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LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Local NGOs in Areas Where Extractive Industries Operate

Most of the 12 microprojects selected involved business opportunities in agroindustry and farming. There was no specific mechanism to review the results of NGO microprojects . This was a missed opportunity. Reviewing the results in a workshop could have built broader support for the changes advocated at the local and government level. This was not an effective way to help local actors make their voices heard by authorities and private enterprises or to facilitate trust-building and dialogue on how corporate social responsibility should be managed and how to involve NGOs as CSR partners.
Project Partner
Institute for Research and Empowerment
Project Description
The objective of the project was to enhance trust-building and cooperation among local government, nongovernmental organizations and extractive industries in Indonesia, by strengthening the capacity and credibility of NGOs as partners in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. The focus was on improving the ability of local NGOs to forge permanent partnerships with companies and local governments in CSR policy design and implementation. The project was relevant, given the legal and fiscal requirements governing CSR, the degree of poverty in extractive areas, the lack of enforcement of CSR policies, and the lack of attention paid to civil society engagement and NGO involvement as direct benefits of CSR policies. However, the project risks and problems in terms of corporate and local government commitment were neither adequately identified nor addressed during the design and implementation phase.
Evaluation Date
June 2013
Country