1. Introduction

1.1 The context

The member countries of FAO, in approving the Organization's Constitution, defined its ultimate purpose in the following terms:

"raising the levels of nutrition and standards of living of the peoples under their respective jurisdictions; securing improvements in the efficiency of the production and distribution of all food and agricultural products; bettering the condition of rural populations; and thus contributing toward an expanding world economy and ensuring humanity's freedom from hunger".

FAO was one of the first UN agencies to recognize that fulfilment of this purpose would require the involvement of society at large. The Freedom from Hunger Campaign (FFHC) was established in 1959 as a means to this end.¹ Over time, technical units and offices throughout FAO have built up their relations with NGOs, both in the field and through global dialogue and information sharing. These efforts have given very positive results, but more could be achieved with a guiding policy, appropriate operational procedures and effective mechanisms for exchanging, and learning from, experience.

The rapid transformations taking place in the world today make it imperative to take a fresh look at FAO's relations with NGOs and other non-state actors. This is a challenge that the UN system as a whole is facing.² Over the past decade, the globalization of the economy has affected governments' control of a range of policy instruments. Structural adjustment reforms have led to the transfer of more responsibility for services and economic initiative to the private sector and civil society. At the same time, the demise of authoritarian regimes has created an opportunity for groups and movements of all kinds to spring up and make their voices heard.

However the changing roles of government and civil society are defined, it is clear that there are many more actors impacting on food security and agricultural development (including fisheries and forestry) than in the past. Until recently, despite its history of relations with NGOs, as an intergovernmental institution FAO interacted predominantly with government services in performing its functions of providing technical assistance and policy advice and setting norms. Now it needs to relate to a broader range of constituencies. In the World Food Summit Plan of Action, FAO's Member Governments underscored the importance of alliances with CSOs, paying tribute to the effectiveness of their contribution to national and global food security.

It was this concern that led the Director-General of FAO, in 1996, to request the Unit for Cooperation with Private Sector and NGOs (TCDN) to coordinate a review of FAO's policy and strategy of cooperation with NGOs. The review has been carried out in close consultation with NGOs from all regions, whose views and expectations have been synthesized in a paper prepared by an NGO spokesperson.³ An Expert Meeting on Civil Society Involvement in Follow-up to the World Food Summit,⁴ held at the request of the Director-General in January 1998, provided further insights. Within FAO, a network of NGO focal points has been established to share experience and stimulate reflection. Input has been sought from field offices. Each technical department has undertaken its own review of its cooperation with NGOs, flagging policy issues that require attention at the Organization-wide level and identifying priorities and opportunities for working with NGOs in the technical areas of concern to them.

The main findings of these separate exercises have been brought together in this policy and strategy paper, which has been subscribed to by the various units and offices of FAO and by the Organization's senior management. The strategies and priorities for action set out in sections II and III below constitute a long-term programme to be carried out as resources permit. It will be discussed with CSOs in order to agree on a work plan and define responsibilities for resource mobilization and implementation.

This paper addresses a set of needs and opportunities as they are currently perceived. As the relationship between FAO and CSOs evolves, so will the policy framework and work programme.

1.2 A basis for partnership FAO today

Certain aspects of FAO's work and institutional identity have made it an increasingly significant UN system partner for NGOs over the years, and its mandate covers areas of vital concern to people throughout the world. It has, for example, a role in international regulation and in policy advice at the national level; and an ability to help build bridges between development and environmental concerns. As NGOs have deepened their appreciation of and their expertise in the technical content of goals such as sustainability and equity, their interest in FAO has increased.

Other aspects, however, have tended to frustrate this growing interest. NGOs feel that FAO's complexity and the procedures governing its relations with NGOs have created institutional obstacles to closer cooperation. They have found it hard to relate the top-down "macro" approaches that have been adopted by official development agencies in general to the day-to-day realities of rural people. Until recently, NGO experience in areas such as organic agriculture, in which they have taken the lead, have met with a reaction of diffidence from many technical specialists.

Since taking office in 1994, the Director-General has acted to streamline and reorganize FAO, and the measures taken are creating a more positive environment for cooperation with external partners. The Organization's focus has been sharpened by giving top priority to food security. Restructuring is bringing project operations and technical and policy advice closer to member countries by moving FAO technicians to regional and newly created subregional offices. FAO is greatly expanding its use of information technology to improve communications both within and outside the Organization.

The Strategic Framework for FAO, currently being formulated, will provide an even clearer vision of priorities and objectives. It will ensure a greater critical mass in areas where FAO has a clear comparative advantage and facilitate interdisciplinary programmes and integration of headquarters' and decentralized offices' activities. The strategic planning exercise is confirming the importance of developing partnerships across the range of the Organization's work.

The NGO/CSO sector

The UN system's definition of NGOs is broad: all not-for-profit actors who are not governmental or intergovernmental. The expansion and diversification of this sector and of its relations with the UN, however, is being accompanied by an evolution in terminology. "NGO" now tends to be reserved for formally constituted organizations, which often do not represent sectors of the population but provide services and/or mobilize public opinion in areas of relevance to the UN system. The term "civil society" refers to the sphere in which citizens and social movements organize themselves around objectives, constituencies and thematic interests. "Civil society organizations" include both NGOs and popular organizations - formal and informal - as well as other categories such as the mass media, local authorities, business leaders and the research community. The term "non-state actors" is even more comprehensive, also including for-profit businesses.

Whichever term is adopted, it is important to take account of the differences between its constituent components and the separate identities, roles and interests being pursued, and to build appropriate relations accordingly. This requires making certain common sense distinctions, for example between:

• membership organizations and others that do not represent communities or sectors of society;
• the non-profit sector and the private sector, making allowances for grey areas between the two such as informal economic enterprises of the poor;
• interests that are well structured and powerful, with easy access to national and international policy forums and others - such as small producers in the South - that do not have this access.

This paper deals with CSOs in the broad sense defined above but also maintains the reference to NGOs, since the bulk of FAO's past and present experience is with this category. FAO's cooperation with the for-profit private sector, not covered in this paper, is being developed in a parallel and complementary process. The new directions of collaboration that are emerging are often quite similar to those with CSOs and are based on the same principles of partnership.

Different categories of NGOs or CSOs are relevant partners of FAO for different purposes. Distinctions can be based on technical areas of interest (e.g. sustainable agriculture, gender, environment), functional areas of activity (e.g. capacity building, advocacy, technical support), and/or organizational characteristics (e.g. representative or non-representative, international or local, rural or urban).

FAO needs to focus its limited resources in relation to its mandate and comparative advantages as a specialized technical agency. Two clear priority categories are: technically competent service NGOs that are motivated and able to build a long-term relationship with FAO in key areas of mutual concern, and membership organizations that represent important FAO constituencies, such as farmers and consumers.

Benefits of and constraints to cooperation

FAO believes strengthened cooperation with NGOs/CSOs will:

• enhance the validity and equity of policy- and decision-making conducted under FAO auspices, ensuring that it takes into consideration the interests of all sectors of society and has their support;
• obtain substantive input into the normative activities of the Organization;
• increase the effectiveness of FAO's Field Programme by drawing on the experience of NGOs/CSOs in areas such as participatory approaches, poverty alleviation measures and sustainable agriculture, as well as on their capacity to act quickly and flexibly and on their ability to target vulnerable groups;
• build public support and political will to attain food security objectives;
• make FAO's work more transparent and better known to a wider public;
• harness additional resources by matching complementarities.

NGOs have listed the following benefits⁵ to be derived from cooperation with FAO:

• providing civil society actors with technical and institutional support;
• helping to replicate proven NGO approaches;
• improving the access of civil society to information;
• improving the access of civil society to government officials and decision-makers;
• by these efforts, contributing to improved mobilization of resources for food security.

Three constraints to enhanced FAO cooperation with NGOs/CSOs were identified in this review: FAO's nature as an intergovernmental organization, the level of available resources and the vast and heterogeneous nature of the NGO/CSO sector.

FAO's identity as an intergovernmental organization affects its partnerships with non-state actors. FAO's activities - particularly at the national level - must have the endorsement of concerned governments, which have differing views about appropriate forms of NGO/CSO participation. At the same time, FAO's institutional identity can be an advantage, since one reason why NGOs/CSOs seek to interact with the Organization is to facilitate their dialogue with governments and intergovernmental forums. Government participation in FAO's partnerships with civil society is part of this process.

Limited financial and human resources are a constraint throughout FAO, particularly at the country level, where small country offices are called on to perform a host of duties. Resource limitations are a reality and will affect the pace of increased collaboration. However, FAO views partnership building, not as an additional task competing with others for scarce time and funds, but as a way of improving FAO's effectiveness.

Finally, many FAO offices have cited the difficulties they experience in relating to the complex, fragmented and rapidly expanding world of NGOs/CSOs. The importance of selecting valid partners for cooperative efforts must not be underestimated. Choosing partners, however, is not an abstract exercise. It involves concrete initiatives for which the competence and relevance of specific organizations can be evaluated. The experience of country offices and technical programmes with a strong tradition of NGO relations demonstrates that, once working relations are established with NGOs/CSOs, mutual understanding is built up and the development of partnerships becomes a joint responsibility.

Principles of partnership

The principles underlying FAO's partnerships with NGOs/CSOs apply to all external actors with which the Organization enters into cooperation. Section III of this paper, Managing NGO cooperation in FAO, suggests that it may be opportune to develop a jointly subscribed code of relations, which could include the following principles drawn from the ethical and operational criteria applied by FAO in granting official NGO status:

• Congruence with FAO's mandate. Partnership activities must be consistent with FAO's mandate and enhance the effectiveness of its work. FAO will not enter into partnership with organizations whose programmes are judged to be antithetical to the Organization's mandate.
• Mutual interests and objectives. Partnership activities will focus on areas and on subjects of mutual interest to FAO and NGOs/CSOs.
• Transparency. Partnership activities will be fully transparent and information on them will be made publicly available.
• Accountability. Partnership activities will be designed and implemented in a manner that ensures clear and agreed responsibilities and accountability by all partners.