The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Our Relationships with Civic Partners

NDI's citizen participation programs usually involve assistance to local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or community-based organizations, including those that organize themselves around poor or marginalized communities, such as women, young people, ethnic minorities, or people with disabilities. NDI programs also help groups that organize themselves around issues, such as good governance, agriculture, health, education, or public safety. In every region where NDI operates, there are numerous examples of programs that help local organizations mobilize citizens, monitor political processes, increase public awareness and advocate for policy changes.

NDI strives to build "intimate" developmental partnerships with local organizations. During a 2005 evaluation of NDI's relationships with eight local partners in Romania, the groups characterized their relationship with NDI as a "friendship." To these groups, friendship meant that NDI responded to their needs and concerns, provided honest advice and thoughtful guidance on both their organizing and organizational development, and allowed them to make their own decisions. It also meant that NDI helped them understand when they made mistakes, and championed them to other organizations and institutions. These types of relationships reflect NDI's preferred partnership dynamic and help to ensure that NDI's assistance is desired, appreciated, and applied.

Developmental partnerships are built on the understanding that NDI is providing assistance so that the local partner is better able to carry out its mission. Success is measured by higher levels of performance, professionalism, and independence on the part of the local group, all of which are central to sustainability.

The Institute has found that when developmental partnerships are formalized, they are more effective. To achieve this, NDI often uses memoranda of understanding (MOUs). These are used to clarify and confirm the obligations and expectations between NDI and partner groups. An MOU can accomplish two important objectives: it reflects a partner group's political will to engage in specified types of organizational development and programmatic activity (e.g., developing a strategic plan, improving organizational management and recruiting more volunteers), and it articulates the level and type of support NDI will provide the groups for their organizational development and program effort.

Developmental partnerships feed into program monitoring, which is an equal responsibility of NDI and the partner. At the outset of each relationship, NDI works with groups to determine needs, how the needs can be addressed, and what constitutes success. Based on this understanding, NDI and the group can periodically assess progress against agreed-upon expectations. In this way, monitoring not only helps NDI determine what is working, it also provides a developmental opportunity for groups as it encourages them to be reflective and take ownership of their own development.

On a targeted basis, developmental partnerships may include financial sub-awards to local partners. In principle, sub-awards — combined with other forms of assistance — are used as a tool that helps local organizations improve their ability to run programs, interact with other funders, report programmatic results and manage money, to name a few capacity areas. Essentially, sub-awards enable organizations to learn by doing.

When first designing its programs, NDI incorporates the feedback and advice offered by local civic organizations and actors. In any initial program assessment, civic groups serve as key interlocutors when NDI is gathering information and clearly defining the development challenges. In some countries, such as Afghanistan, East Timor, and Liberia, NDI has partnered with local NGOs to conduct focus group research as a first step in understanding the attitudes of the citizenry before implementing programs.

 For more information about these programs, use our contact form or dial our main telephone number: 1-202-728-5500.

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