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A maturing partnership

Hundreds of development projects have failed and many millions of dollars have been lost in Latin America and the Caribbean because the intended beneficiaries were not invited to participate.

But times have changed. Democracies require governments to account for their actions to gain voter confidence, and market liberalization has transformed the state from an absolute monarch to a partner of businesses and citizens. In these more vigilant societies, it is no longer so easy to squander public funds or push through development projects without consulting the public.

Moreover, we now have evidence that greater participation of civil society in government administration makes economic sense, because the success and sustainability of many projects has been shown to depend on the degree to which it is supported by local stakeholders. Major international credit institutions, such as the IDB, are increasingly convinced that this argument applies to development programs as well.

Opening a door. In fact, the IDB is now implementing mechanisms that will incorporate the “voices, opinions, suggestions and criticisms from civil society” into its entire lending process. At a meeting of Bank specialists and civil society organizations in November 2000, President Enrique V. Iglesias offered “to open a door to IDB projects and activities for all citizens.” Iglesias described the Bank’s commitment to carry out a more aggressive information disclosure policy, create innovative projects with components that can be carried out by civil society groups, involve stakeholders in project design and hold regular consultations on the Bank’s sector strategies.

The IDB is applying lessons learned in recent projects where stakeholder participation helped to maximize the effective use of resources. One such project, now entering its second phase, is the Favela–Bairro neighborhood development initiative in Rio de Janeiro. This project succeeded largely because of the intense involvement of local communities in its planning and execution. Likewise, the Program for the Integral Development of Indigenous Communities in Chile, after previous failures due to lack of stakeholder participation, began to yield results following a series of meetings with representatives of the various ethnic groups, which produced a better understanding of priorities.

There are numerous other cases in which the success or failure of an IDB operation (in such sensitive areas as educational, fiscal and judicial reform, or modernization of the state) hinged on the presence or absence of stakeholder participation. The rebuilding of Central America after Hurricane Mitch and the peace process in Guatemala are examples of major initiatives that would not have been feasible if civil society had not been an integral part of the process from the outset.

Even such traditional projects as the construction of bridges, highways, sewerage systems or latrines can become either dynamic community undertakings or slow-motion fiascoes, depending on local participation. In Belize, community members washed clothes with water from a pipeline constructed under a development program, but continued to drink rainwater stored in lead-contaminated tanks; they did so because they had not taken part in the design and execution of the program and did not understand its benefits. For similar reasons, parents in many remote regions of Latin America don’t send their children to rural schools.

Member inclusion. Turning theory into practice is the most difficult task of all. How does civil society fit into the agenda of an institution such as the IDB and what role can it fulfill? This is not a new issue for the Bank. Civil society has played an integral part of many IDB projects with favorable results, particularly since 1994, when the Bank sharply expanded its social sector lending.

The IDB is now working to extend the focus on participation to the majority of its activities. According to Cintia Guimaraes, a specialist in civil society issues in the IDB’s Office of Learning, this task is complicated by the fact that many government officials still fear that “working with civil society brings on more problems than benefits.” This apprehension is shared by some Bank specialists who design and execute projects, and it is reinforced by the controversial role of certain civil society groups that are rarely disposed to dialogue. The tight work schedules of both the IDB and government specialists, as well as the perennial scarcity of resources, are additional obstacles to informing and consulting with civil society during the project design stage.

Despite these misgivings, most government officials and Bank specialists who have worked on projects that incorporate civil society consider the effort more than worthwhile. “Among our chief goals are to be facilitators of dialogue between the governments and civil society and to support sustainable projects that favorably impact the economic and social development of the countries,” says Guimaraes. “The participation of civil society helps the Bank and governments execute projects that are more successful, more sustainable and more relevant to the needs of their citizens.”

In November 1999, Iglesias proposed a plan of action for the IDB that led to a series of concrete changes. A coordination group for participation was created within the Bank, together with a civil society liaison in each of the Bank’s country offices. The Office of Learning developed a training strategy based on workshops at IDB headquarters and in the country offices. These workshops, which include representatives of government, civil society and the Bank, are used to establish new alliances and share experiences.

“Sensitizing our clients as well as Bank staff is key to advancement in this area,” says Guimaraes, adding that more than 600 persons will have participated in these workshops by the end of 2002. “By the end of each workshop,” she adds, “the participants often say that they feel better informed and more aware of the importance of working together.” She noted that an evaluation of the impact of these workshops showed not only that the participants enjoyed the experience, but that they were changing their behavior as well.

The IDB also supports regular open dialogues with civil society organizations, and the formation of civil society advisory committees within the Bank’s country offices. The Bank considers that citizen involvement is a key tool in fighting poverty and inequality, and a fundamental factor in the humanization of the development agenda and consolidation of the democracy.

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