The varied and conditional integration of NGOs in the aid system: NGOs and the World Bank

This paper proposes a conceptual and methodological understanding of the nature and extent of NGO integration into state and donor systems that is based on a dynamic view of NGOs as multidimensional organisations with financial, political, interpersonal, legal, values a technical dimensions that vary across organisations, and produce a wide variety of interactions with the aid industry. NGOs' engagement with the World Bank is interpreted as a function of the interaction of these six dimensions. Through cooperation in projects, critical advocacy and the rapidly growing consultations on policy issues, NGOs' engagement with the World Bank grew rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s. After identifying some of the factors that appear to affect whether and how an NGO is drawn into the aid system, the paper offers a set of research questions and priorities for scholars exploring the varied and conditional ways that NGOs are integrated into the aid system. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.