How ADB engages with CSOs

In the past few years, the Asian Development Bank has increasingly recognized the importance of strengthening stakeholder participation to achieve improved development results. In fact, ADB’s long-term strategic framework presents partnerships as a key driver of change. One consequence of this prioritization has been a growing focus on collaboration with civil society organizations, whose sectoral expertise and local knowledge can help ensure that the bank’s activities are more closely tailored to the needs of beneficiaries. Today, a vast majority of ADB-financed projects involve CSOs in one way or another. But in more practical terms, how does the Manila-based institution determine its engagement priorities with civil society groups in Asia, and which types of partnerships does it seek to foster? To find out, Devex’s Rolf Rosenkranz asked Lainie Thomas, social development specialist for civil society and participation at ADB, to share her insights. When it comes to determining areas where ADB and CSOs can cooperate, Thomas emphasized the importance of finding “natural connections” — areas of intervention where both the bank and civil society already share common goals and activities. “We’re not trying to put a square peg in a round hole. We’re looking to see where ADB and civil society already intersect,” she highlighted. But once common areas of interest are identified, how can CSOs effectively start working with ADB? A crucial first step is to familiarize themselves with the bank’s mission, structure and procedures. “To start with, it’s really helpful when organizations understand what the ADB is,” Thomas noted. This will not only help them understand what fundamentally differentiates ADB from other donors, but also enable them to grasp where they can complement the bank’s development efforts. “We lend money to governments for development projects, so for a local organization to engage with us effectively, they need to understand how that relationship works and how they fit into an ADB-government relationship,” Thomas said. Afterward, there are essentially no limits to CSO involvement — which can cover all phases of a project, and to varying extents. “Right now, ADB’s engagement with civil society is mainly focused at the design phase,” Thomas explained. “But we are moving more and more toward working with civil society organizations in implementation.” To learn more about ADB-CSO cooperation, take a look at the video below. What other opportunities should the ADB explore to enhance its cooperation with CSOs? Share your point of view by leaving a comment below. See our Devex Partnerships Forum topic page, check out our Storify page and tweet #DevexForum!