How Does ADB Engage Civil Society Organizations in its Operations? Findings of an Exploratory Inquiry in South Asia

Abstract

This publication reports the results of an exploratory study on civil society organization (CSO) engagement—particularly nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs)—in ADB operations. The focus is on South Asia and the starting point of inquiry is on 33 projects that illustrate the roles and forms of NGO and CBO engagement in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The report includes a section on ADB technical assistance and grant projects. Another section presents other potential areas of CSO engagement such as in project planning stages, development and evaluation of the sector and country partnership strategies, and corporate policy and strategy discussions. The concluding section puts forward challenges and areas of innovation that may be considered in collaborating with NGOs with the aim of enhancing the quality of ADB development efforts.