WBN: Emulate from Chinese NGOs as WBG Lauds Them

In China, nongovernmental organizations (NGO), also referred to as social organizations, nonprofit organizations or the third sector, have been growing fast in the last two decades. There are more than 133,000 officially-registered social organizations and 1,268 foundations. In addition, there are many grassroots or community-based organizations which are not officially registered or registered as businesses due to difficulty of registration. Many NGOs are making a significant contribution to China's social and economic development by engaging in public benefit activities such as environment, health, education, scientific research, cultural services, poverty relief, legal aid, social welfare, and services to disadvantaged groups such as orphans, the elderly, and the disabled. They constitute an important part of an emerging civil society in China.

Since 1995, the Bank has been making efforts to engage with NGOs and promote the development of NGOs in China in several ways, including:

Assisting the government in providing an enabling environment for NGO development in China. In FY01 the Bank provided an IDF grant to the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MoCA), the government agency in charge of NGO registration and regulation. The two-year grant project supported activities including a study tour to the Philippines and Australia; a comparative study of NGO-related laws of China and other countries; a book of collection of experience and best practices of Chinese NGOs with 2,000 copies distributed to government agencies and NGOs; several NGO networking meetings and dialogues with MoCA officials; development of training materials and provision of training courses for NGO leaders and staff; and proposal of a NGO classification system more compatible with the international practice.

In FY04, at the request of MoCA, the Bank commissioned a consultant study on the tax laws, rules, procedures and policies for non-profit organizations (covering social organizations, foundations and private service units). The purpose was to analyze and assess the current tax laws and policies applicable to NPOs, provide international experience and best practices, and make recommendations to the government for improving tax system to promote NPO/NGO development in China. The report was delivered to MoCA around the end of 2005, distributed to government agencies and NGOs. It is also made available on the Internet.

Another initiative in FY04 is a translation project in collaboration with the Law School of Beijing University. The project has selectively translated NGO-related laws of other countries and made them available on the Internet with an aim to gradually build up an online library of NGO-related laws in Chinese language for Chinese legislators, policymakers, researchers and NGOs to use in the process of developing China's own legal framework for NGOs.

Providing direct financial assistance to NGOs' own initiatives and projects through the Small Grants Program (SmGP). The Small Grants Program of the World Bank in China targets at the local NGOs, with an aim to promote civic engagement in the development process. From FY99-06, the SmGP in Chinaawarded grants to some 53 local NGO initiatives, with six to ten projects a year on average. SmGP supported a wide range of activities. Activities included, for example, forum series on NPO-related laws, journalist salon on environmental issues, dialogue between representatives of the disabled people with local government officials, training and awareness raising on the protection of the rights of women and environmental protection; HIV/AIDS prevention and control, and participatory community development.

Supporting NGO capacity building and networking. In FY00, the Bank supported the startup of China NPO Network, the first such organization in the country, by funding their newsletters, workshops andtraining activities. In FY05 the Bank set up a Development Knowledge Center (mini-PIC) at the China NPO Network, with an aim to disseminate the Bank's knowledge products among local NGOs.

The Bank co-sponsored a number of NGO conferences in China, e.g. International Conference on NGO and Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2001, Corporate and Civil Society Forum and the first provincial-level NGO Forum in Ningxia in 2003.

Increasing consultations and operational collaboration with NGOs. The Bank invited NGOs to participate and express their views in the consultations for its 2006-2010 Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) which was approved by the Board in May 2006.

The Bank made efforts to involve NGOs in the designing, preparation and implementation of its projects in China. To cite a few examples: the Bank engaged NGOs in AIDS prevention and control activities through information, education and communication under Health Nine Project; a local NGO leader was invited to chair an advisory group for monitoring safeguard compliance under Chongqing Urban Environment; Bank-funded irrigation projects have created hundreds of water users associations which allow local farmers to operate and maintain the lower levels of the irrigation systems by themselves. In the first community-driven development program (CDD) launched by the World Bank and Chinese government in May 2006, four international NGOs – Action Aid, Plan International, World Vision, and WWF-China - are assisting in program training and local facilitation, and a fifth NGO, Oxfam Hong Kong, supported program design. The Bank used a grant from the Japan Social Development Fund to support the All-China Women's Federation's efforts to empower unemployed/laid-off women workers and migrants in the poor western provinces with access to knowledge, support and opportunities, through training, grant financing for small business startup and capacity building for program management, monitoring and evaluation.

ChinaDevelopment Marketplace. The first China Development Marketplace, initiated by the World Bank in partnership with a number of government, multilateral and bilateral, and private sector organizations, was held in 2005-06, with an aim to promote civil society development in China. In the course of 10 months, the China DM received 975 proposals from NGOs all over country and mobilized over US$650,000. 30 winners were selected and received grants up to $30,000. The winners proposed reducing poverty through a range of different approaches. Some winning ideas include supplying environmentally sustainable biogas to single mothers in Hubei province; creating support networks for waste collectors in Shenzhen province; and training Muslim children of poor herdsmen in Xinjiang with vocational skills using a creative combination of microcredit and apprenticeships (for more information on the China Development Marketplace, please visit: www.developmentmarketplace.org.cn).

Updated in July, 2006
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WBN: World Bank IDIS Jakarta's Moving Forward

In responding to the need for change and a better way of doing business, we wish to inform you that the World Bank Indonesia (WB) will be closing its Indonesia Development Information Services (IDIS) center at the World Bank Office Jakarta, effectively on July 10, 2009. Please kindly note however, that this closure relates only to the physical space on the 13th floor of our office. The existing services provided by IDIS will continue on an on-line basis, while our public information staff will be more than happy to assist your requests by email or telephone.
In its management of public information services, WB is committed to seeking new ways of sharing World Bank knowledge and learning products. The underlying aim is to provide information that is available at the right time, at the right place, in the right form, for the right people. The methods for doing so are multiple and must be continuously updated to reflect the times. While the traditional channels of dialogue and print/broadcast media will always be utilized, an emphasis on digital media channels –websites, social media, blogs, E-Library – is ever increasing.

Public information centers like IDIS, which require a significant amount of physical space and resources to maintain, also stand as one of the more traditional channels of sharing knowledge. However, Indonesia’s growing reliance on the Internet in certain cities is quickly rendering the effectiveness of public information centers obsolete. With Jakarta ranking high among Indonesia’s web-savvy cities, WB believes it would be most prudent to switch the country office-based IDIS operation to an on-line service thereby reaching more people – quicker, better and greener since this switch entails a paperless operation.
For the benefit of the many external visitors our office sees every work day, we will soon begin displaying new Major & Regional publications and periodicals in the 12th and 13th floor lobbies. Operations will resume as normal in our network of 18 public information centers - particularly in 3 IDIS situated in ITS University in Surabaya , FISIP-University of Indonesia in Depok Jakarta and Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. Other Regional Information Outlet (RIO) centers - found in 15 other locations across the country - will still hold current World Bank Office Jakarta publications in hardcopy, online database and portable e-library. IDIS Jakarta collection will be donated to FISIP-Universitas Indonesia to support their operation.
Again, we would like to ensure that all services will remain the same, only the channel and platforms will vary. More detail on services provided by IDIS will be announced soon.
Since the closure on July 10 until July 15, 2009 external clients can still come to visit us for reference enquiry. Subsequently we can be contacted at : IDIS Help Desk :Wiwiek Sonda : 6221- 5299 3146 (wsonda@worldbank.org)Santi Santobri : 6221- 5299 3140 (ssantobri@worldbank.org)

Thank you for your attention.
on behalf of World Bank Office JakartaIndonesia Stock Exchange Building Tower 2, 12th & 13th Floor, Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav.52-53, Jakarta