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Module
1
Roles
of NGOs
Among
the wide variety of roles that NGOs play, the following
six can be identified as important, at the risk of
generalization:
Development
and Operation of Infrastructure:
Community-based
organizations and cooperatives can acquire, subdivide
and develop land, construct housing, provide infrastructure
and oeprate and mantain infrastructure such as wells
or public toilets and solid waste collection services.
They can also develop building material supply centres
and other community-based economic enterprises.
In many cases, they will need technical assistance
or advice from governmental agencies or higher-level
NGOs.
Supporting
Innovation, Demonstration and Pilot Projects:
NGO
have the advantage of selecting particular places
for innovative projects and specify in advance the
length of time which they will be supporting the
project - overcoming some of the shortcomings that
governments face in this respect. NGOs can also
be pilots for larger government projects by virtue
of their ability to act more quickly than the government
bureaucracy.
Facilitating Communication:
NGOs
use interpersonal methods of communication, and
study the right entry points whereby they gain the
trust of the community they seek to benefit. They
would also have a good idea of the feasibility of
the projects they take up. The significance of this
role tothe government is that NGOs can communicate
to the policy-making levels of government, information
bout the lives, capabilities, attitudes and cultural
characteristics of peple at the local level.
NGOs
can facilitate communication upward from people
tot he government and downward from the government
tot he people. Communication upward involves informing
government about what local people are thinking,
doing and feeling while communication downward involves
informing local people about what the government
is planning and doing. NGOs are also in a unique
position to share information horizontally, networking
between other organizations doing similar work.
Technical
Assistance and Training:
Training institutions and NGOs can develop a technical
assistance and training capacity and use this to
assist both CBOs and governments.
Research,
Monitoring and Evaluation:
Innovative activities need to be carefully documented
and shared - effective participatory monitoring
would permit the sharing of results with the people
themselves as well as with the project staff.
Advocacy
for and with the Poor:
In some cases, NGOs become spokepersons or ombudsmen
for the poor and attempt to influence government
policies and programmes on their behalf. This may
be done through a variety of means ranging from
demonstration and pilot projects to participation
in public forums and the formulation of government
policy and plans, to publicizing research results
and case studies of the poor. Thus NGOs play roles
from advocates for the poor to implementors of government
programmes; from agitators and critics to partners
and advisors; from sponsors of pilot projects to
mediators.
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