International NGOs : networking, information flows and learning

International non-government organisations (INGOs) are increasingly regarded as important in their capacity to influence global policy on development issues. This has been possible through their simultaneous attachment to local places and cultures on the one hand, and their critical engagement with global institutions on the other. With recent advances in information and communication technologies, an increasingly connected INGO community is finding considerable scope for networking and information sharing at multiple levels. However, despite the strategic advantage of INGOs in terms of their multi-level reach, their contribution to date remains limited more to small-scale success stories than to affecting development directions more broadly. In this paper, we emphasise the need for INGOs to learn from the field in their quest to influence wider policy-making and to improve local accountability. It is argued that, as their role changes from operational work to international advocacy, INGOs will have to strengthen institutional structures and learning skills to achieve a greater developmental impact