9th IFAD/NGO Consultation, Cairo, Egypt, 1998

Networking and Cooperation Mechanisms

As the first Consultation outside IFAD's headquarters, the Ninth Consultation was held in Cairo, Egypt, in December 1998. Besides observers from local and international organizations and a number of IFAD staff, 35 NGOs attended the meeting, 23 of which were from the south.

Participants examined and assessed existing modalities of collaboration between NGOs and a number of major regional and international institutions. An in-depth presentation was made on the collaboration arrangements between African NGOs and the African Development Bank (AfDB), both from the perspective of AfDB and from that of one of its major NGO interlocutors, the Institut africain pour le développement économique et social (Inades) Formation (Burundi). As an outcome of the discussions, the participants recognized the urgent need to assess carefully the value added of NGO collaboration and to decide upon criteria, indicators and measurements for such assessment; the great burden unintentionally put upon NGOs by multilateral organizations (MLOs) to adapt to the diversity of application, reporting and accounting procedures within MLOs; and the lack of proper incentive structures that encourage the operational staff or MLOs to further intensify NGO partnerships.

Other subjects discussed intensively were: (i) the divide between policy dialogue and advocacy and field-level operations; (ii) the claim by many NGOs worldwide that they represent the universe of civil society; and (iii) the selection criteria and responsibilities for NGOs participating in the policy dialogue with MLOs. In addition, the discussion showed that there was broad consensus that organizational re-engineering and reinvention are not the exclusive obligation of international agencies, but should also be pursued by NGOs.

An entire part of the Consultation was devoted to an exchange of views and experiences in relation to decentralized local development and community development planning. The most important issues/recommendations put forth by the participants were:

• Primary stakeholders should be identified from the very beginning of the project planning process and the scope of activities, degree of authority and sphere of influence of each stakeholder have to be delineated very carefully from the start to guarantee the development and maintenance of the necessary sense of ownership by all parties involved.
• The main principles guiding this process should be the use of clear selection criteria for partners, pluralism, decentralization, a bottom-ups approach and continued participation of all stakeholders from design to evaluation.
• Participation of the private sector, particularly the local business community, should be sought.
• There is a need to change dominant attitudes and behavioural patterns on the part of all stakeholders.
• IFAD should take the lead in identifying best practices and mechanisms to foster such multi-stakeholder partnerships and provide a forum for the exchange and cross-fertilization of such information.

The ninth Consultation included a visit to the IFAD-supported Newlands Agricultural Services Project, which offered an opportunity for a very open exchange of views among the participants.

An important issue that emerged for future examination in a Consultation is the dynamics of tripartite partnerships among governments, NGOs and international financial institutions; the policies and institutional arrangements and mechanisms that are most effective in fostering them; and the impact that such partnerships have on project performance.