venezuela.

• offices or individuals within a specific ministrywho handle NGO relations with organizations

7 In Brazil, the 1998 Federal constitution introduced mechanisms for citizen participation in the context of a broader framework of decentral-ization. The majority of Brazil’s 5,508 municipalities have bipartite councils in which government and civil society is equally represented. Onthe national level, policy councils in the areas of women’s rights, children’s rights, health and the environment are composed of governmentand citizen representatives. The Philippines constitution established after the restoration of democracy has explicit provisions for the role ofNGOs and civil society, specifically in regional and national planning. (text reference on page 26)

Government/NGO Partnership in HIV/AIDS Control

The Brazilian Ministry of Health and the World Bank have adopted several mechanisms to enable gov-ernment civil society collaboration. They include:

• Five NGO representatives now serve on the National AIDS Council, which monitors Brazil’s AIDSpolicies.

• An NGO Liaison Office was created within the National Program.• NGO researchers were hired for such project-related tasks as designing the Small Grants Program;

providing technical assistance to recipient organizations; monitoring project activities; and conduct-ing social analysis of the AIDS/STD loan.

• NGO leaders actively participated in a seminar with government officials and donors to evaluate theproject’s activities and to plan a new project. The NGO delegation included representatives fromgroups increasingly exposed to HIV/AIDS, such as low-income women, rural workers, and indige-nous populations.

The United Nation’s AIDS program has selected the Brazilian AIDS program as one of world’s "bestpractice" examples, since there has been a significant decline in new AIDS cases over the past five yearsand a decline in morbidity levels among high risk groups. Adapted from: "NGO Participation inHIV/AIDS Control Project Achieves Results.”

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working in a particular sector (e.g., ministry ofhealth handling interaction with midwives’organizations, village clinics, etc.- see boxnumber 8)

• working groups, task forces, or committees devel-oped in the context of a specific project or issue.Click here for example from Bangladesh.

• constitutional reforms7

Individuals working in field offices of the Agricultural Extension Department. Click for an example from Pakistan

Informal, Informational Meetings toDemonstrate the Value of Consultation

Some resident mission staff organize briefings forcivil society representatives, either according to aregular schedule or determined by sectoral interest.Subject specific seminars, conferences, and work-shops can provide background material for suchbriefings. Information flows and two-way communi-cation can help to build relationships, and previousconsultations or briefings may create a demonstra-

tion effect in which governments begin to adopt theprocess as their own. In some cases, mutual percep-tions have been shaped more by lack of informationthan by actual knowledge or experience. Informalmeetings may help in establishing initial contacts.Over time, as an enabling environment is facilitated,linkages can also be created by formal mechanismsas described above.

In Bangladesh, over a period of 18 months ofWorld Bank’s work with the health ministry,the attitudes on consultations have changed.From an initial skepticism, there have nowbeen substantial reforms in the health min-istry due to the inputs received through con-sultative meetings. The "conversion" hasbeen such that the Secretary proposed a con-sultative process for the preparation andimplementation of the new nutrition project.Source: Interview with Nilufar Ahmad

Box 9 Spread of consultative process

Civil Society’s Monitoring of Government Poverty Programs

In a presentation at the Manila Social Forum, Corazon Juliano-Soliman, vice president of the Philippinesorganization CO-TRAIN, described how civil society organizations interact with the government throughparticipation in governance mechanisms and through demands for accountability. The examples given are:

• Community based organizations, provincial based NGOs, church based organizations, and mystic com-munities in Mt. Banahaw Quezon province coalesced efforts to develop a protected area managementplan with a national government agency tasked to protect the environment. They continue to be repre-sented and participate in the Protected Area Management Board [a governance mechanism in theprovince] to monitor the implementation of the plan.

• Peasant organizations belonging to the Agri Aqua Development Coalition in Mindanao are monitoringthe municipal budget expenditure in selected areas. They were able to negotiate for a portion to be allo-cated for programs in infrastructure development and delivery of basic services that are badly needed, invillages with their constituencies.

• The Department of Agrarian Reform during the leadership of Secretary Ernesto D. Garilao mobilized themembers of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council [PARC] to conduct an audit on the utilization ofthe Agrarian Reform Fund. The fund amounted to approximately 50 billion Philippine Pesos to be usedover a ten year period. It must be noted that the PARC has representatives from the farmers’ organiza-tions, the landowners, and the government.

• The Special Zone for Peace and Development [SZOPAD] Social Fund conducts beneficiary assessmentsof the infrastructure projects that it had funded. It is a demand driven fund where there is continuingeffort to involve the communities in monitoring the quality of the infrastructure as well as the use offunds by the proponents and the contractors.

Source: Corazon Julian-Soliman, "Civil Society’s Monitoring and Advocacy Role Relating to Government Policy Programs," presenta-tion at the Manila Social Forum, November 1999, organized jointly by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

Box 10 Civil Society’s Monitoring of Government

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Click here for an example from Brazil and Pakistan

Where the government and civil society have over-come tensions, innovative working relationships havedeveloped. Some of the political leadership in ECAcame out of nascent civil society organizationsopposed to state socialism, and these government offi-cials maintain ties to civil society organizations. In thePhilippines, many of the community organizationswhich began in the 1970s with opposition to the thenruler, Ferdinand Marcos, have continued to work onissues of popular access to services and decision-mak-ing in a changed political climate (see box 10).

Constraints

Reluctance Reluctance to engage in a consultative process mayoccur when governments and CSOs or NGOs havehad little or negative contacts with each other. Withingovernment, reluctance may be confined to particularministries or departments, or present at the national,and provincial, but usually not at the local level.

Some commonly noted reasons for governmentalresistance to consultations with civil society organiza-tions:

• negative experience with certain NGOs forms gov-ernment’s view of all and they are labeled con-frontational.

• perception of NGOs and CSOs as social welfareorganizations focused on helping their constituen-cy or their own membership

• no value placed on civil society input to policydevelopment or decision-making

• consultations seen as disruptive of the regularpolitical, executive, and legislative process

• NGOs are seen a challenge to the government,hence "sovereignty", and also as competitors forscarce international / donor resources

• NGOs which are often non-membership organiza-tions are seen as non-elected and therefore, nothaving the right to represent citizens

Some commonly noted reasons for reluctance of civilsociety organizations to interact with governmentagencies:

• lack of trust based on experience of political restric-tions, either with the present government or previ-ous regimes

• reluctance to relinquish independence by partici-pating in government-organized activities or fearof co-optation

• apprehension that interaction and participation

alongside the government will alienate theirmembership

• perception of consultations as a validation exer-cise for decisions already made by others or fearthat there will be a lack of concrete results affect-ing their credibility

• consultation "fatigue"- participation in repeatedconsultations without clear results or incorpora-tion of their contributions

Country Environment

As identified in the profile, some country environ-ments will not be conducive to an extensive consul-tative process. In such situations, there is a specialneed to explore options and to adapt the process tomake best use of time, resources and available tech-nology and methods for consultation. The factorsthat influence the overall environment include his-torical trends in the relationship among the publicand private sectors and the civil society; and theexisting legal, fiscal or socio-political conditions,inter-ethnic conflicts or polarized political environ-ment. Organizers should be aware of the environ-ment that they are working in, and the teamdesigning a consultation should include people withcountry knowledge, experience, and local insights.

Resources

Lack of time, money, and appropriate skills can allact as constraints on designing a productive consul-tative process. Planning a consultation requires timeto gather background information and design theprocess. Also, as described below, adequate timeneeds to be allotted to allow CSOs to review materi-als and develop their understanding, study the situa-tion, and collect thoughts within their own organi-zational groups before joining a consultation.Inadequately funded, rushed, and poorly facilitatedconsultations will not produce the expected results.Such consultations will only confirm the feeling ofCSOs that this was only a non-serious efforts toappease CSOs. On the other hand, government agen-cies will find an opportunity to reaffirm their beliefthat consultations are a waste of time and resourcesthat cannot provide inputs required for improvedprogram and policy decisions.

Lack of timely access to relevant information canalso be a major constraint.

SuggestionsThe following suggestions have been made by Bankstaff, based on their experience in overcoming theconstraints mentioned above:

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• Prior to a consultation, organize informal meet-ings to introduce government officials and civilsociety organizations to each other

• If a consultation on overall development prioritiesis not possible, keep the first consultations limit-ed to a very specific and focused topic

• If a national forum is perceived as potentially"politicizing", hold a series of local meetingsrather than a national forum

• Encourage public statements by key officials onthe need for consultation with the public, and theseriousness of government’s participation in theprocess

• Present consultations as complementing existingforms of representation, not as a substitute

• Emphasize the neutrality of a consultation forum,

while at the same time maintaining government"buy-in" to the consultation process

• Identify a neutral facilitator, for the process (thiscan be a credible NGO/CSO or an individual orconsultant firm specializing in process facilita-tion skills).

Click here to return to table of contents.

Organizing a Consultation

Time Frame Consultations require time for adequate prepara-tion. Some CS specialists recommend two to threemonths lead time for planning and preparation.Participants in a consultation should be invited wellin advance, with background information dissemi-nated to them at least two to three weeks prior to aconsultation. Inviting CSOs to a consultation atshort notice creates ill-will and promotes theimpression of not taking them seriously.

As the case below illustrates, CSOs may requiretime prior to the consultation to bring togethermembers of their organizations or networks towork out their inputs. They may also need to raisefunds for their participation. However, even whensuch participants reach the venue, there is no guar-antee that they will be allowed to express theirviews.

Click here for an example of a consultation organ-ized with substantial preparation and planning inBosnia and Herzegovina.

SelectionSelection of participants for consultations can bedone in the following ways.

• Directly selected by CSOs and their umbrellanetworks

• Umbrella networks advise and/or recommendparticipants (e.g. in Colombia, NationalConfederation of NGOs has identified key laborleaders for a consultation)

• Bank staff establish criteria for inclusion jointlywith NGOs (e.g. this was done in thePhilippines CAS with CO-TRAIN, anetwork/support organ ization for NGOs)

• Agricultural extension officers help communityto select representatives. Click here for an exam-ple from Pakistan

Click here for an example from Dominican Republic.

Poor Planning and Poor Facilitation Can Cause Mistrust

Following a consultation, a representative ofan NGO network sent a letter to the TaskManager handling consultations in thatregion and copied the NGO/Civil SocietyUnit. The letter described the results of poorplanning and disorganized facilitation of aconsultation. From the announcement andmaterials arriving only days before theevent, to miscommunication about the avail-ability of funds and the subsequent lack ofclarification on the part of the country office,the letter details one "worst practice" afteranother. The author of the letter explainsthat because of budget constraints, not everyorganization could send a representative tothe consultation and it was important forhim to have time that was not allowed inthis case to ask for input from the memberorganizations in the network. The author ofthe letter did attend the consultation only tobe put on a list of speakers and then skippedwhen it was his turn. Finally, the consulta-tion was ended thirty minutes before itsscheduled end. A government official theninsisted on speaking and was allowed to doso. In his closing remarks in the letter, theNGO representative states that "we fromcivil society institutions are happy that weare taken seriously and asked for inputs",but he hoped that his experience was notrepeated and that the apprehensions ofCSOs would be dispelled.

Box 11 Importance of good planning and facilitation

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Additional recommendations• Those who express a strong desire and willingness

to put in the work required should be included • If criteria for inclusion have been set, these should

be made transparent• Build capacity for informed dialogue, beyond con-

sultations for validation, especially among nation-al and local level civil society groups

The presence of a senior government official has beenseen as confirming the seriousness of a consultation.In both Zambia and Hungary, representatives of civilsociety organizations expressed their strong prefer-ence for meetings held in which government officialswere present, although there had been concern thattheir presence would be chilling.

Click here for an example from other multilaterals’experiences in the Lomé consultations by the EU.

Presence of ministers from a particular sectoral min-istry at public consultations may also serve to signalto staff in their respective ministries the importanceof public consultations. The OED survey of NGOparticipation in Bank projects found that in somecases, agreement on NGO involvement was reached

"Include those who want to be included,even if they are not the most representa-tive. If left out, they will cause so much

trouble."-CS specialist (AFR)

"The most vulnerable groups are usuallythe ones who need to have the possibilitiesexplained; you need to show them at what

doors to knock."

In preparation for the CAS consultation in Argentina, a journalist was hired to prepare two documentsfor public distribution. One, approximately 150 pages, consisted of brief 1 page summaries of all theWorld Bank projects. The other, 5 pages, had the relevant strategy papers reduced in the form of shortnotes. Both of these documents were divided into sectors so that people could easily focus. Previously,even when documents had been translated into Spanish, civil society organizations complained thatthey could not understand the technical language. The journalist was given the original papers, andthen he followed up by asking questions. This resulted in pieces readily understandable and accessibleto the participants.

A new government had been formed, and these documents were given to the new ministers and secre-taries. The resident mission also distributed these to NGOs, trade unions, religious organizations,provincial governments, local governments, businesses, universities, academic centers, parliamentarians,and the press.Source: Interview with Sandra Cesilini (reference "Information" in second column above)

at senior levels of government but was not alwaysfollowed through at the lower levels. Active partici-pation by officials in a public forum sends a strongermessage than memos about expected compliancewith participatory methods.

Click here for an example from the Kyrgyz Republic

InformationStaff with experience in organizing consultationsemphasize the need to communicate the purpose forwhich civil society input is being sought and theconcrete output expected. In some cases, emphasiz-ing the purpose can overcome suspicion, focus aconsultation, and manage expectations. Two factorsare particularly important- timely distribution ofinformation and accessibility of the information inlocal language for a non-technical audience.

Suggestions for information preparation and dis-semination:

• prepare short analyses in the local language, elim-inating technical language and Bank-jargon

Box 12 Accessibility of information

In the Philippines, briefing materials that the RM had sent to the government (for a new administration)were also distributed to CSOs. The RM also asked the government for a letter of no-objection before dis-tributing the materials.

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The chart below is adapted from methods used to convey information in Environmental Assessments, but manyof the techniques can also be employed for consultations. In addition to the method used, the placement or loca-tion of information is crucial to access.

Techniques for Conveying Information

Key Points Advantages Disadvantages

Printedmaterials:Informationbulletins,brochures,reports

• Text should be simple,non- technical, and inlocal languages

• Should provide clearinstructions on how toobtain more information

• Direct• Can impart detailed

information• Cost-effective• Yields a permanent

record of communication

• Demands specializedskills and resources

• Not accessible to thepoorly educated or illiter-ate

Displays,Posters andExhibits

• Can be designed toinform and to collectcomments

• Should be located wheretarget audience gathersor passes regularly

• May reach previouslyunknown parties

• Minimal demands onthe public

• If well designed, mayhave strong impact

• Costs of preparation andstaffing

• Insufficient without sup-porting techniques

• Demands specialized skillsand resources

Print media • Press releases and pressconferences can be tiedto key events

• Identify newspapers ormagazines likely to beinterested and able toreach the target audience

• Can disseminate a largeamount and wide varietyof material

• Can provide detailedinformation

• Offers both national andlocal coverage

• Can reach most literateadults

• Loss of control over presen-tation and interpretation

• Media relationships aredemanding

• Press may be an organ ofpolitical parties or the gov-ernment

• Excludes the illiterate andthe poor

Electronicmedia

Determine level of cover-age (national or local),types of viewer, per-ceived objectivity andtype of broadcast offered

• May be consideredauthoritative

• Reaches broadest pos-sible audience

• Many people haveaccess to radio

• Time allocated may be lim-ited

• May be costly

Advertising Requires good preparationand targeting

• Retain control overpresentation

• Useful for announcingpublic meetings orother activities

• May engender suspicion• May be costly

Formal orinformal informationsessions

Can be arranged byrequest for a particulargroup

• Useful for groupswith specific concerns

• Allows for detaileddiscussions offocused issues

• May raise unrealisticexpectations

• If informal, attendancemay be difficult to predict

Table 5 Source: Adapted from Environmental Assessment Sourcebook Update #26, May 1999.

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BudgetA budget for the consultation should be prepared inadvance which includes the costs and time of staffinvolved in designing the consultation. Such costsmight include training sessions or workshop/orienta-tion for facilitators. Support for consultations maycome from other donors, trust funds, government, orproject allocation. A miscalculated budget can createunnecessary hardship for the participants and will bean embarrassment for staff.

Consultation Process and After ConsultationsThe consultation itself should be organized so as toallow adequate space for civil society input and atwo-way flow of information. At the beginning of theconsultation, the purpose of the consultation shouldbe made clear. For a policy consultation specifically,participants should be aware that not all perspectivescan be incorporated into the final outcome or product.An orientation to the Bank and the project or policyunder discussion at the beginning of the Consultationhelps to ensure that all participants have the samebasic information and understanding of the subject.

The Role of the Bank

The Bank can take one of several roles in organizing aconsultation. One set of roles is where Bank staff takea back seat, while facilitating the process: for example,the Bank suggests or advises the client to organize aconsultation; helps provide expertise to design andfacilitate it; finances the consultation, or helps theclient search and contract a consulting firm or a civilsociety organization to organize the consultation. Thisis more appropriate where the client is designing orimplementing a project or policy and needs to consultwith civil society. Another set is of roles is whereBank staff become directly involved in the design andorganization of a consultation, and participate active-ly in the consultation itself. This is more appropriatewhere the subject of discussion is a Bank document; apolicy draft or review; or even a Bank-financed proj-ect with unresolved issues and questions.

Facilitation

The importance of a good facilitator is a point that hasbeen emphasized across regions and by all staff whohave organized consultations. Most of the staff thinkthat Bank staff should not facilitate consultationsthemselves; they should "come to the table as a stake-holder, not as the one in control." However, as dis-cussed above, this may not be true in all situations.The characteristics of a good facilitator that have beenidentified by the contributors:

• hire an external consultant familiar with the sectorto prepare materials

• prepare one or two page short explanations / defi-nitions of Bank terms and acronyms and a descrip-tion of the project or policy cycle, where relevant

• make information available through PublicInformation Centers

• establish a depository for public World Bank docu-ments in the National Library, University depart-ment, selected CS umbrella groups

• use NGO/CS networks to distribute information• post notices and minutes of meetings on websites,

either the government’s own, the World Bank web-site for the country, or selected CS websites

Click here for an example from Ukraine.

Click here for an example from Pakistan in whichexhibits were used to inform local communities of theproject and the consultation to take place.

Venue

A neutral location should be chosen for consultations.Holding meetings at the Bank may be intimidating tosome participants. Universities may provide neutrali-ty, but they also may be unfamiliar. In addition,regional consultations and consultations outside thecapital city should be held. There have been success-ful consultations involving outreach to areas in whichconsultations had not been held before.

Click here for examples from the Philippines, Nigerand Ukraine.

Click here for an example from Pakistan in which apart of the consultation was actually held at the sitesof the proposed water drainage system in order tohave farmer opinion about the technical design of theequipment to be installed.

Consultations with civil society in Zambia ondevelopment priorities were held with arange of organizations. The venues werematched to the particular organizations. Inone case, an on-site session with a number ofNGOs involved in AIDS counseling and out-reach activities was scheduled in the office ofone of these organizations. After concernswere raised by some participants about per-sonal security (given the locale), the meetingwas moved to a more neutral site.

Source: Interview with Helen Mbao Box 13 "Venue"

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• Neutral to the topic of discussion• Good reputation with CSOs and acceptable to the

government agency concerned• Able to engage the audience, encourage partici-

pation, keep people’s attention and keep the dis-cussion interesting

• Familiar with the topic under discussion, not justtechnically adept at running a meeting

• Not manipulative, able to guide and listen

Click here for examples of facilitation in Colombiaand the Dominican Republic.

Rapporteur

In addition to a facilitator, a rapporteur is necessaryto record key points. Often, a rapporteur will notkeep detailed minutes as this may tend to stifle dis-cussion. Rather s/he will track the progress of thediscussion, themes, points, and areas of substantialagreement or disagreement.

Click here for an example from CAS consultations inNiger.

Small Group WorkMost consultations involve dividing participantsinto small groups to focus on key priorities and toallow more voices to be heard. Groups can beformed by sectoral focus (health, environment) orkept mixed. Organizers report success with both.Groups should also be reminded to prepare toreport back to the plenary. Another method oforganizing consultations is to hold thematic work-shops and a general consultation session.

Click here for examples from the Kyrgyz Republic,Ukraine and Pakistan.

Concluding the ConsultationA consultation can conclude with a summary ofwhat was heard during the process. This allows par-ticipants to respond as to the accuracy of the sum-mary. Feedback should also include what (if any-thing) was omitted from the records and why.

Evaluation of the ConsultationMany consultations include at the end some form ofevaluation, often written, by participants. Such eval-uations can assess the effectiveness of the consulta-tion and help to draw lessons for the future.

Click here for an example from Argentina.

After the Consultation

Incorporating the input In incorporating the input from the consultation intoa project or policy, participants should be asked iftheir views are accurately reflected. If a synthesisdraft is prepared, the reasoning for omitting certainviewpoints should be made clear. If this does notoccur, many participants may become reluctant toengage in further consultations.

Click here for an example from Niger.

Feedback to participantsFeedback to participants in consultations is crucial.The feedback process builds the relationship forfuture consultations and interaction. When regionalconsultations are held preparatory to a national con-sultation, participants in the regional consultationsshould be kept informed of the results of the nationalconsultation. If consultation changes the shape of aproject, participants should be informed of how theoriginal design was modified to reflect their input.

Click here for examples from Senegal and Peru.

Other consequences of consultationExperience with consultations in the CAS/CDF8 hasshown that the consultative process can lead toimprovements both in Bank-government relationsand in reaching an understanding among key stake-holders.

Beyond the Consultation

Beyond participating in consultations, civil societyorganizations remain key stakeholders as well as asignificant factor in development. They participate inthe design, implementation and monitoring of sever-al policies, programs, and projects. The profile ofcivil society feeding into the preparation of consulta-tions can also inform civil society’s participation inthe implementation and monitoring of policies, pro-grams, and projects.

Click here for a matrix from the Azerbaijan CASbased on a profile of civil society organizations,which demonstrates how different civil society actorscould be involved in implementing the CAS.

Click here to return to the table of contents.

8See "Learning to Partner: Engaging Civil Society in the Context of CAS/CDF" – link under Key Documents.

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IV. Cases and Examples

Country Description Section Highlights

Argentina La Serna Bridge Project

Provincial Meeting

Overview Facilitator selectionInformation

Azerbaijan CAS table After the Consultation Possible roles for civilsociety

Bangladesh Agricultural Extensionand Fisheries

Government/ CS Institutional linkages

Bosnia andHerzegovina

Social PolicyConference

Consultation Process Consultation planning

Brazil Planafloro Project Government/ CS Overcoming tensions

Colombia CAS Overview,Information Technology

Consultation methods,facilitation

DominicanRepublic

CDF Overview Facilitation,Inclusionary process

El Salvador, Peruand ColombiaCAS table

CAS Table comparing partic-ipatory processes in 3CASs

Ghana CDF Overview Building on existingprocesses

Hungary Civil Sector Conference Government/ CS Mapping CS sector

KyrgyzRepublic

CDF

Niger CAS Overview,Consultation Process

Facilitation, CS/gov-ernment tensions

Pakistan Left Bank Outfall Drain Consultation process Mechanisms, Informalmeetings, Selection,Information, Venue

Peru Rural Road Project Overview Consultation affectingfinal shape

Philippines CAS Overview NGO partnership toimplement consultation

Senegal Sustainable andParticipatory EnergyManagement Project

Overview,Consultation Process

Consultation affectingfinal shape

Ukraine CAS Use of informationtechnology

Zambia CAS Overview Information

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Other Experiences

Agency or Organization Process or Resource Highlights

EU-ACPLomé Convention IV

Consultations with CSOs Regional consultations,Government/CS mechanisms

Organization of AmericanStates (OAS)

Consultations with CSOs Consultation process

United Nations DevelopmentProgram (UNDP)

Civil Society Sourcebook Definitions, Enabling environ-ment, Information flows

United States Agency forInternational Development(USAID)

New Partnerships InitiativeResource Guide,Partnering for Results

Enabling environment, infor-mation sharing, overcomingobstacles

Argentina: La Serna Bridge Project

Beginning in 1999, the project to construct the LaSerna Bridge generated conflict between two neigh-borhoods in the municipality of Avellaneda, a sub-urb of Buenos Aires. On one side, the residents ofVilla Modelo, a low-income neighborhood, wereclamoring for the construction of the bridge whichthe municipality had promised with or withoutfinancing from the World Bank. For these residents,the benefits of the construction of the La SernaBridge were considerable, in particular greateraccessibility from their neighborhood to the city ofBuenos Aires. On the other side, a small, but well-organized and advised, group representing residentsof La Serna Park (a high-income neighborhood)strongly opposed the project. According to theseresidents, the new bridge would have only negativeimpacts on their neighborhood.

Two previous efforts to consult residents by themunicipal government had failed to reduce tensionsbetween the two neighborhood groups. Faced withescalating conflict between these groups, the Bankproposed to the municipality that it convene a con-sultation in the form of a public hearing, which wassubsequently organized by an NGO, Citizen’sPower, the Argentinean chapter of TransparencyInternational. This NGO had organized previouspublic hearings and had credibility among local citi-zens. Its past experience was an important factor astime was limited due to construction deadlines, anda decision had to be reached within 20 days.

Citizen’s Power designed a two-stage strategy forthe public hearing. During the first stage, a train-ing workshop was held for municipal officials incharge of registering participants for the publichearing and carrying out the hearing itself.Following the training workshop, the public wasinvited to the hearing. Citizen’s Power used thetwo principle national newspapers and localmedia (e.g. radio, graphic media, television andother public organs) to announce and convene thehearing. In addition, Citizen’s Power made per-sonal contact and extended invitations, via tele-phone calls, to representatives of the neighbor-hood groups involved in the conflict, to ensuretheir participation.

Following the training workshop and theannouncement / invitations, the officials organiz-ing and implementing the public hearing openedan office to respond to the public and register par-ticipants. Background information and studies onthe construction of the bridge were available inthis office. A poster in the office also directed peo-ple with questions, complaints and/or sugges-tions to Citizen’s Power. Citizen’s Power organ-ized two additional workshops (one with eachgroups of residents involved in the conflict) toexplain the rules and procedures that would gov-ern the public hearing. These activities not onlyensured the participation of both groups, but alsofacilitated an orderly process for the hearing.

35

The second stage of the strategy consisted of thepublic hearing itself, attended by over 450 local resi-dents, the mayor of the municipality, and high levelofficials from the Secretariat of Transportation andthe World Bank. For the participants, the presenceand participation of the mayor as the president ofthe public hearing confirmed the commitment oflocal authorities to address the neighborhood con-flict despite the initial reluctance to support thisprocess of consultation.

More than 60 speakers participated in a public hear-ing that lasted over four hours. During the 20 daysthat proceeded the hearing, the list of speakers wasassembled to maintain an orderly, informative, andbalanced process. While most of the neighbors whoattended the meeting supported the construction ofthe bridge, speakers represented both supportersand opponents of the project. The hearing alsoserved as a forum for the Secretary ofTransportation’s Technical Team, allowing it toexplain the improvements that had been made to theoriginal project: such as the use of noise reductionpanels, the incorporation of a bicycle lane, therestriction of heavy vehicle transit and the protectionof green areas. In addition, the Team shared theresults of different environmental impact and feasi-bility studies. At the hearing, a representative of theBank spoke about environmental norms and citizenparticipation in these types of projects.

During the public hearing, Citizen’s Power meas-ured the opinions of the participants through the useof a self-administered poll. The principal opinionsencountered were the following: Seventy-seven per-cent (77%) of those polled claimed to be highlypleased with the public hearing process; fifty-sevenpercent (57%) indicated that the organization of thepublic hearing was "very good"; and twenty-eightpercent (28%) indicated that it was "good". Seventy-six percent (76%) of those polled claimed that thepublic hearing had allowed them to look at the issuefrom a new perspective.

The public hearing produced two outcomes. First,the hearing improved the original project. Severalmodifications were introduced to address the con-cerns of the residents who opposed the constructionof the bridge. The modifications included redesign-ing the bridge to improve vehicle movement, reduc-ing the number of trees to be removed, establishingprotection for green area, and prohibiting truck traf-fic. First, for most of the actors involved in theprocess, these modifications improved the originalproject and addressed objections by the bridgeopponents. Second, this public hearing reduced thetensions within the local community. The hearing

did not completely resolve the conflict; many of theresidents of La Serna Park continue to oppose theproject. However, among these residents, there isrecognition that the hearing did address some of theirconcerns.

Note: In this consultation, World Bank initiated the process.

Adapted from Sandra Cesilini, "Managing Conflictthrough Citizens’ Participation: The Case of the LaSerna Bridge Project in Argentina"

Argentina: Provincial Meeting on StructuralAdjustment Loans

A public meeting at the provincial level is one meansof disseminating information, while at the same timegathering additional feedback. This public presenta-tion / forum was held at a theater in the provincialcapital. Details on the event were published in news-papers, and it was open to the general public, withsome participants specifically invited. The three-hourmeeting included a one-hour presentation on structur-al adjustment loans, including the results of a surveyand focus groups regarding the potential impact ofthese loans. The rest of the time was open for publicquestions and comments. Responding to the questionswere the Vice Governor of the Province, the WorldBank resident director, the task manager, concernedsector leaders, the consultant who prepared the sur-vey and focus groups, and the civil society specialistfrom the country office. As participants entered theforum, they were given evaluation forms which theywere asked to complete before leaving. This helpedthe organizers get feedback for future meetings.

Note: This consultation was World Bank policy related. Source: Interview with Sandra Cesilini

Click to return to the main table

Azerbaijan: Civil Society Participation inthe Implementation of Country AssistanceStrategy / Country Partnership Strategy(CAS/CPS)

The matrix given below is the result of an analysis ofthe NGO/CS sector in Azerbaijan. This analysisinvolved a detailed search and review exercise of allknown sources of information on civil society inAzerbaijan. A special mission from the NGO/CS Unitwas requested by the country team with the specificpurpose of learning from different perspectives thespread, strength, and trends in NGO/CS develop-ment. The mission included detailed consultationswith representatives of the government, the parlia-

36

ment, and key donor and development agenciesactive in the country (including NGOs andProfessional Associations both local / national andmulti-country / international). Although the discus-sions held in Azerbaijan covered several otheraspects of the NGO/CS sector, the contents of thismatrix build on, and are restricted to, the sectors andfuture actions already identified in the CAS/CPS.

The purpose of the matrix is to note the current sta-tus and involvement of NGO/CS in each sector andto highlight the potential role and value-added forpartnership in the implementation of CAS/CPS.The last column in the matrix identifies a set ofrequired actions that would benefit from a lead bythe Bank. This matrix is included as an Annex in theCAS document.

KeyDevelopmentSectors & Issuesin CAS

Action Required (bythe Bank)

Potential ‘ValueAdded’ of CS inImplementation ofCAS/CPS

Govt. Focusand FutureActivities ofother Partners

Key Actors inCS and theirCurrentParticipation

I. MaintainingEconomic, Social, &Political Stability

A. Public SectorReform - Improve

ExpenditureManagement

- Design andImplementAdministrative Reform

• disclose informationand disseminatereform agenda;

• include NGO andPA representativesin discussions anddesign of reform

Based on organiza-tional linkage, net-works, local knowl-edge, and outreachwith constituents:• inputs to working

groups; • outreach to educate

the public on anti-corruption meas-ures instituted;

• networks to holdGovernmentaccountable to itsreform agenda

Govt. organizingworking groups

NGO networksI and II; selectedProfessionalAssociations(PAs)

No direct roleidentified forCivil Society

B. Social Equity- Design and

ImplementLegal &JudicialReform

• share knowledgeand experience ofother countries infostering anenabling environ-ment for civil society;

• support initiativesto raise awarenesson the subjectamong public & pri-vate sectors, & civil society

• inputs to workinggroups;

• local knowledgeand focus to applythe learning fromother experiences;

• outreach to educatethe public on theneed for a strongcivil society withvoice and visibility

Govt. setting upworking groups;UNHCR/EC sup-porting develop-ment of laws reg-ulating NGOs

NGO networksI and II; select-ed PAs

Concerns focuson laws regulat-ing NGO/CSOs

37

KeyDevelopmentSectors & Issuesin CAS

Action Required (bythe Bank)

Potential ‘ValueAdded’ of CS inImplementation ofCAS/CPS

Govt. Focusand FutureActivities ofother Partners

Key Actors inCS and theirCurrentParticipation

II. ImprovingResourceAllocation

A. PrivateSectorDevelopment

- EnterprisePrivatization

- InstitutionalCapacityBuilding(PrivateSectorStrategy)

B FinancialSectorDevelopment

Selected PAsand NGOs indifferent sectors;NGOs workingwith smallenterprise andmicro-finance

Linkage existsbetween privateindustries andselected PAs /NGOs; limitedmicro-financeactivity throughNGOs

Govt. focus onnon-oil indus-tries; diversifyingthe economy;SME develop-ment supportedby many devel-opment agencies

USAID, EBRDinvolved in SMEsupport

• inputs and feed-back for the sectorstudy, on privateownership of land,and the labor mar-ket;

• outreach to diversegroups of profes-sionals throughPAs, and NGOumbrella groups,including greateraccess to local levelinstitutions;

• closer monitoringand greateraccountability ofgovt. and privatesector through localgroups

• conduct a detailedsector analysis ofcivil society as sig-nificant partners indevelopment

• share informationfrom other experi-ences;

• provide realisticopportunity for par-ticipation of civilsociety in actionsidentified;

• allocate time andresources to enhanceinstitutional capacityand the acceptanceof civil society assignificant partners

38

KeyDevelopmentSectors & Issuesin CAS

Action Required (bythe Bank)

Potential ‘ValueAdded’of CS inImplementation ofCAS/CPS

Govt. Focusand FutureActivities ofother Partners

Key Actors inCS and theirCurrentParticipation

Selected PAs,NGO networksand NGOs I andII working inrelevant sectors Several NGOs,PAs, and unreg-istered, infor-mal, communitygroup, are eitherworking or havefield knowledgeand experiencein areas such ascommunitydevelopment,extension serv-ices, water,micro-finance,diversification,improving theenvironment,and culturalheritage

Govt. focus onfarm privatization;rural financialservices & farmservices; irrigationand drainage;rehabilitation ofwater and sewagefacilities; upgrad-ing and mainte-nance of roadsand transport;urgent pollutionissues; restorationof monuments

UNDP involved inmicrofinance;IFAD, IsDB,Kuwait Fund inirrigation anddrainage infra-structure and for-mation of WUAs;EBRD in waterproject; UNDP,EU, GEFin envi-ronmental rehabil-itation, institution-al capacity, andCaspianEnvironment;UNESCO in cul-tural heritage

Based on knowledge,experience, and out-reach: • inputs to policy

dialogues and dis-cussions

• skills and experi-ence related to landreforms, farm serv-ices, communityorganization,micro-finance,WUAs, privatiza-tion of utilities, pol-lution risks andenvironmental stan-dards

• outreach for mes-sages related torehabilitation ofutilities and servic-es, and improve-ment of the envi-ronment

• inputs to extend thefocus of culturalheritage to aspectsof the living cul-ture, beyondrestoration of mon-uments

• skills and outreachfor design, imple-mentation, moni-toring, and evalua-tion of projects andprograms in areasidentified

• share information inadvance on all proj-ects and policy dia-logues;

• invite appropriateorganizations of civilsociety to participatein different stages ofanalytical, policy,and project work

• clarify the purposeof engagement withkey stakeholders,and work out pro-ductive forms ofparticipation andpartnership

• allocate time andresources appropri-ate to build effectivepartnerships andimplement pro-grams in the specificareas identified

A. Agriculture- Irrigation &

DrainageInfrastructure

B. RehabilitatingInfrastructure

- Water andSewage

- Roads, Trans-portation, &Telecommuni-cation

- Energy

C. EnvironmentalProtection

- Environment - Cultural

Heritage

For A, B & CIII. PromotingRuralDevelopmentandRehabilitatingInfrastructure

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KeyDevelopmentSectors & Issuesin CAS

Action Required (bythe Bank)

Potential ‘ValueAdded’of CS inImplementation ofCAS/CPS

Govt. Focusand FutureActivities ofother Partners

Key Actors inCS and theirCurrentParticipation

IV. HumanCapitalDevelopment

A. Education

B. Health

Selected PAs,NGOs I and IIworking in rele-vant sectors

Several NGOs,PAs, and otherorganizations ofcivil societyhave fieldknowledge &experience ineducation andhealth programsspeciallyfocused on IDPs

Govt. focus onmaintainingachievements ofSoviet period; reori-enting the curricu-lum; ensuringappropriate infra-structure and mate-rials; cost-recoveryand self-financedfacilities; privatesector investment

UNICEF, UNHCR,EBRD, UNDP,EBRD, ADB, IsDB,& Soros Foundationworking on districtpilot programs, cur-riculum develop-ment, communityinvolvement, repro-ductive health, IDPservices, and a pri-vate hospital

Based on knowl-edge, experience,networks, and out-reach:• inputs for analy-

sis and policy • outreach to cap-

ture the scale andintensity of deteri-oration in educa-tion and health;

• inputs to developstrategies, design,implement, andevaluate projectsappropriate to theneeds of localcommunitygroups;

• outreach to utilizeexisting expertisein the new institu-tional set up

• identify and inviteappropriate organi-zations of civil socie-ty to participate inanalytical, policy,and project work;

• work out specificroles together withgroups who haveknowledge andexperience in thesector

• build on localknowledge andexperience to searchfor and adapt local,traditionally soundsolutions to currentissues in the sector

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KeyDevelopmentSectors & Issuesin CAS

Action Required (bythe Bank)

Potential ‘ValueAdded’ of CS inImplementation ofCAS/CPS

Govt. Focusand FutureActivities ofother Partners

Key Actors inCS and theirCurrentParticipation

V. TargetingPoverty

PAs, selectedNGOs and localcommunitygroups

Frustration andconfusion isexpressed due tothe crumblingsystems of socialprotection

Govt. focus onindividual pen-sion accounts; sys-temic pensionreform

IMF, EU-TACISinvolved in pen-sion reform; ILOin social sectorreview; and UK-KHF for individ-ual pensionaccounts

Based on organiza-tional linkage, net-works, local knowl-edge, and outreachwith constituents:• inputs to bring

voice of differentconstituencies tothe design ofSystemic PensionReforms;

• outreach to learnfrom others andeducate the publicon the subject;

• inputs to thePoverty Assessmentupdate

• invite discussionand open dialoguewith PAs to under-stand the extent andintensity of the cri-sis;

• work with theselected groups ofPAs and NGOs toidentify, implement,and monitor pro-posed solutions

A. SocialProtection

Key:

NGO Intermediary organizations, community based organizations, grassroots organizations, groups not yetregistered, NGO support organizations

NGO I Local / national NGOsNGO II multi-country / international NGOsNGO Networks

Formal coalitions or informal clustering of groups of NGOs I, II, or a mix of both; sharing a sectoral(e.g. education), geographical (e.g. Baku), or functional (e.g. service delivery) vision and mandate; andworking together for a range of purposes.

PA Professional Associations linked to government, de-linked, registered as NGOs, or in transitionbetween PA and NGO

Note: This consultation was World Bank policy related.

Source: "Memorandum of the President of the IBRD and the IFC to the Executive Directors on a CountryAssistance Strategy for The Azerbaijan Republic"

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Bangladesh: Linking Local Input toNational Level

In Bangladesh, two institutional arrangements in spe-cific sectors offer examples on how input from localorganizations can be linked to the national level. Inboth cases, civic engagement at the local level hasresulted in government and civil society establishingpolicy development and policy review mechanismsjointly. This case also illustrates the connection ofCBOs to the national level as facilitated by NGOs.

In the area of fisheries management, input from civilsociety has been made possible through the introduc-tion of institutional innovations. Responding to adecline in fish stocks in inland floodplains, theDepartment of Fisheries introduced the practice offish stocking, but the temporary ban on fishing whilethe fingerlings matured raised concerns by local fish-ermen that the ban would be permanent, and theywould no longer be able to fish. In a pilot program,two NGOs were selected to organize fisherman intwo floodplains. The NGOs allayed concerns andhelped develop the local organizations’ abilities tomanage the stocked floodplains. At a later stage, theNGOs and local communities prepared lists of fisher-men to be endorsed by the Department of Fisheries. Afloodplains management committee was formed con-sisting of representatives from the Department ofFisheries and local government together with NGOsand representatives from local fishermen. This com-mittee established a transparent system of licensingand regulation.

The government of Bangladesh, with assistance fromthe World Bank’s International DevelopmentAssociation, has been upgrading its agriculturalextension services. Not only has the effort been reach-ing a wider range of farmers, it has actively includedparticipation and feedback in shaping the policygoals. After a pilot program in decentralization in onedistrict, the government approved a New AgriculturalExtension Policy which, among other elements,included establishing partnerships with NGOs andthe private sector. To guide the process of change, aninter-ministerial task force under the Secretary ofAgriculture was established, including NGO and pri-vate sector representatives, and similar coordinationcommittees now exist at local and regional levels. AnNGO liaison committee was also set up within thedepartment to encourage and guide collaborativeprojects.

Note: World Bank partnered with the client to assist with followup of this consultation.

Source: Adapted from: "Floodplains Fishery:

Community Participation that Works" and"Rejuvenating Agricultural Extension throughPartnership," South Asia Rural Development ProjectBriefs

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Bosnia and Herzegovina: Social Policy,Protection and Practice Conference

Poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina expanded dra-matically due to the destruction during the war.However, lack of state capacity, due to the combinedpressures of post-communist and post-conflict transi-tions, hampered efforts to address the needs of themost vulnerable in the population. Social policy hadbeen a low priority. Although international aid agen-cies had intervened with humanitarian assistance, by1997 the focus of assistance was shifting to recon-struction efforts. Many of the international aid agen-cies were also preparing for "turnover" of their func-tions to local organizations. This turnover, however,was complicated by the situation on the ground,including the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina bythe Dayton Peace Accords into two poorly coordinat-ed political entities, Republika Srpska and theFederation.

The European Community Humanitarian Office(ECHO) asked CARE to convene a forum for assess-ing existing poverty trends and vulnerability, dis-cussing the funding possibilities for social assistanceand social care programs, and evaluating policyoptions and priorities. This forum was intended as astep in the planning process for coordinating socialprotection policies. It was necessary for successfulevaluation, as well as political acceptance, that repre-sentation occur from all ethnic groups.

Two months prior to the forum, CARE circulated apreliminary document, describing the focus andthemes for the forum. At this initial stage, the areasnoted by people as important shaped the agenda forthe conference. Over one hundred follow-up meet-ings served the dual purpose of preparation for theconference and needs assessment. This extensiveprocess informed the public of the upcoming confer-ence, identified the relevant actors in a complex post-conflict situation, and laid the groundwork for subse-quent policy debates.

A number of agencies were asked to participate in theconference and to ensure that the proposals and rec-ommendations of the conference were implemented.From the local level, the final list of participantsincluded representatives from: women’s groups and

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social workers’ associations in addition to the munici-pal Centers for Social Work, universities in both enti-ties, children’s homes, youth centers, and geriatriccenters. In raising awareness and attention regardingthe importance of social policy, the organizers identi-fied a special need to include policy makers, politi-cians, academics and practitioners in the conference.This was seen as a means of facilitating the interac-tion of policy makers and practitioners so that bothcould understand the issues and concerns of theother, at the same time incorporating the academiccontext to inform the decisions of the other players.

Government officials from both entities participated,sending deputy ministers of their analogous socialpolicy departments. This, in itself, was an importantsignal in a country recovering from war in whichnational divisions were still critical and the two enti-ties were functioning separately on most issues.From the Federation, cantonal level ministry officialsalso attended (Republika Srpska is not divided intocantons).

Among the international organizations were NGOsand aid agencies: UNICEF, UNHCR, CARE, Medicinssans Frontiers, World Food Programme, NorwegianPeople’s Aid, and the Office of the HighRepresentative (the UN coordinating body forBosnia). Several embassies sent their representatives.World Bank, International Federation of the RedCross, and Red Crescent Societies were also includedin this process from the beginning and supported theconference.

Facilitators for the workshops were selected for theirskills at group work as well as their knowledge of thefield. All of the facilitators also worked in either anNGO or government social service and had an "on theground" sense of what some of the discussions couldmean in practice. Workshops were held on nine top-ics, and preliminary papers were circulated to serveas a starting point for discussion. Prior to the forum,there were some doubts among the "internationalcommunity" about in-country capacity to contributesubstantively to the forum. These doubts were thor-oughly allayed by the caliber of the workshop discus-sions. The participant from the Red Cross/ RedCrescent alluded to this in the closing plenary whenhe referred to the technical discussion on pensionreform in the workshop he attended and noted thathe was "feeling increasingly unqualified to talk atthis session."

The keynote speeches, workshop background papers,and the conference discussion were subsequentlypublished in English and Bosnian to serve as a refer-ence point and policy and practice document. This

forum played a defining role in the evolution of socialpolicy issues in Bosnia, due in no small part to itsinclusiveness. The Social Protection Task Force wasformed out of this process, co-chaired by the relevantassistant ministers from both entities, to continue thediscussion and develop the recommendations.

Note: World Bank was a participant in this consultation.

Source: Interview with Kendra Gregson and SocialPolicy, Protection and Practice: The Care ofVulnerable Groups in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Papersand proceedings from a conference held in Sarajevo.

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Brazil: Planafloro, From Confrontation withCivil Society to Collaboration

Planafloro is an emblematic example of an overlycomplex and troubled project that was completelyrestructured and decentralized in a participatory fash-ion. Planafloro is a Bank-funded natural resourcemanagement project in the Western Amazonian stateof Rondônia. Planafloro (Loan # 344-BR) was signedin 1992 at a total cost of $229 million (of which $167million was the Bank’s share), and became effective in1993. In hindsight, it became apparent that the projectdesign contained several flaws: too many sub-compo-nents (rain forest conservation, social development,road construction, indigenous health, and agro-forestry activities); a complex structure (involvementof 10 state and federal government agencies); over-ambitious and poorly defined sustainable develop-ment goals; and limited local ownership by both thestate government and the society at large.

At the end of the fourth year of the project, few of theproject goals had been met, stakeholder participationmechanisms were not working, and only 50 percentof the funds had been spent. The local NGO andSocial Movement Forum, with approximately 35 orga-nizational members (including agricultural workers’federations, indigenous organizations, rubber tapperassociations, environmental NGOs, and urban educa-tional groups) which had been established with thesupport of international NGOs (such as WorldWildlife Fund /Sweden and OXFAM/UK) to monitorPlanafloro, mounted an international campaign tosuspend disbursement of project funds, and sent arequest for inspection to the Bank’s Inspection Panel.

The Bank took several steps to address the issue.First, it decentralized project supervision responsibili-ty to the field office. Second, it decided to carry out acomprehensive and independent mid-term review ofthe project. Third, realizing that the project lacked

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local ownership and support at the state and locallevels, it insisted that the principal stakeholders takefull responsibility for its restructuring. The mid-termreview was conducted by a multidisciplinary team ofBrazilian consultants. A stakeholder consultationworkshop was organized in Porto Velho to discussthe possible reformulation of the project. Major stake-holders present at this workshop included the stateand federal governments, the NGO Forum, interna-tional NGOs, UNDP, and the World Bank.

A formal agreement was reached between the stategovernment and the CSOs that led to a completerestructuring of Planafloro. Project sub-componentswere reduced, the number of government executingagencies was cut back, and bureaucratic procedureswere streamlined. A $22 million demand-driven com-munity projects fund (PAIC) was created and is todaybeing co-managed with CSOs9. Equally important,long-standing mutual animosity and tension havegiven way to effective engagement. Once a policy ofmore open and frank dialogue began to be pursued,noticeably improved relations among CSOs, the stategovernment and the Bank were established. Based onthis positive momentum, a comprehensive strategicplanning exercise (Umidas) geared to defining a sus-tainable development plan for the state until the year2020, was carried out in 1998 involving the majorsocietal actors of Rondônia.

Note: World Bank was a stakeholder in this consultation.

Source: Interview with John Garrison and "FromConfrontation to Collaboration: Civil Society-Government-World Bank Relations in Brazil"

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Colombia: CAS- Consultation Dynamicsand the Use of Information Technology

Among the events held in connection with preparinga participatory CAS for Colombia were a series ofworkshops held with representatives of civil society.The agenda of the workshops was to define develop-ment priorities which could be used by the Bank andthe government as inputs in the CAS process. About140 groups were invited to participate. Among theorganizations invited were community groups,NGOs, religious groups, workers’ unions, academia,media and private sector associations. The partici-

pant selection process aimed to identify key leadersfrom a spectrum of civil society organizations whoseopinions are respected, carry substantial weight, andtranscend their respective organizations and cantherefore be considered to reflect the prevailing viewsin Colombian civil society. Invitees were given achoice of selecting which workshop to attend, so thateach workshop had a random mix of participants.

An innovative use of technology was adopted for thisCAS, GroupWare. This computer-based system allowsindividuals or small groups to express ideas andopinions using computer terminals or laptops linkedto a central service. On a large screen, the ideasappear without identifications of the source . Thismethod also allows participants to prioritize the listseasily, organize the ideas, and vote on options. Ideasstand on their own merit, regardless of source.

In a large group session, participants were asked toidentify the main challenges Colombia faces in eco-nomic and social development and their reasons forthose choices. Participants worked in groups of twoor three per laptop in this brainstorming. The listdeveloped was shown on the large screen as well ason the individual screens. Repetitive items were elim-inated or combined.

Once the list was agreed upon, each small group thenanalyzed topics in greater depth. They reviewed thecomments that had been made and discussed therelative roles of the different actors in the develop-ment challenges facing Colombia. An additional ele-ment of the exercise involved participants comment-ing on what they had learned that was innovative orsurprising to them.

The computer system utilized in this consultation lev-eled the playing field for all participants. Since com-ments made by individuals from diverse social, eco-nomic and authority statuses were displayed anony-mously, each was considered as valid as the next. Thiswas especially true since no one could erase any ofthe ideas and all became part of the record. Finally,participants voted on the most important issues andidentified who would be best able to carry out thesepriorities. Based on the voting results, an additionaldiscussion was held on how the Bank could betterrespond to national priorities.

Note: This consultation was CAS related.

9The coalition of civil society organizations coordinated by the NGO Forum (FETAGRO, CUNPIR, OSR) are not only members of the PAICDeliberative Council, which approves the projects submitted by the communities, but sit side by side with government technicians toanalyse the project proposals. This participation has enhanced the selection process in two basic ways: the analysis is more complete, as CSOrepresentatives have more local knowledge, and their presence has helped the state government avoid political pressures associated with thestate-wide elections held in 1998.

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Source: Based on an interview with Jairo Arboledaand his "Participatory Country Assistance Strategy inColombia: A Case Study"

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Dominican Republic: Profile of Civil socie-ty and CDF Consultation

Background: The Dominican Republic has experi-enced one of the highest growth rates in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean over the past fouryears. Despite this and its relatively young democrat-ic tradition, the living standards remain low.Conflicts concerning labor during the economic crisisof he 1980s created many civil society organizations.These organizations along with the private sector andinterest groups are still active. With a current transi-tion of power to a younger and more open genera-tion, civil society is finding its place in the DominicanRepublic. The country does, however, have a patternof conflictive political campaigns. A recent CDF thattook place during an election year helped lead to anational consensus building effort. The Bank’s pres-ence is relatively new; the resident mission was estab-lished in August 1999, and thus, there is not yet anestablished pattern of working with NGOs.

Scope: The civil society sector is largely unregulated.There is a proliferation of NGOs, many which arelinked to individuals (politicians) and are not missionfocused, but receiving assistance from the State.There is a national umbrella organization, Alianza.There seems to be good technical capacity in the inter-national and national organizations, but the capacityseems weak among the smaller and rural groups.

Process: The Bank was called upon by the Dominicangovernment and other key actors to assist in the cre-ation of a broad-based consultation process that helpsto build a consensus among the main political partiesabout development action plans and to help opera-tionalize the agreements made. An independentforum, the Pontificia Universidad Cátolica Madre yMaestra (PUCMM - Catholic University) under thedirection of a highly visible civil society leader, wasidentified and asked to coordinate the consultativeprocess to ensure the active participation andendorsement of all three parties. (This individual isknown for his background in conflict resolution andconsensus building.) The Bank secured an IDF grantto finance the consultation process. Heeding lessonsfrom previous consultative processes (including theGovernment’s National Dialogue of 1997-98), thisprocess aimed to involve all social and political forcesthat can give the outcomes high credibility and legiti-

macy, and focused on implementation. This was espe-cially critical as this process took place during an elec-tion year.

Starting in September 1999, the PUCMM organizedfive mesas de trabajo (roundtables or working groups)with participation from three main political parties,and representatives from civil society. Civil societyparticipants included representatives from tradeunions, established NGOs, and academia, but notthe smaller civil society groups. Congress was notrepresented. Some international donors (Germany,EU) participated and contributed funds. The topicsof roundtable discussions were: Social Policies forPoverty Reduction, Economic Development Policies,State Reform, Environmental Policy and Management,and Frontier Development and Relations with Haiti.The roundtables met 2 to 4 times per month to discussstrategy, commission studies, and eventually reachedconsensus on areas of commitment for action. Thecoordinators of each roundtable met frequently. TheBank has followed the process, but has not taken anactive, participatory role.

One successful outcome of the process was the inclu-sion of the five topics in all three political campaignagendas creating positive implications for the electoralprocess. The "Accord on Development Priorities forthe Dominican Republic," findings from each round-table were presented in December to the three presi-dential candidates in an official ceremony. The findingsare still preliminary, but identify issues and generalrecommendations. Candidates included sections fromthe Accord in their campaign platforms. The opposi-tion party, members of which showed great enthusiasmfor the process, won the election in May 2000.

During the transition to a new government, a couple ofthe roundtables have been used as consultative groupsto help shape government plans. Many of the partici-pants of the roundtables have been nominated to keygovernment positions and are seeking assistance fromthe roundtables to formulate their work plans. It ishoped that these roundtables will continue.

Note: In this consultation, World Bank organized the process.

Source: NGO/CS Unit’s interviews with MarcoMantovanelli, Resident Representative, DominicanRepublic (7/20/00) and John Panzer for the review,"Learning to Partner: Engaging Civil Society in the con-text of Country Assistance Strategies and theComprehensive Development Framework."(11/16/99), and from background materials.

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El Salvador, Colombia and Peru: Comparison of Participatory CASs

El Salvador Peru Columbia

Preparation (1) Led by LeadEconomist

(2) No Resident Mission(3) Delayed involvement

of CSS(4) Limited Government

involvement(5) No local Consultant(6) Consultation objec-

tives defined, but noagenda

(7) Questionable dissemi-nation of info.

(1) Led by CSONetworks

(2) Resident MissionInvolved

(3) CSS involved(4) Limited Government

involvement(5) No local Consultant(6) Consultation objec-

tives and agenda notclearly defined

(7) Some disseminationof information onBank & CAS

(1) Led by ResidentMission

(2) EDI & LLC involved(3) CSS involved(4) Government involved(5) Local Consultant

involved(6) Consultation objec-

tives and agendaspecified.

(7) Some disseminationof information onBank & CAS

Implementation (1) Two-day seminar ledby Bank staff

(2) 40-50 urban CSOs par-ticipated, includingmembership organiza-tions

(3) No facilitation or con-sultation

(4) Results not system-atized.

(1) CSO Networks carriedout 23 Workshops

(2) 530 urban and ruralCSOs participated.

(3) CSO Networks facili-tated consultation

(4) Networks summa-rized results withinput from CSS

(1) Two-day meeting ledby Resident Missionstaff

(2) 50 urban CSOs par-ticipated

(3) CSS and Local con-sultant facilitate con-sultation

(4) Results captured byelectronic techniquecalled Group Ware

Results (1) On CAS content, sub-tle but substantiveenriching of existingissues and flagging ofnew ones.

(2) Negative impact onBank-CSO relations

(1) On CAS content,deepened pre-definedissues.

(2) Positive impact onBank- CSO relationswith the establish-ment of local workinggroups for further

(1) On CAS content,strong impact ofCSOs. CAS prioritiesset based on consul-tation

2) Positive impact onBank- CSO relations& Government-CSOrelations.

Table 6 Source: Katherine Bain and Estanislao Gacitua-Manio, "Promoting a Participatory Country Assistance Strategy: Lessons Learnedfrom Colombia, El Salvador and Peru" in Thinking Out Loud

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Ghana: CDF- Building on ExistingProcesses

Ghana has developed a long-term, comprehensivevision for the development of the its economy, Vision2020. The Ghana Vision 2020 focuses on a participato-ry approach to, and ownership of, development poli-cies and programs through national consensus build-ing on strategic development issues. More recently,more elaborate sector strategies have emerged, as thegovernment of Ghana has developed its MediumTerm Expenditure Framework (MTEF). Each ministry,in detailing its current budget and proposing itsindicative budget for the following two years, out-lines its sector policy and targets to be achieved. Theexistence of a medium and long-term strategy pro-vides the foundation for a comprehensive povertyreduction strategy.

The Structural Adjustment Participatory ReviewInitiative (SAPRI) involves engagement with a widerange of civil society organizations and works withlinkages between national and local levels. Theobjective of SAPRI is to improve understandingabout the impacts of adjustment policies on the peo-ple and about how the participation of local, broad-based civil society can improve economic policy-making. The process also provides a building blockfor strengthening the poverty focus of the nationaldevelopment strategy.

In 1997, a civil society organization took the leadunder SAPRI in convening dialogue processes withseveral NGOs and labor unions active on areas linkedto structural adjustment. NGOs from all over thecountry attended a three-day national workshop inApril in Accra. This launched the outreach processthat popularized SAPRI with the help of the media.Ten regional workshops, held with over 170 CSOs,identified priority issues and led to a national confer-ence. A civil society steering committee (Civil SocietyCo-ordinating Council or CivisoC), representing abroad spectrum of CSOs, was established. TheTripartite Steering Committee, which includes gov-ernment representatives, civil society, and the WorldBank, meets on a regular basis. Since the steeringcommittee’s inception, civil society has been workingfairly independently in selecting researchers, carryingout methodological workshops, and developing theresearch design for SAPRI in Ghana.

The SAPRI process has served as an entry point forthe CDF. Two-day workshops were organized in sixregions. The participants were drawn from civil socie-ty groups (including CBOs, NGOs, trade unions,teachers’ groups, nurses and midwives’ associations)

and local government units. Participants identifiedpriorities and discussed issues relevant to develop-ment. World Bank representatives attended theseworkshops only to clarify policies. Following theworkshops, an in-country Consultative Group meet-ing was held and civil society observers were permit-ted to attend for the first time.

Note: This consultation was CDF related.

Sources: World Bank website on SAPRI in Ghana and CDF;Papers: "The Ghana CDF Pilot: The First Steps, a Progress Reportto the World Bank’s Executive Directors and "AFirst DraftComprehensive Development Framework Towards Ghana Vision2020 Tenth Consultative Group Meeting, November 23-24, 1999,Accra"; and NGO/Civil Society Unit interviews with CountryDirector Peter Harrold and Social Development Specialist KofiMarrah for review, "Learning to Partner: Engaging Civil Society inthe context of Country Assistance Strategies and theComprehensive Development Framework.".

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Hungary: Civil Sector Conference

A two-day conference organized by the Associationof Nonprofit Human Services and the Civil SocietyDevelopment Foundation, Hungary, in cooperationwith the World Bank Regional Office in Budapest inApril 1999 aided in mapping the civil society sectoras well as identifying issues to be addressed by theWorld Bank and the government. Five workinggroups were organized to prepare for the confer-ence, and an agreement was also reached with thegovernment’s Department of Civil Relations.Originally planned for 100 participants, the confer-ence was expanded to accommodate more of the450 applicants.

Recommendations developed at the conferencewere presented to the government. Participants pro-posed more uniformity of laws governing the NGOsector and voiced concerns about the administrativecosts of regulated compliance. Taxation and fundingissues were also handled in detail.

Another major substantive area addressed by CSOparticipants was "the social dialogue system." Thisrefers to integration of CSOs into governmental poli-cy formulation. Many of the recommendationsreflect the principles on consultations found in theguidelines presented here. CSOs recommendedtransparency concerning which organizations areparticipating by establishing clear selection stan-dards or criteria and letting CSOs chose their ownrepresentatives for participation in decision-makingfora. This proposed integration would also take placeat the regional and local level through mutual co-

47

ordination boards. These boards were created to inte-grate social welfare activities of CSOs with local gov-ernance.

The Hungarian government has established theDepartment of Civil Relations within the PrimeMinister’s Office as a step towards partnering withcivil society in a systematic manner. For Hungary, theissue of accession to the European Union is a crucialpolitical question that also has an impact on supportfor CSOs.

Note: In this consultation, World Bank was a co-organizer of theprocess.

Source: Interview with Tunde Buzetzky and summary of "Dialogue

for the Civil Hungary"

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Kyrgyz Republic: CDF

The Kyrgyz Republic participated in the CDF pilotprocess and has extended that process into formulat-ing their National Strategy for Poverty Reduction.The CDF process engaged a number of stakeholdersas active participants. This participation has generat-ed strong interest and growing demands forinvolvement.

To formulate the Vision 2000-2010 (as the Kyrgyzplan for long-term sustainable development isknown), the Core Group was created, headed by thePrime Minister and including the Minister ofFinance. Four working consultative groups wereformed, comprised of representatives fromParliament, government agencies, NGOs and the pri-vate sector. In addition to these groups, the CDFprocess introduced a number of consultative mecha-nisms. The Counterpart Consortium (a USAID initiat-ed foundation which supports local NGOs) organizedoblast-level roundtables for NGOs prior to the CDFworkshops. An initial CDF workshop was held inFebruary 2000 and three additional thematic work-shops (on poverty alleviation, sustainable economicgrowth, and good governance) were held in May-July2000. Prior to each workshop, government partici-pants and NGO participants in the roundtables wereasked to respond to a set of six questions asking themto rank priorities. At each workshop, a matrix waspresented comparing the responses of NGOs to theresponse of the government. Following the workshopon poverty alleviation, large oblast-level assemblieswere held. As of October 2000, the CDF was beingdrafted, and the inputs from the consultative mecha-nisms are expected to be reflected in the draft.

Note: This consultation was CDF related.

Source: Interview with Stan Peabody, draft of "Learning toPartner: Engaging Civil Society in the CAS/CDF" and materialfrom the Kyrgyzstan Development Gateway website

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Niger: CAS- Facilitation and HandlingConsultation Issues

The 1996 CAS for Niger was prepared in a participa-tory manner, with consultations held in the country’seight regions. The process was initiated with supportfrom the Prime Minister’s Office and subsequentlyreceived support from other government agencies,including the Ministry of Planning. The first pilotexercise was held in the Tillabery region, an impov-erished area approximately 100 kilometers from thecapital. Prior to the workshop, an information gath-ering session also served to publicize and explain thereasons for the workshop.

As the workshop began, it became apparent thatlocal government staff were overshadowing commu-nity spokespersons and civil society representativeswith their tendencies to interject their views into thediscussion. The workshop was then split into twogroups, 1) those representing local community-basedperspectives, including traditional and religiousleaders, women’s groups and local associations and2) those representing local government, technicaland administrative perspectives.

The CS specialist facilitated and moderated the com-munity group debate, which was held in local lan-guages. He noted that by working without languagebarriers, community representatives expressed theirconcerns on a number of issues freely and becameengrossed in the discussions, to the extent that keep-ing track of time was a problem.

Although the debates had occurred in the local lan-guages, the groups’ reporters (technical specialistswho work in the regional government) wrote thedraft of the proceedings in French. More of thereporters’ views and concerns slipped into the draft,making it inconsistent with the views expressed bythe community group participants. When partici-pants read the draft proceedings, by way of transla-tion, they objected, saying that it was a paternalisticexpression and did not reflect their discussion, butrather the recommendation of the reporters. Despitethe late hour and fatigue of the participants, thedebate reopened.

Participants made the following comments on theconsultation process:

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• "You, the World Bank, you should be consistentand keep to what we are actually telling you- ourpreoccupation, our concerns. In the future, youshould come directly to us for information like youdid this morning."

• "You have seen that if it hadn’t been required totranslate and distribute the materials, our viewscould have been misrepresented.

Note: This consultation was CAS related.

Source: Adapted from Abdoul-Wahab Seyni in ATapestry of Hopes

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Peru: Rural Roads Project

By using a consultative process, a rural road improve-ment project in Peru was itself improved to meet thetrue needs of local communities. Rather than simplycreating or reconstructing roads belonging to the net-work of road of the mountainous Sierra region, need-ed footpaths were incorporated in to the design.Many pathways and roads had become impassableand dangerous, reducing travel and subsequently vil-lagers’ opportunities for trade and socializing. Theproject was created to give isolated towns betteraccess to market centers and social services; help cre-ate jobs; and improve the maintenance of rural roadsthrough community-based initiatives.

When the project was being prepared, leaders of localcommunities, road officials, and non-governmentalorganizations participated in consultative workshopsto agree on key aspects ranging from the projectdesign to its implementation. Since then, about 43workshops have been held with local communities tomake sure that the priorities are in line with traveland transport needs as perceived by the communities,e.g., which roads and paths (or tracks) to select forrepairs and in what order of priority.

Participants in the workshops, including both menand women, discussed preferences for pathways overroads in certain areas, describing usage patternswhich the original project had not encompassed. "Wewould never have known the extent to which peopleneeded safe paths, rather than roads, had we not heldthese very inclusive workshops," says Jose LuisIrigoyen, a highway engineer with FPSI (Finance,Private Sector and Infrastructure network) in chargeof the Bank project, now preparing the second phase.

Gender roles and relations played an important partin the consultations. Initially, the team had expectedto be working with a very homogenous region. Infact, there were many differences in the communities,particularly where the roles of men and women were

concerned. Gender relations in the largely indige-nous southern communities are distinct from thosein the largely Spanish-influenced north. Women inthe south are accustomed to participating in discus-sions and working alongside men. Traveling outsidetheir communities was not as great a lifestyle changeas in the towns to the north. In the north, womentraditionally did not participate in discussions anddecisions, and their freedom to travel to other townsis of concern to the men.

One outcome of the workshops was the creation ofcommunity-based micro-enterprises for maintenanceof roads and pathways. With the help of local non-governmental organizations, members of the com-munity were trained in basic bookkeeping and otherskills and were assisted in getting identificationcards needed to get small bank loans. The micro-enterprises were also a catalyst for new income-gen-erating activities, such as van services to bring menand women into town, where they could trade orsell their wares, visit health services, and socialize.

Relationships were also changed, as the trust levelsbetween local communities, non-governmentalorganizations, and Peruvian government officialsincreased in part, at least, because of the roadimprovement project and the consultative process. Inparticular, government officials came to recognizethe value of NGOs that were most familiar with localcommunities and environment, and on whom theyrelied to play a key coordinating role.

Note: In this consultation, World Bank initiated the process.

Source: Interview with Elizabeth Dasso and "Peru’s Rural Roads"(Today article)

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Philippines: CAS- Partnering with a CivilSociety Network

Philippines possesses a large and advanced civilsociety. Not only is their NGO network large andactive, but also includes an organization named CO-TRAIN. CO-TRAIN (Community OrganizingTraining and Research Advocacy Institute) focusesattention on capacity-building and training of CSOs.The CAS consultations in the Philippines were facili-tated through a partnership formed with CO-TRAINand representatives from other networks.

Overall, the CAS consultation built on establishedgood relations and previous consultative processes.The plan for consultations was initially discussedwith a small group of NGO representatives, whichlater became an informal advisory body for the CAS

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consultation. Rather than an isolated act, the CASconsultation deepened and broadened the experiencesof consultation in a supportive political environment.For example, the consultation plan was discussed andapproved by the government. Good political timingalso benefited the process as the consultation was heldwhen the new administration was drawing up itsMedium Term Plan for Development.

One-day consultation workshops were held in Manilaand in three other strategic sites to represent the threemajor groups of islands. NGOs, people’s organiza-tions, trade union members, and representatives ofindigenous groups participated in the workshops.Separate consultation meetings were held with gov-ernment (both at the national and local level), donors,academe and the business community.

Together with the World Bank and the informal groupof NGO advisors, CO-TRAIN identified the objectivesand the expectations for the exercise. Co-Train’s assis-tance in organizing and facilitating the consultationsextended to documenting and translating World Bankinformation into Filipino and into a more "friendly"format. They also documented the issues and recom-mendations raised by the participants and these wereresponded to by the Bank staff. (These were all incor-porated in one of the annexes of the CAS document.)They subsequently disseminated the CAS draft pro-gram matrix throughout their networks, providingwider coverage than was possible through the consul-tations themselves. After the consultations, the gov-ernment also requested that the CAS be made a publicdocument. With the CAS made public, the Bank againheld another round of meetings with the participantsin earlier consultations, giving them copies of the CASand further feedback on the issues they raised duringCAS formulation.

Note: This consultation was CAS related.

Source: Interview with Leonora Aquino-Gonzales, ExternalRelations Officer, World Bank Office Manila

Senegal: Sustainable and ParticipatoryEnergy Management Project

The Sustainable and Participatory EnergyManagement Project (SPEMP) in Senegal focuses onsustainable management of forest resources, includingidentifying alternative employment for peopledependent upon commercial sales of wood and char-coal, both scarce natural resources that serve as pri-mary sources of fuel. The project is being implement-ed by the Ministries of Energy and Environment. Thisproject demonstrates that without local level participa-tion, priorities of local communities may be over-looked. It has been improved in order to help connect

community organizations to the planning of projects.A local NGO, selected by the government, is work-ing with the World Bank project team at the level ofcommunities and civil society organizations. Theteam formulated a Community and Civil SocietyParticipation Plan, with the help of the NGO LiaisonOfficer/Participation Specialist at the resident mis-sion who also trained team members in participatoryrural appraisal (PRA) methods.

As with many forest projects, the SPEMP recom-mended that villagers plant species for which theproject team had resources to develop the seedlings.However, matrix scoring exercises in the nine vil-lages in which research was conducted revealed thatthese species did not match the priority of the com-munities. Interest was higher in local species whichhave other applications. Results also showed theneed to incorporate gender differences in priorities.Women were interested in trees producing leaves forcooking to improve the nutritional status of house-holds. Men were more interested in forage produc-ing trees for feeding cattle, goats, and sheep duringthe long dry season.

Based on preliminary findings of the PRAs, the proj-ect team also changed its approach with respect tolocal institutions. Initially, the project team hadplanned to create forest management committees ineach village. The PRAs revealed a significant poten-tial for existing youth and women’s associations tocarry out the activities of the project. Rather thancreating new structures whose existence is solelydependent on the project and transitory resources,the team decided to rely on existing groups toensure sustainability of the new initiatives.

Note: In this consultation, World Bank was a co-organizer of theprocess.

Source: Interview with Demba Balde and his paper "Senegal: ANew Participatory Approach to Energy Management" in ATapestry of Hopes

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Ukraine: Broadening the Process ofConsultation

The Ukraine 2001-2003 CAS extended the process ofconsultation from in-country roundtables to a web-based discussion forum. The approach adopted inUkraine offers a model of how to integrate on-lineconsultations with other methods. A Bank mission,led by the country director, held an initial round ofmeetings in April with parliamentarians and NGOs.During a later mission, Bank officials held thematicroundtables on environmental issues, poverty reduc-

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tion, private business development, anti-corruption,and energy sector reform. Consultations were heldnot only in the capital of Kyiv, but also in Zhytomyr,Dnepropetrovsk, and Donetsk. The mission met withmore than 200 civil society organizations includingNGOs, local civic associations, business groups, pro-fessional associations, media representatives, andthink-tanks. Sector managers and task team leadersbriefed participants on their respective sector strate-gies and on-going projects and programs.

The consultations allowed the Bank and the govern-ment to gather responses to the draft CAS and alsoallowed participants to exchange views. Of the fol-low-up meetings held with parliamentarians, one (avideoconference linked with WB headquarters)focused on anti-corruption and good governance andalso included members of the presidential adminis-tration and the government. Another meeting on thesame theme brought together donors with NGOs.Representatives from other IFIs and other donors,potential investors and industry professionalsexchanged views on reforms in the energy sector. AnNGO Contact Group of 11 members was establishedto serve as an advisory body to the resident mission,to help organize future consultations.

The next stage of CAS consultations was initiatedwith the resident mission launching its DiscussionForum, some two months after the formation of thecontact group. The resident mission website postedkey documents in Ukrainian and English language,including the draft CAS and background notes. Thewebsite allows readers to review comments postedby others as well as the proceedings of previous con-sultations. These documents were posted in Russian,Ukrainian and English. Comments on the CAS rangefrom a general discussion of the priorities for devel-opment and how growth can be stimulated in theeconomy, to a line-by-line, specific critique of thedraft CAS document.

The discussion forum also established ground rulesfor participation which recognize issues specific to anon-line forum, i.e., that material can easily be repost-ed to other discussion groups and that others mayestablish links to the discussion. Particularly, partici-pants in the on-line forum were informed that theircontributions are assumed to be their personal opin-ion, unless they clearly state that their contributionrepresents the viewpoint of their organization.Participants were asked not to quote an opinion asbeing held by an organization unless it is indicated assuch.

The 2001-2003 CAS was approved by the Board onSeptember 12, 2000. The final document includes an

attachment entitled "CAS Consultations withStakeholders" which outlines the process and sum-marizes the observations and responses received bytopic. One attachment to the CAS document consistsof recommendations for improved outreach to civilsociety organizations that emerged during the CASconsultation process.

Note: This consultation was CAS related.

Source: Interview with Dmitro Derkatch, Ukraineresident mission’s website, and Today articles

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Zambia: CAS Consultations

CAS Consultations for FY 2000-2002 in Zambia wereorganized around the theme: "Realizing the Promiseof Prosperity in Zambia." NGO consultations weremoderated by a member of the NGO communitywith input from consultants to the World Bank.

Participants were given the following documents inadvance: development objectives and policies of thegovernment of Zambia, World Bank’s preliminaryassessment of the 96-99 CAS, a listing of the WorldBank’s active projects, and a note on the World Banklending program.

When participants arrived at each NGO workshop,short versions of the documents previously distrib-uted were displayed on notice boards as a focus forthe morning’s discussion. They were also given theWorld Bank Group’s Mission Statement and JamesWolfensohn’s draft of "A ComprehensiveDevelopment Framework." The workshops wereintroduced with opening statements from Zambia’sSecretary of the Ministry of Energy and WaterDevelopment and from World Bank representatives.

The independent facilitator then introduced theagenda, first asking participants to introduce them-selves, their organizations, and the field in whichthey worked. Discussion began with the policies andstrategies of the government. Participants preparednote cards with their comments regarding each ofthe four policies identified and on cross-cuttingissues. Some general comments were made abouttheir own lack of knowledge of government strate-gies and policies. Criticism was also directed at theextent to which funds were used for setting up gov-ernment (salaries, expenditure on vehicles) and notimplementation of projects. Later sessions involvedsmall groups working on issues of six priority areasestablished in the earlier discussions. Outputs fromthese discussions were presented to the plenary.

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With respect to the Bank’s work, NGO participantssuggested that the Bank increase allocations todirectly affect poverty and to listen more to the poor.It was also recommended that NGOs should beinvolved from the early stages of project implemen-tation.

After the Consultative Group meeting for Zambiaconcluded the country director for Zambia returnedto lead a series of feedback sessions, inviting partici-pants in the original CAS consultations to participatein these feedback sessions.

Note: In this consultation, World Bank was a co-organizer of theprocess.

Source: Interview with Helen Mbao and her synthesis report on

the CAS consultations

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Pakistan: Left Bank Outfall Drain project

Context: The Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) proj-ect of Pakistan was to provide a range of drainageinfrastructure consisting of wells, interceptor drains,and tile drains to remove saline groundwater froman area of 1.3 million acres and to evacuate it to theArabian Sea through a network of surface drains.The Drainage Advisory Service (DAS) has providedliaison between the Water and Power DevelopmentAuthority (WAPDA), the implementing agency ofthe LBOD project, and the range of communities,organisations and groups which are directly affectedby, or involved with, the project. With the sophisti-cated pumps and electronic controls provided atLBOB drainage facilities, the involvement of both themanaging agency responsible for the operation andmaintenance (O&M) of the pumpsets and the directbeneficiaries of drainage is required.

In order to increase the chances for success of thisproject, a communication strategy has been put intoplace that will allow for all parties to learn to worktogether. One component of this strategy involvedconsultations with the beneficiaries: farmers.

The consultative process : A variety of consultationmethods have been developed depending on theparticular purpose to be achieved.

• Farmer gatherings and orientation meetings• Farmer exhibitions• Consultation workshops• "Walk-throughs" with farmers• Farmer exchange visits

These consultations events were initially held asindependent events but increasingly, DAS staffchose to combine, consultation workshops withexhibitions.

Consultations and extension methods or techniquesare used to both inform farmers about the project aswell as elicit from them their ideas and willingnessto support different aspects. As a result of farmershaving little involvement in the construction phaseof the first project facilities, farmers identified waysin which communities in new construction areas canassist the project. These include: i) conducting base-line surveys, ii) refining design maps and plans, iii)prior to construction, identifying appropriate localcontractors, and making arrangements where possi-ble for use of local manpower, iv) resolving crop andland compensation disputes and v) assuring securityfor project field personnel.

From these suggestions, farmer exhibitions and con-sultation workshops were organized. The purposeof these meetings has been to: i) raise farmer aware-ness about LBOD and provide information about theproject and its benefits, ii)identify ways in which thecommunity may participate in the project, ii)assessthe feasibility of an organisation to represent localfarmer interests, iv) encourage the formation of afarmer organisation to represent their interests inproject dealings, v) identify a group of farmers torepresent community interests prior to the establish-ment of a formal organisation, and vi) discuss theprospective role of farmers in safeguarding andmaintaining project facilities.

The format of the meetings evolved due to circum-stance. Since there are relatively few senior staffwithin DAS who have both a broad understandingof the project and facilitation skills, early meetingsplaced the focus on 10-15 dignitaries on a platform.A loudspeaker system was provided for speeches bythe visitors, which were then followed by a shortquestion and answer session during which thefarmer-participants identified issues of local concernin English, in honour of the guests. A newapproach put the community – its interests, viewsand opinions – first and has external agents such asproject staff, play a facilitative, supportive rolerather than a directive one. Though the focus wasnow in the right direction, still there problems to beironed out. After a few meetings, organizers learnedthe way to ensure that future meetings would not bedominated by vocal minorities and opinionatedindividuals, was to introduce a new format.Meetings held in autaks (community halls) with

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fewer participants divided into small workgroupsenabled a more constructive discussion to result. Based on the experience, a streamlined approach tofield consultation and extension activities hasevolved, which includes the following steps:

• Preliminary reconnaissance visits by junior DASfield staff

• Exhibitions to inform the wider community aboutthe works

• Consultation workshops to establish local issuesand priorities

• Informal women’s meetings• Visits by farmers to an operating system to wit-

ness benefits• Joint tours (or walk-throughs) along the route of

the proposed drainage channel to assess theimplications of design changes with landownersand operators.

Formal Consultation Meetings and Exhibitions For sev-eral days in advance of formal meetings and exhibi-tions, mid-level and junior field staff of DAS estab-lish contact with the host community, establishingdetails of land use, social data, irrigation issues anddrainage priorities. They explain the purpose of theexhibition-workshop, and agree on a convenientvenue and time. The host community is encouragedto take a lead role in the organisation of the meetingand invite farmers from surrounding villages.Senior DAS staff then led meetings of 100 to 200farmers and community leaders.

Women’s Meetings A number of different types ofmeetings to familiarise women with the projectactivities have been tested within rural communities.Female WAPDAextension workers held six formalwomen’s exhibitions to inform women about theproject. Later, female extension workers visited vil-lages without advance notice and spoke to smallergroups of women in their houses and in the field. Incases where the community was sufficiently largeand the women at the informal gatherings were keenthat their friends and neighbours also had theopportunity to hear about the project, follow-up vis-its were arranged so that longer and more formalextension programmes could be held.

Presentations were also made to female staff ofNGOs and female trainees of the AgriculturalExtension Training Institute at Sakrand. The femaleextension staff spent considerable time working withthe women of six communities where Women’sAction Groups (WAGs) were formed.Complementary training was provided to women inareas surrounding the location of a number of thelarger exhibitions attended by males.

In one community, informal meetings were held topublicise to women the plans for construction of tiledrainage facilities. Over 2,783 women were visited intheir homes by DAS female extension workers; 15women visited a working tile drainage installation; afurther 15 visited a community based organisation(CBO) formed and supported by the National RuralSupport Programme, a national NGO. Presentationswere also made by DAS female extension staff towomen in various other NGO/CBO forums.

Exchange visits In early years, exchange visits wereused to demonstrate operating scavenger wells togroups of 100 to 150 farmers. As farmers becamemore familiar with project technology, visits bysmaller groups of carefully selected community rep-resentatives from new areas of construction werefacilitated by DAS so that the visitor-farmers couldwitness the benefits of drainage and the organisa-tional arrangements required for sustainable opera-tion at successful operational wells

Informal Meetings Informal farmer meetings havealso been carried out in advance of construction withthe aim of informing farmers about the project andwelcoming their questions and opinions. Field assis-tants gather 10-15 farmers to discuss the project andcanvas farmer opinion, leaving project leaflets forthe farmers to discuss with other colleagues.

Final Acceptance Tests (FATs) Final acceptance testshave been undertaken in Saghar where project staff,the contractor, farmers and DAS are represented atthe final testing of scavenger wells. The purpose isto demonstrate the proper functioning of thedrainage system and to gain the support of the farm-ers for shared operation and maintenance of thewell. The need for farmer involvement in FATs arosebecause of complaints about the construction work.By correcting mistakes identified by farmers, there isa better prospect of farmer support for shared O&M.The FAT programme also requires farmers to agreeon the numbers and locations of structures along thedisposal channel and to remove all other obstruc-tions.

Source: Adapted From Main Report of LBOD CommunicationStrategy, Chapter 3: Farmer consultation processes: methods andExperience, Government of Pakistan Water and PowerDevelopment Authority

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EU- ACP: Lomé IV Convention

The negotiations for a Convention to succeed theLomé IV Convention began in September 1998 and

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included a range of civil society consultations. LoméConvention, originally signed in 1975 between theEuropean Community and former colonies in Africa,Caribbean, and the Pacific (ACP), expired in February2000. The Lomé Convention included aid support andspecial trade provisions for the 71 ACP countries. Inrenegotiating Lomé, the European Commission’s man-date explicitly expanded the dialogue, stating theintent to "extend the partnership beyond the govern-ment and its agencies as hitherto, to encompass awide range of non-governmental actors."

Prior to the renegotiations of Lomé, several CaribbeanNGOs began organizing and holding regional meet-ings with other CSOs, government ministers orNational Authorizing Officers, and the EUDelegations. The Caribbean Policy DevelopmentCentre was then asked to facilitate the discussionswith the Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARI-COM) and with Cariforum (the group tasked with dis-bursement of EU funds). As a result of these efforts,the Regional Indicative Plan was modified to includea budget to support participation, and some nationalplans were developed with civil society inputs.

Beginning October 1997, organizations from the ACPcountries met on several occasions to discuss ways ofimproving dialogue with the EU, and established theACP Civil Society Forum. In some cases, an umbrellaor network organization took the initiative on organiz-ing consultation meetings. In Southern Africa, anNGO support organization, the Reflection andDevelopment Centre for NGOs in Eastern andSouthern Africa (MWENGO), organized national andregional meetings. In Uganda, the meetings wereorganized in 1997 by the Development Network ofIndigenous Voluntary Associations (DENIVA). TheNational Authorizing Officer (government minister)and desk officers attended this meeting, providinginformation and answering questions. Follow-upmeetings included a National Forum (in which the EUDelegation actively participated) and an ACP NGOsmeeting (that was opened by the Ugandan minister ofplanning).

Elsewhere, joint or national committees were estab-lished. The Tanzanian Consultative Group on theLomé Convention comprised of government officialsand representatives from civil society organizations,academia, and the private sector. In South Africa, aninterdepartmental governmental Lomé Conventioncommittee was established and this committeeorganized seminars in cooperation with civil society.

Northern civil society partners supported the consul-tations. The European Center for Studies, Informationand Education on Pacific Issues (ECSIEP) which focus-

es on networking and information dissemination,partnered with the Pacific Concerns Resource Center(PCRC, a Fiji based network of approximately 150Pacific NGOs). In 1997, they held meetings in eightPacific ACP countries and three French territories,determining that there was little knowledge of orinterest in the Lomé Convention. These findingsdetermined their subsequent information dissemina-tion strategy. Elsewhere, the Northern organizationsof Interchurch Organization for Development Co-operation in the Netherlands and SOS-Faim inBelgium provided funding for seminars.

Sources: Grauman, A. "Experiences of Dialogue between CivilSociety and National Governments in the EU-ACPPartnership,INZETand INZET, "Civil Society Participation in a New EU-ACPPartnership," Workshop report.

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Organization of American States (OAS):Development of Inter-American Strategy

In 1997, the OAS began the process of formulatingthe Inter-American Strategy for the Promotion ofPublic Participation in Decision-Making forSustainable Development (ISP). The processinvolved consultations in all OAS member states onthe Policy Framework and Recommendations forAction which are now under consideration for adop-tion. A key component of the ISP was "the testing,using the inputs from other activities, of pilot mod-els of consultative approaches to build public-privatepartnerships for policy-making, including their insti-tutionalization in relevant bodies of the OAS." EachOAS member state designated National Focal Pointsto serve as in-country liaisons with the OAS for theprocess. In addition, a Project Advisory Committee,consisting of seven representatives each from gov-ernment and from civil society, provided strategicguidance and advice. Each National Focal Pointorganized the consultative process for that country.

National Focal Points received a Consultation Kitwhich included an executive summary of the ISPprocess and documents; a recommended consulta-tion process and schedule for action; and consulta-tion guidelines and tools. This last item was dividedinto materials for outreach, meetings and reporting.Samples of a distribution letter, press release, meet-ing agenda, and meeting aids were provided.Information dissemination occurred through umbrel-la organizations who would then distribute the draftdocuments to their members. In Peru, for example,approximately 700 organizations were eventuallyreached in this manner as organizations continuedreplicating and sending on the documents. Through

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the process of information dissemination, additionalcivil society organizations were identified to beincluded in the civil society roster.

The process of final approval of the draft ISP docu-ment was postponed to respond to demands foradditional consultations. While there was fear thatdelay would derail the process, some coordinatorsthought that an additional level of consultationswould increase ownership over the strategy by indi-vidual countries. The OAS also posted detailedreports on national level consultations on the websiteto further broaden the discussion. The draft docu-ments were also posted on the website with a link toprovide feedback directly.

Another component of the ISP process was the estab-lishment of demonstration sites to serve as modelsfor public involvement in decision-making. Amongthese, the Portland Bight Protected Area in Jamaicaillustrates some of the mechanisms by which civilsociety organizations can be identified and thenincorporated into planning resource management.Profiles were developed for thirty of the communitiesin the parishes of Saint Catherine and Clarendon,noting all existent groups such as community associ-ations, youth clubs, environmental groups, andwomen’s organizations. Presentations were made atthe meetings of community associations, explainingthe idea of the Portland Bight Protected Area andrequesting a prioritized list of problems and issues.Each community was asked to select two people torepresent them on the Portland Bight Citizens’Councils. This process helped to familiarize thepotentially affected communities with the environ-mentally protected-area status, gathered input oncommunity needs, and established a mechanismthrough which local and central government candevelop the Management Plan for the area jointlywith civil society organizations.

Source: Interview with Zoila Giron, ISPCo-ordinator, FernandoBambaren, and Joseph Kershner, OAS; The Inter-AmericanStrategy for the Promotion of Public Participation in Decision-Making for Sustainable Development (ISP) Policy Framework,Recommendations for Action and Consultation Kit; and CaribbeanCoastal Area Management Foundation, Final Technical Report onthe Capacity Building Programme on Public Participation toManage Terrestrial and Marine Resources with the Portland BightProtected Area, Jamaica"

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United Nations Development Program(UNDP): Civil Society Sourcebook

The Civil Society Organizations and ParticipationProgram (CSOPP) of the UNDP has developed aSourcebook to provide information to Country

Offices to aid them in building partnerships withCSOs. The document provides an overview of someof the key issues donor agencies face in working withCSOs and expanding their role into new areas. Itspreface acknowledges some of the same obstacles theWorld Bank considers in the Consultation Guidelines:government resistance, lack of CSO capacity, and CSOmistrust.

In identifying characteristics of civil society, theCSOPP Sourcebook distinguishes between:

"mutual benefit organizations- these are organiza-tions composed of citizens who are members of theorganization and whose purpose is to help themembers" and "public benefit organizations- theseare organizations of citizens whose purpose is tohelp identified other people, or to help everyone,but not specifically members of the organization."

The Sourcebook addresses the question of movingbeyond CSO roles in service delivery and projectimplementation towards policy and project develop-ment. Much of the discussion focuses on creating anenabling environment for working in new ways withCSOs. Information sharing and donor transparencyare seen as essential in this process. In addition togreater information sharing by UNDP developing theinformation base on CSOs in-country is seen as amajor component of this effort. This necessitates "animaginatively designed data collection system" to col-lect and store information on more informal organiza-tions. The section notes that "most databases on CSOsare akin to telephone directories." The proposedManagement Information System would have:

• "Information on CSOs with which the CountryOffice has collaborated during the last year

• nature of that collaboration• individual organization’s strengths and weaknesses• details of CSOs that have been excluded from co-

operation with UNDP in the course of the year, andthe reasons why

• various CSO activities that UNDP has agreed tosupport

• resources that UNDP has allocated to those differ-ent activities, human, information, and financial."

Separate materials produced by the CSOPP examinecase studies and provide a guide to participatory tech-niques and methods. The CSOPP website(www.undp.org/CSOPP/CSO) is well-organized andprovides access to a range of documents.

Source: Civil Society Organizations and Participation Program,Toolbox: Civil Society Sourcebook, United Nations DevelopmentProgram

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USAID: New Partnership Initiative andInter-sectoral Partnering

The US Agency for International Development’sNew Partnership Initiative (NPI) has been workingalong parallel lines in encouraging collaborationbetween government and civil society in policyplanning and has explicitly addressed its role as afacilitator. Recent works on intersectoral partner-ing(ISP) have built on the NPI experiences, andcivil society participation (more broadly drawn) isaddressed in an anthology of cases and resources.While this material is too extensive to summarizein its entirety, particular observations apply to theconsultation process.

NPI is defined as "an integrated approach to sus-tainable development that uses strategic partner-ing and the active engagement of civil society, thebusiness community, and institutions of democrat-ic local governance to bolster the ability of localcommunities to play a lead role in their own devel-opment." Between March and October 1996, theapproach was piloted in 15 USAID missions. Anextensive review of the pilot includes synthesismaterials and case studies.

The NPI Resource Guide (NPI-RG) suggests meansof analyzing tensions between potential partners(such as government and CSOs), noting that whenthere has not been interaction, key players maytend to focus on their differences. A suggestedtechnique to be used in the process of mappingexisting interactions is to ask people if they canimagine working with some other organizationwith which they have not worked in the past. Thismay elicit some of the reason behind tensions, ifthese exist, and also aid in the process of identify-ing someone or some organization who is "respect-ed by all sectors .. to subsequently assist in con-vening the initial partnership meeting."

The NPI-RG focuses more on a convening rolethan a facilitating one. The role of the convener isseen as a crucial one for the following reasons.First "Stakeholders who do not see the convener ascredible are likely to boycott the meeting. Second,the tendency of parties with histories of conflict toreplicate that history will be difficult to overcomeif the moderator does not have credibility with thecombatants." Conveners should also be selected fortheir ability to bridge different sectors and dis-parate economic groups.

The choice of venue should be neutral. A rentedfacility is suggested as one option for keeping a

meeting from being under the control of any oneparty or group. The NPI-RG, however, suggestsalternating subsequent meeting locations as anoth-er alternative. The reason given is that "going tothe parties’ own offices to meet underscores amutual respect and deepens the ‘sharing’ andunderstanding among the groups."

In the discussion of information sharing, the NPI-RG offers the insight that "initially when an issueis presented, people will often refer to failedattempts to address the issue in the past." Theexample given from the Philippines is similar tosome in the Bank’s experience. Engineers workingon an irrigation project initially resisted workingout the plans with local water users’ associations,but eventually saw the advantages of their input.

The User’s Guide to Inter-sectoral Partnering dis-tills key lessons from the two volumes andapproximately 500 pages of the NPI ResourceGuide in a short handbook. Among the observa-tions made in this synthesis are the steps neededto establish an inter-sectoral partnership and thechallenges faced in forming one. Many of the keypoints made mirror Bank objectives and concernsin facilitating CSO-government interactions. Theseare listed below.

Startup of an inter-sectoral partnership

1. Identify the goals and aims2. Identify realities and partners3. Understand the potential for working together,

anticipate problems4. Convene partners and define problems5. Set directions6. Develop an action plan7. Institutionalize and/or expand successful ISPs

Challenges to inter-sectoral partnerships

1. Acknowledging that partnerships are incremen-tal

2. Committing resources3. Learning about diverse goals and values4. Managing risks5. Overcoming systemic barriers6. Avoiding dependence on [specific] individuals7. Building accountability and transparencySource: Interviews with Chanya Charles and StephanieMcNulty and the USAID’s "Partnering for Results, the NewPartnerships Initiative Resource Guide, and Participation atUSAID: Stories, Lessons, Challenges

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V. Definitions and Typologies:Analyzing the Civil Society Sector

Terminology

The principal terms and acronyms used in dis-cussing the civil society sector include: non-govern-mental organizations (NGOs), private voluntaryorganizations (PVOs), non-profit organizations(NPOs), and voluntary development organizations(VDOs.) Size and/or social proximity are criteriathat are widely used to differentiate these organiza-tions from community-based organizations (CBOs)or grassroots organizations (GROs). Increasingly,civil society organizations (CSOs) is used by practi-tioners to encompass different levels of organiza-

tions, but this term has not yet been adopted wide-ly in academic literature.

Within the World Bank, usage of the term focuseson the distinction between local and non-localorganizations. GP14.70 (Involving Non-Governmental Organizations in Bank-SupportedActivities) defines NGOs in the following terms.

The term "NGO" refers to a myriad of differenttypes of organizations. At its broadest, itincludes all groupings of individuals that falloutside the public and for-profit sectors,whether legally constituted or informal, estab-lished or transient. The term also includes bothcommunity-based organizations (CBOs), usuallyformed to serve the interests of their own mem-bers (or community), and intermediary organi-zations, normally established to serve either theinterests of a particular target group (e.g., CBOs,poor communities) or the common good (e.g.,the environment). "Civil society" is the spacebetween family, market, and state; it consists ofnot-for-profit organizations and special interestgroups, either formal or informal, working toimprove the lives of their constituents. Civilsociety organizations (CSOs) include local andinternational organizations, business and pro-fessional associations, chambers of commerce,groups of parliamentarians, media, and policydevelopment and research institutes. The inter-ests of the Bank coincide with those of manyNGOs and CSOs that work in the field of eco-nomic and social development, welfare, emer-gency relief, and environmental protection orthat comprise or represent poor or vulnerablepeople.

The 1999 OED review "Non-governmentalOrganizations in World- Bank Supported Projects"refers to operational differences between the NGOsand CBOs by noting that

In Bank-supported projects, NGOs are mostlikely to be contracted to help design projects,deliver services, or conduct research and train-ing. CBOs, which are likely to include groups ofproject beneficiaries, are consulted to ensurethat beneficiaries’ interest are reflected in projectdesign.

Definitions

The literature on civil society produced by schol-ars, development practitioners, activists, and gov-ernment observers has generated a whole range ofdefinitions. This proliferation of definitions has ledBox 14 UNDP Definition of CSOs

The UNDP Civil Society Organization andParticipation Program Frequently AskedQuestions on CSOs uses this definition:"Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are non-state associations whose main aims are nei-ther to generate profits nor to seek govern-ing power. CSOs unite people to advanceshared interests and agendas ranging fromephemeral and parochial to enduring anduniversal. They may be described as individ-uals grouped privately to pursue a mutual orpublic good. CSO are extraordinarilydiverse, reflecting the societies in which theyare rooted. Environmental groups, thinktanks, trade unions, religious congregations,grass roots and indigenous movements andeven sports clubs are examples of CSOs.Such groups may be divided into member-ship associations organized for mutual sup-port, often based on traditional forms of vol-untarism and self-help based on social ties,and those which deliver goods and servicesto others. Many CSOs in both categories areexpanding their objectives and capacities toinclude policy analysis, advocacy and theability to provide information for-- and serveas partners in-- development policy formula-tion. Many networks, coalitions and alliancesare formed to achieve common objectives,reflecting considerable overlap among CSOs'areas of engagement, and their growing rolein building social awareness and consensus."

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Box 15 Types of definitions surround NGOs

some analysts to develop typologies of definition tohelp clarify the subject (see box 15) and to assess theuses of each type. Some of the definitions are specif-ic to a particular study or institutional use. Mostdefinitions employ the following elements: civil soci-ety occupies the space between the state and thefamily or household; it is distinct from the market inits absence of profit motive and its voluntary andassociational character; and it is based in commoninterest and/or benefit. Some definitions excludereligious organizations or unions. Others emphasizeone element over another; e.g., the absence of a prof-

The Role of Civil Society in Democratic Consolidation

Recent literature has also addressed the roleof a vibrant civil society as a requisite fordemocracy. Diamond (1994) defines civilsociety as "the realm of organized social lifethat is voluntary, self-governing, (largely)self-supporting, autonomous from the state,and bound by a legal order of set of sharedrules. It is distinct from "society" in generalin that it involves citizens acting collectivelyin a public sphere to express their interests,passions, and ideas, exchange information,achieve mutual goals, make demands on thestate, and hold state officials accountable."This perspective is also reflected in aid pro-grams (e.g., USAID on democracy and gov-ernance) which have targeted CSO develop-ment. Carothers (1999) evaluates the successof these programs.

Box 16 Role of civil society in democratic consolidation

it motive by characterizing civil society organiza-tions as the "non-profit sector" or the distance andautonomy from both state and the market by refer-ring to it as the "third sector." Although many defi-nitions characterize civil society as voluntary (mean-ing that activities are undertaken voluntarily and notfor remuneration and/or that there is some degree ofvoluntary participation) as the civil society sectorhas become professionalized, "volitional" has beenincreasingly employed. "Volitional" refers to theextent that the organization is established and main-tained out of the free will of its members.

Types of Definitions

The definitions analyzed here refer to non-profit organizations, a somewhat broadercategory that still encompasses NGOs butmay exclude CBOs.

Legal- the definition provided for a coun-try’s legal code

Economic/Financial-primary source ofincome for the organization is dues and con-tributions of members and supporters, usedby UN System of National Accounts

Functional- functions organizations carryout promote the "public interest" or a set ofgroup interests and concerns

Structural-operational- sector that is organ-ized, private, non-profit distributing, self-governing, and voluntary

Adapted from Salamon and Anheier, Defining theNonprofit Sector: A Cross-national Analysis

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Dimensions for Classifying CivilSociety Organizations

1. Objective• Collective self-interest (occupational

unions, professional associations, creditassociations)

• Public interest (environment, family plan-ning, human rights)

2. Geographic range• Community-based organizations• National organizations (Grameen Bank)• Regional organizations (Africa Watch,

South-South Solidarity)• International organizations (most based

in the North, but operating worldwide,World Vision, Transparency International,Civicus)

3. Mode of operation• Operational organizations (concerned

with design and implementation, Oxfam,CARE)

• Advocacy organizations (concerned withlobbying and consciousness-raising,Transparency International, AmnestyInternational)

• Funding organizations (Ford Foundation,Gandhi Peace Foundation)

4. Service rendered• Disaster relief • Welfare (charitable work on a sustained

basis)• Development (capacity building, enabling

indigenous organizations)• Public awareness and education

5. Governance• Participatory (democratic)• Charismatic (populist)• Autocratic (command management)

Another widely used distinction is betweenNorthern NGOs and Southern NGOs. Theseterms are sometimes used to imply a range ofcharacteristics beyond geographical location.Northern NGOs are characterized as havingmore resources (or access to them), more fre-quently international in scope and with a ten-dency towards advocacy as well as operationalwork. Southern NGOs are seen as better con-nected to the grassroots, more country-specificand more focused on the operational side.

A frequently cited and thorough review of effortsto define and classify the civil society sector notesthat the classification issue is of concern to practi-tioners as well as scholars. Vakil observes that lack of clarity in classifying NGOsobstructs the process of knowledge transfer andexperiential learning, making it difficult to deter-mine the extent to which lessons from a particular

Box 17 Source: "Nurturing Civil Society at the World Bank."

While the criterion of distance from local communityis commonly applied to categorize NGOs and othercivil society organizations, these organizations havealso been classified along other dimensions. The boxbelow lists five of these, with examples:

One proposed framework forunderstanding NGOs

A proposed framework for classifying NGOsfocuses not on organizational types, but onorganizational attributes. Two levels ofdescriptors are used, essential and contin-gent. Essential descriptors establish thebroad parameters of attributes throughwhich most NGOs can be classified.Contingent descriptors may be useful forcertain debates, but do not apply to all class-es. Essential descriptors are:

Orientation- welfare, development, advoca-cy, development education, networking,research (many have more than one)

Level of operation – international, regional,national and community-based

Contingent descriptors:

Sectoral focus (ICNPO recommended- seebox below)

Evaluative attributes- accountability, effi-ciency, participation, gender equitySource: adapted fromVakil, "Confronting theClassification Problem: Toward a Taxonomyof NGOs"

Box 18 Classification of NGOs

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International Classification of Nonprofit Organizations: A Sectoral Focus

In their analysis of the non-profit sector, Salamon and Anheier propose a classification system based ontheir evaluation of three international standards. This work has been widely cited; the system does not,however, offer a means of distinguishing when an organization is involved in multiple activities as towhich constitutes the defining characteristic. It divides the nonprofit sector into 11 major activity groups(plus a twelfth residual) which are then further subdivided. These divisions are:

• culture and recreation • law, advocacy and politics• education and research • health• social services • international activities• environment • religion• development and housing • business and professional associations, unions• philanthropic intermediaries & voluntarism promotion

Source: Salamon and Anheier, Defining the Nonprofit Sector: A Cross-national Analysis

Box 19 International Classification of Nonprofit Organizations

setting can be usefully applied in another. Vakil’sreview also refers Salamon’s and Anheier’s pro-posed classification (the InternationalClassification of Nonprofit Organizations) whichdivides organizations into 12 major groups basedon "primary economic activity.” Although notfocused on development issues, this classificationis useful for comparing NGOs across regions basedon sectoral activities. (see box 19).

In addition to the typology schemes discussed here,selection criteria for partnering with NGOs aid inclassifying development-oriented NGOs withwhom the Bank may effectively work. In "TheBank’s Relations with NGOs: Issues andDirections" selection criteria are identified as thefollowing:

• credibility: accountability to relevant stakehold-ers, focus on development objectives

• competence: relevant skills, experience, andtrack record

• local knowledge: proven high-level understand-ing of country context

• representativeness: community ties, accountabil-ity to members/ beneficiaries, gender sensitivity

• institutional capacity: sufficient scale of opera-tions, human resources, and facilities

Finally, many civil society organizations are associat-ed with or form their own umbrella organizations ornetworks. Donor agencies and foundations have, insome cases, encouraged the establishment of suchnetworks through conferences, networking activitiesand technical advice in capacity-building. In othercases, a group of organizations may come togetherfor advocacy purposes and discover that the net-work formed has certain advantages for co-ordina-tion of other efforts. Other networks have beenformed gradually over time by organizations work-ing on common issues.

LINK: click here for an example of network forma-tion from the EU-ACP Lomé IV convention inCASES (now replaced by the "Cotonou agreement").

Acronyms

CBOs- Community Based OrganizationsGROs- Grassroots OrganizationsGRSOs – Grassroots support organizationsNPOs- Non-profit or not-for-profit organizationsPOs- People’s organizationsPVOs- Private voluntary organizationsVOs – Voluntary organizations

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VI. Resources

Uses of Information Technology andResources Available on the Web

• On-line consultations

On-line consultations have been organized usingdifferent methods. The Development Forum hasfocused on gathering comments at various pointsduring the discussion of policies and strategies. Inthe consultations on the revision of OD 4.20 forexample, existing listservs and networks were con-tacted and asked to place information pertaining tothe process on their email lists. The Forestry PolicyReview posted documents on the external website.The design of each page showed an easy link to pro-vide feedback and supply contact information atseveral points. The OAS engaged in a similarprocess.

• GroupWare – facilitating consultations throughinformation technology

As described in the Colombia CAS, GroupWaretechnology offers the potential for wider use in con-sultations with CSOs. A headquarters staff memberwho worked on the technical aspects of the consulta-tion described how quickly participants moved fromfeeling uneasy with the technology to a workablecomfort level. GroupWare was loaded onto laptopcomputers which were used by the participants withtwo or three people per station. The groups of peo-ple per station were randomly chosen; for example,a professor and representative from a woman’s co-operative sharing a computer. The group at eachstation would discuss briefly and then enter theiropinions into the computer which would then begathered by the process described in the link above.The process quickly generated a team atmosphere,and facilitated a productive consultation.

GroupWare was developed by Ventana, and theirwebsite contains example of other uses, including aconsultation on reconstruction held in Bosnia-Herzegovina sponsored by the Soros Foundation inwhich the World Bank participated.www.ventana.com/sarajevo.pdf

OptionFinder

OptionFinder is an electronic polling system simi-lar to GroupWare . It uses computer software,wireless radio-frequency remote keypads and areceiver. Like GroupWare, it can be run on laptopswith a projector.

The Bank has used OptionFinder in the Gender andInstitutional Innovation (GINO) in Latin America.The GINO Program’s objective is to develop thecapacity of public sector agencies in Nicaragua, ElSalvador and Venezuela to respond to the differenti-ated needs of male and female clients. Participantsin workshops were asked to respond to statements(divided in eight categories) which addressed theorganization’s functioning and the extent to whichgender concerns have been addressed.

Participants responded to the series of questions andstatements by ranking their level of agreement on ascale of five. All they needed to do was key the cor-responding keypad number. Responses were anony-mous and equally weighted; feedback was immedi-ate with aggregate responses projected on the screen.A facilitated discussion was then held on the resultsin each category.

• Awareness of possible CSO technological limits

In involving CSOs in consultations and in forward-ing information via email to CSOs, Bank staff shouldbe aware of the limitations of other servers. It is bestto avoid forwarding files that are too lengthy (over100K) and break them down into smaller pieces. Alarger file can also be zipped or converted into a pdffile which is even smaller than a zipped file. Whileconverting either of these formats employs free soft-ware which is available on the web, it should beconfirmed that the concerned CSOs have web accessand/or have the software before forwarding the filesto them. A Word document can be converted to textformat to make it even easier to download or use,especially if CSOs are expected to have older ver-sions of software.

If at all possible, do not include graphics, jpg, or giffiles. What is easily and instantly forwarded throughLotus notes at headquarters may take valuable con-nection time when loaded onto another server.Connectivity costs in many areas of the world arecalculated by the minute; it is inconsiderate to makeresource-strapped CSOs pay for graphics unless theyare necessary.

Expanding CSO information capacity

Fundación Acceso, an NGO based in Costa Rica, hasbeen working to create NGO electronic networks inCentral America and is a member of the core teamfor the Development Gateway (see below). Theyhave identified some of the obstacles hindering CSOadoption of new technologies, including on-goingneeds for basic training in the use of the Internet,

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and a lack of resources. While infrastructure (poorquality phone lines, insufficient computers) is a prob-lem, most of the issues that they have identifiedinvolve lack of knowledge of potential uses. Theiranalysis has been summarized in the LAC CivilSociety Team’s Food for Thought.

Resources available for CSOs with infor-mation technology capacity

• Subscription lists

Listserv technology may be usable by CSOs who haveemail, but not web access, by sending regular mes-sages on a particular topic. The Development Forumlistservs at the Bank offer focused and moderated dis-cussions on particular topics, lasting several weeks ata time. CSOs have participated actively in many ofthese discussions.

USAID sponsors a listserv, the Global ParticipationNetwork (GP-NET). While half of its subscribers areUSAID employees, subscribers are also from theBank, CIDA, IDB, UNICEF, ADB, FAO, UNDP, thePeace Corps, Save the Children, and InterAction.Topics range from broad-based themes to focuses onspecific programs. The listserv can be accessedthrough the USAID website. atwww.info.usaid.gov/about/part_devel/gpnet.html .

• Creating new lists through chatrooms

In addition to pre-existing lists, changes in informa-tion technology have made it much easier to establisha list or group that is specialized. Several websitesfacilitate the process of forming chatrooms or otherforms of on-line fora. These are similar to news-groups (discussion groups on the Usenet), but are eas-ier to form, use and control. Generally, chatroomshave more tools connected with them. On-going dis-cussions are threaded to allow participants to focus ona theme; there are usually some form of limitedarchiving available for discussions. Some feature acalendar where upcoming events can be posted.

Most are free and just require that participants registerbasic information. The tradeoff is that such websitesusually have extensive advertising and/or may sendemail to participants. In registering a chatroom orforum, there is usually a choice between making itopen to any participants who find it and keepingclosed and by invitation only. The process of establish-ing a chatroom is slightly different for each site, but allwalk the participant through a step-by-step process.

Geographically-scattered CSOs with web access canuse such forums to exchange information, co-ordinate

activities, and hold meetings in a conference call for-mat. If CSOs working on a particular project orengaged in a consultative process all have web access,Bank staff can easily create an on-line forum as ameans of sharing experiences and information.

Some chatroom/ On-line forum locations:

http://www.delphi.comhttp://www.groups.yahoo.comhttp://www.clubs.yahoo.com

Websites with information on CSOs are so extensivethat only a few key ones are listed here. Most of theones listed here are portal websites which offer livelinks (connections you can click directly to access) toother websites.

www.civicus.org Civicus is a umbrella organization ofNGOs which includes country profiles on the sector inmany countries. These profiles are clearly organizedand relatively short and offer useful background infor-mation.

www.uia.org The Union of International Associationsoffers a searchable list of 11,000 websites, divided bytopic.

www.undp.org/csopp/CSO/NewFiles/docemppeo-ple6.html The UNDP Civil Society Organizations andParticipation Program’s "Empowering People: A Guideto Participation" (1998) has a Resource Guide at theend which consists of an extensive bibliography divid-ed by topic, a list of organizations working with partic-ipatory methods (including contact information), and alist of internet resources and websites. While very well-organized and annotated, the website links are not live.

www.info.usaid.gov/about/part_devel/docs/webguide.htm This USAID link on participation offers anannotated list of useful live links, including participa-tion guides and other portals. Another USAID linkoffers connections to the websites of some NGOs in theform of a list of organizations with no explanatorymaterial. www.info.usaid.gov/about/resources/#non-govt

www.ids.ac.uk/eldis/eldis.html Eldis, the portal atIDS on development offers a searchable list of majorsites with links to resources , bibliographic material,discussion lists, contact information of organizationsand networks. This portal link has notes on the differ-ent links provided, allowing quick and efficient brows-ing. The participation link is

www.ids.ac.uk/eldis/pra/pra.htm

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Political Economy of Information Sharing

A recent article links the decline in costs of transmitting information with the expansion of the NGO sec-tor, arguing that an important function of NGOs as producers of information goods. Drawing on casesin Latin America, the author analyzes information sharing inputs and outputs. She identifies the follow-ing as outputs: education and training, research, capacity building and institutional strengthening, net-working, awareness raising and social change. Inputs are characterized as: donations of information,sharing of information inputs through networks, barter relations, joint projects, and communicationfeedback.

Source: Meyer, "Political Economy of NGOs and Information Sharing" World Development 25, no. 7:1127-1140

Box 19 Political Economy of Information Sharing

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