1. Lecturer, Government Brojomohun College, Barishal, Bangladesh.

*             Correspondence: shishirpaik71@gmail.com

Keywords: NGOs, partnership, social development, Bangladesh

1. INTRODUCTION

Partnership is a buzzword and it is now being frequently used in different disciplines including development studies. In the NGO sector, this word has got a very good status, where they are now actively engaging in local, regional, national and international issues [1]. The partnership is one kind of joint venture and joint investment where a number of stakeholders come together with a common interest to achieve the compatible goal though mutual understanding and share which may not possible by alone [2].  Partnership is now an important social mechanism to the individuals, groups, communities and organizations (government or non-government), donors, policy makers. The USAID (1997, P-220) states that partnerships can make it possible to tailor development projects to local needs and concerns, thus leveraging the development expertise and resources [3]. Although the concept of partnership was influenced by ideological notions of international solidarity in the 1970s and 1980s, North-South partnerships are currently seen to enable more efficient use of scarce resources, increased sustainability and improved beneficiary participation in development activities [4]. However, it is thought that the creation of synergy through partnership produces results that partners could not obtain without collaboration. Partnership plays a significant role in sharing resources, works, risks, responsibility, decision-making, benefits and burdens. It is also important for the proper utilization of human resources and to use them achieving something better [5]. Partnership is one kind of relationship between two or more parties, having compatible goals, and a form of agreement to do something together. The critical factors associated with effective partnerships are the development of trust, cooperative interpersonal relationships, and processes which promote communication, mutual influence and joint learning [6].  The term ‘development’ means the positive change of the total societal system and structures which are highly related with the well-being of the population. It is a process of planned social change designed to promote the well-being of the population as a whole in conjunction with a dynamic process of economic development [7]. However, it is needed to have some sorts of mutual and joint activities to achieve such kind of (development) objectives. Within the broad spectrum, the NGOs need to go partnerships such as community, GOs-NGOs, community leaders, civil society, social institutions, and donors. NGOs need partnership for social development for the community because it expands the financial help to every sector of the society [8]. Partnership helps to set-up a good financial help between the NGO authority and the donors. NGOs get their expected helps to operate the new dimension-oriented programs [9]. NGOs expand their new working areas and, in this situation, partnership contribute a lot. Partnership helps the partner NGOs to increase the number of their beneficiaries, to create employment opportunities and to ensure their sustainability [10]. It makes the beneficiaries self-sufficient through meeting their basic needs. Through partnership it is easy to make a good combination among the aims, objectives, goals and procedures of the government and the NGO [11]. It helps to ensure the proper utilization the national wealth of a country and creates the opportunities to participate in the national development program of a country [12]. Partnership helps to participate in the social development process of a society or a particular community. It brings the opportunities to form more partnership on the basis of the current performance. This study determined the NGOs’ partnerships and their contribution for social development in Bangladesh as well as the nature, techniques, and function of NGOs’.

2. MATERIALS & METHODS

The research is based on the qualitative research and a number of qualitative data collection methods such as participant observation, in-depth case studies, interview methods, and documentation survey are employed for data collection procedures. Documentation means to survey the documents about the respective fields, it helps to get the secondary data. The collected data will be analyzed through proper triangulation in the thematic approach.

3. RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Association for Realization of Basic Needs-ARBAN

Bangladesh was under the hegemony of foreign domination for hundreds of years. She is the youngest war born nation in the South Asian Region. The Association for realization of Basic Needs-ARBAN, a Non Govt. Development Organization, concerned with fundamental rights and the basic needs of the people, was founded on 18th February 1984. ARBAN believes that all development projects and programs designed and implemented by the Government, NGOs, International Organizations, UN bodies and others should be directed towards the fulfillment of the basic needs and fundamental rights of the people who live in perpetual poverty, famine, malnutrition, disease, deprivation, indebtedness, injustice and exploitations. ARBAN envisions a just society based on social justice, human dignity, equity, equality, democratic and secular values free from exploitation, poverty, disparities, misrule, corruption, and gender inequalities leading to freedom and emancipation of disadvantaged powerless people irrespective of caste, creed, and religious beliefs. The broad objective of ARBAN is to arouse and advance awareness and awakening of the poor and powerless people on socio-economic, political, human, women and children’s rights, health, ecology, environment, peace, democracy, governance, and consumer’s issues through dialogical process leading to collective actions for their self-determination.

Table 01: Present Programs/ Projects

Sl. No.	Name of Prog./Projects	Location	Name of Donor
1	Counity Development Programme-CDP, Dhaka.	12 Thanas of Dhaka Metropolis, Fatulla Thana of Narayangonj, Tongi Thana of Gazipur.	CARE Bangladesh, ARBAN own fund & Group Savings
2	Community Development Programme-CDP, Chittagong.	Dauble Muring and Halishohar Thanas of Chittagong City Corporation.	ARBAN own fund & Group Savings
3	Community Development Programme-CDP, Cox’s Bazar.	Sadar Upazila of Cox’s Bazar District	ARBAN own fund & Group Savings
4	Landless Agricultural Workers Union-LAWU	Faridpur, Bhangura & Chatmohar Upazilas of   Pabna district,  Kazipur Upazila of Sirajgonj district, Sharishabari Upazila of Jamalpur district	CAFOD-UK & ARBAN’s own fund.
5	Human Economic & Ecological Development-HEEd, Patuakhali	Golachipa and Kalapara Upazilas of Patuakhali district.	Andheri-Hilfe, Germany and ARBAN’s own fund.
6	Poverty Alleviation Through Social Change (PATSC) and Alternative Lifestyles: Integrated Programme in three Dhaka Slums	School programme in Dhaka, Narayangonj & Gazipur and Teacher’s training throughout Bangladesh	TDH-Italy & European Commission
7	Forestry Sector Project-FSP.	Faridpur, Bhangura & Chatmohar Upazilas of   Pabna district,  Kazipur Upazila of Sirajgonj district,	Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh-GOB
8	Housing Project. (Bangladesh Bank)	Golachipa and Kalapara Upazilas of Patuakhali district.Fatullah Thana of Narayangonj district.	Bangladesh Bank-GOB
9	Housing Project       “             “	Pallabi, Mirpur, Khilgaon  & Rampura thanas Dhaka Metropolis	ARBAN
10	Reaching out of School Children-ROSC.	Sharishabari Uapzila of Jamalpur district,, Nangolkot Uapzila of Comilla  district,  NBanshkhali Upazila of Chittagong district	Directorate & Primary Education-DPE
11	Environmental Hygiene Promotion-EHP	Mirpur and Pallabi thana of  Dhaka metropolis	Water Aid Bangladesh

3.2 The nature, types and methods of NGOs` partnership

The results defines partnership as an agreement between donors and NGO to implement some assigned programs. Partnership is a formal agreement between two parties or more than that. It is one kind of cooperation which is formed formally to achieve some common goals through mutual help. We know that partnership is an agreement because the parties or the donors negotiate the common things with each other. When they come to a common point they become agree to form the partnership. When the partner NGO operates the programs with the donor agency, there exist some common issues. In partnership both parties has to play equal role to achieve the target goals. They also feel common interest in the formed partnership. From partnership both parties get the benefits of cooperation. However partnership as a formal agreement of two parties or more than that and which is formed through a certain process of negotiation after setting up the common goals of both sides. The NGOs make various types of partnerships with the partners or other NGOs. They form these partnerships for many purposes. Most of the NGOs suffer financial problem, for this reason they form financial partnership with the partners. The decision of selecting the stakeholders is very important. Most of the respondents mention that the members of the governing bodies and policy makers take the decisions to select the stakeholders. Stakeholders have a vital role in the partnership formation. This study shows that the NGOs maintain certain techniques and methods in every stage to form a partnership. From their discussion some common techniques and methods are given below:

1. Project proposal submission by the NGO.
2. Commitment setting between the donors and the NGO.
3. Deal of agreement sign.
4. Application form fill-up and submission to the NGO Affairs Bureau.
5. Permission from the NGO Affairs Bureau.
6. Taking decisions about the implementation of the programs
7. Recruitment of the staffs both in the NGO side and donor side.
8. Advertisement through Newspaper.
9. Staff recruitment committee formation both in the NGO and donor side.
10. Recruitment
11. Starting of the programs
12. Procurement
13. Monitoring and supervision
14. Evaluation of the programs.

• Midterm Evaluation
• Six month Evaluation
• Annual Evaluation
• Internal Evaluation
• Final Evaluation after the end of the project period.

O.1. Submission of activity report to the donor agency

                (Monthly+ half yearly+ annually)

2. 2. Submission of financial report to the donor agency.

3.3 Partnership with NGOs, community, civil society and others

Partnership of the NGOs with other NGOs, community and civil society is very important for bringing social development. They also form partnerships with other organizations. Many NGOs in our country operate a wide range of development programs for people`s betterment and to bring social, economic, political and cultural development in the society. But most of the time they can`t implement the programs for various problems and for this reason they also fail to create a better situation in the society. The respondents mention that NGOs have huge programs but they can’t implement their programs for the need of financial help and other logistic supports and for this they make partnerships. When the NGOs form partnership with other NGOs, they get the financial helps. They also face technical problems and for solving them they make partnerships. Often they don`t get proper cooperation from the beneficiaries. In order to get cooperation from the beneficiaries they build partnership with them.  However the NGOs form partnerships with other NGOs for implementing their target programs and to ensure sustainable social development.  Actually there are also some other arguments of forming partnership with other NGOs. Very often they can`t maintain a good relationship with the powerful partners. For example if a normal NGO makes partnership with the World Bank it will be little bit tuff for them to cope with this organization.  But if the NGO makes partnership with a same NGO it will easy to manage or maintain a good relationship for them. There may also found some similarities in their programs. So for these reasons NGOs make form partnership with other NGOs.  NGOs need to make partnership with community and civil society for implementing their programs nicely and to ensure social development of the community. Respondents mention that civil society is a small part of the community but they are the main key elements of the society. NGOs operate programs in a certain community. So they have to make a good relationship and cooperation with the community. Often the NGOs need to bring awareness in the community for getting supports from the community people. But NGOs can`t move easily everywhere in the community. In this situation the civil society have the access to communicate with the every section of people in the society.  The respondents also mention that when they want to start a new program in any community, first of all they discuss about the program with civil society`s member of that particular community. They give them important instructions about the community`s target people.

3.4 Partnership for Social Development

Social development is highly related with the positive change of the society. The respondents give their opinions about social development.

A respondent in the FGD mentions:

                     “Social development means the positive change of the various elements of the society. Social development does not meet only the needs of the needy population but also seeks to enhance the well-being of the whole population. Social development is also dynamic, involving a process of growth and change.”

Another respondent in the FGD mentions:

                  “Social development means economic development and economic development brings social develop by improving life status of the society`s people.”

A respondent in the In-depth Case Study mentions:

                  “Social development is a process of planned change which brings positive change in forms of development in the society and increase the well-being of the people.”

According to the different opinions of the respondents of the study social development can be defined as a planned change process which changes the total economic system of the a society as well as other forms of development and promote human well-being by improving their life status. The respondents mention that the term social development is one of the most emerging and highly analyzed concepts in the area of social well-being. They also mention that social development’s most distinctive feature is its attempt to link social and economic development efforts. In the society various organizations operate their programs to bring social development. NGOs also work for social development in the society through implementing development programs. But most of the NGOs have not enough financial supports, technical supports and manpower to implement their programs successfully. For this reason NGOs form partnership with other NGOs, civil society, community and other organizations. Partnership helps them to expand financial help to the poorer section of the society. It helps to set-up a good relationship with the donor agencies. It helps to implement the new programs, to expand the working areas and to increase the number of beneficiaries. It helps the beneficiaries to be self-sufficient through meeting their basic needs. It is easy to create employment opportunities through partnership. In such way they lead their life very comfortably. Through partnership it is easy to make a good combination among the aims, objectives, goals and procedures of the government and the NGO. From the opinions of the respondents it is clear that NGOs need partnership for social development.

Respondents also mention that there are some common threats of partnership process. The threats of partnership are given below:

1. 1. Communication gap between the two parties.
   2. Low performance of the partner NGO.
   3. Financial limitations of the partner NGO.
   4. Lack of supports from the government side.
   5. Beneficiaries do not cooperate properly.
   6. Problem of utilizing the financial helps of the donors.
   7. Irregular participation of the civil society.
   8. Most of NGOs can`t manage technical helps from the donor agencies.
   9. The NGOs can’t supervise regularly.
   10. Lack of regular evaluation.
   11. The inability of submitting the progress report.

Though the partnership process has some common threats but they can be avoided by taking some initiatives. The respondents of this study mention some important suggestions for facing the threats and they are given below:

1. Both parties should maintain good cooperation.
2. Every side has to be careful to ensure the proper supply of money.
3. The participation of the beneficiaries should be ensured.
4. The partner NGO has to maintain a good relationship with the donors.
5. Each party has to be cordial to exchange the technical interventions.
6. Regular supervision should be done by the partner NGO.
7. The partner NGO should submit their evaluation report regularly.
8. The partner NGO should try to achieve the expected outcomes of the assigned programs.
9. Both sides should maintain a good relationship with the civil society.
10. The donor agency should do FGD in the community about the standard of the services.

Partnerships can occur in any development sector involving two or more companies, two parties form a partnership to implement defined programs. A formal partnership is a cooperation. Partnerships seek partner cooperation to achieve mutual aims. Both parties must contribute equally to attain goals in cooperation. NGOs can partner with civil society. Civil society participation is crucial for socioeconomic progress. NGOs can invite civil society to meetings, seminars, symposiums, and conferences. They can also invite civil society to the opening and closing sessions. The world has no pure good. I can identify some common partnership threats from the given discussion. In most cases, the partner NGO cannot meet its aims. Any cooperation faces the threat of poor performance. Financial weakness is another typical yet crucial relationship issue. Most NGOs cooperate with donors or other NGOs to receive funding. The partner NGO negotiates with funders or NGOs after confirming financial assistance. Another issue with complete partnership execution is government noncooperation. Bureaucratic intricacy is also involved. NGOs cannot adequately utilize the financial support they receive from donors. As a result, donor agencies lack interest in forming new partnerships with the current NGO. Insufficient civic society participation is one. NGOs lack technical support from expected partners. Consequently, the partner NGO is not accountable to funding agencies, ultimately, the donor agency loses interest in future partnerships. Every stage of software implementation should include this regular work. Program evaluation and progress report completion will be incomplete. Beneficiaries should receive regular updates from the partner NGO. They should hold progress report meetings regularly. To gain logistical support from other partner NGOs, they must communicate well. Every sector needs active oversight. They must also be serious about regular and continual project evaluation and submit progress reports after each session.

4. CONCLUSION

The study investigated the significance of collaboration within the realm of non-governmental organization (NGO) involvement. In the context of social development, the research issue, the primary goal is to gain an understanding of the nature and forms of partnerships that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Bangladesh are employing in order to advance social development.  The present perspective plan of the Bangladesh has importantly emphasized the partnership issue exclusively. The findings of the study reveal that the partnership aspect in term of achieving social development is an important aspect of the NGOs. The findings according to the study bring some contradictions and dilemmas partnership which could be addressed properly. The NGO needs the partnership issues one hand, and it gets a lot of limitations in this regard on the other. However, the issue needs to justify by the concern authority such as the government or other planning commission where these should be considered. It is more important that the partnership gives a lot of opportunities to utilize all sorts of social capital and resources that the NGOs need to operate and implement its services.

5. FURTHER RESEARCH

Many aspects within the investigation of this study, NGOs` partnership for social development could not discuss properly. Here are some areas which could be investigated for further research for elaboration:

• The nature of partnership with NGO-Donor agencies should be rare focused. It found that the partnership with donors is getting more trouble.
• Partnership with local community is also neglected and it found that the social reality within this partnership process is more crucial. NGOs have to work with local community as well as civil society.

NGOs` management system is an important aspect. It`s seen that the management of NGOs is not well controlled rather than many aspect such as using fund ——– got trouble as they could not response financial crisis locally as per needs.

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