Reflecting on the role of NGOs in Bangladesh’s development 

In the development process of Bangladesh, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play three important roles — that of a co-traveller (shohojatri), a companion (shohochor) and a fellow fighter (shohojoddha).

Co-travellers: Facilitating development

As co-travellers, NGOs act as facilitators. Bangladesh's development is driven not by the state alone, but by a range of actors — including the government, NGOs, the private sector and external development partners. By working across diverse development areas and providing services such as microcredit, NGOs have become important development actors.

Yet NGOs can never substitute for the state. No development organisation can match the state in terms of its mandate, resources, reach and scale. At the same time, the state cannot accomplish development entirely on its own. Development is too complex and multifaceted for any single actor to manage. NGOs therefore serve as catalysts, complementing and strengthening the state's efforts.

Companions: Working at the grassroots

The second role is that of a companion. The state operates largely at the macro and meso levels, but it cannot always reach people at the very grassroots.

Despite their extensive local networks, governments may face difficulties in engaging directly with communities. NGOs can often reach them more effectively because of their flexible funding mechanisms, community-based approaches and close engagement with local actors.

Working with communities, NGOs gain a close understanding of grassroots realities — their aspirations, needs, constraints and everyday obstacles to development. They work alongside farmers, weavers, potters and other communities, building relationships of trust and creating spaces in which people can articulate their concerns.

In this sense, NGOs act as companions. They walk alongside people rather than simply delivering services to them. They hold the hands of farmers, weavers and potters, building a sense of friendship and a space of trust.

Fellow fighters: Strengthening people's voices

The third role is that of a fellow fighter. People are not always satisfied with the actions or performance of the state. They have grievances, demands and expectations, and they often engage in struggles and social movements to realise them.

At different stages of these struggles, NGOs can stand alongside citizens. They can strengthen people's voices, help them claim their rights, and demand greater transparency and accountability from the state.

Their role, therefore, extends beyond service delivery to enabling citizens to engage more effectively with institutions that affect their lives.

Social movements in Bangladesh have historically depended on collective action. NGOs can contribute to this process by mobilising people and creating spaces and platforms for collective engagement. Their close relationships with grassroots communities give them a particular capacity to facilitate such collective action.

From progress to development

We also need to distinguish between progress and development.

Progress refers primarily to a quantitative expansion of a positive condition or a reduction in a negative one. When national income rises, for example, we can speak of economic progress. Similarly, a decline in infant mortality represents progress.

Development, however, implies qualitative change. An increase in national income is progress; a more equitable distribution of that income is development. A decline in infant mortality is progress; a simultaneous improvement in child nutrition is development.

Quantitative expansion must therefore be accompanied by qualitative change for progress to become development.

Over the years, NGOs in Bangladesh have contributed to both progress and development.

The state, however, has traditionally placed greater emphasis on indicators of progress. Debates often focus on whether the growth rate is 6% or 7%, or whether the number of schools and hospitals has increased.

These indicators matter, but they do not tell the whole story. We also need to ask: What is the quality of services in those hospitals? Has the quality of education improved? Has the increased national income been distributed equitably?

NGOs often observe these questions at the household and grassroots levels. Is the available water actually safe to drink? What is the quality of education in schools where children are attending classes? Are health services accessible and effective?

In this sense, while the state often focuses on the scale of progress, NGOs can draw attention to the quality and distribution of that progress — that is, to development itself.

Beyond material deprivation

NGOs can also contribute to strengthening basic human values and addressing forms of deprivation that are often overlooked.

In Bangladesh, however, deprivation is frequently understood through narrow lenses. Economists may focus primarily on income deprivation; politicians on political participation; and human development experts on shortcomings in health and education.

We need to move beyond these partial perspectives. Economic progress and improvements in human development are essential, but they are not sufficient. If human values decline, the transition out of broader human poverty cannot be complete.

All non-state actors therefore have a role to play in addressing these social and ethical dimensions of deprivation.

Mobilising people and embracing digitalisation

Social movements in Bangladesh have historically depended on collective action. NGOs can contribute to this process by mobilising people and creating spaces and platforms for collective engagement. Their close relationships with grassroots communities give them a particular capacity to facilitate such collective action.

Digitalisation can further expand both the reach and quality of NGO activities. In the past, delivering services often required people to travel long distances, carrying ledgers and maintaining handwritten records. Increasingly, information technology is transforming these processes, improving institutional efficiency and the effectiveness of service delivery.

Digital tools can also empower NGO clients. With access to mobile phones and digital services, for example, people can manage accounts, access information, identify their needs more clearly, and better understand markets and opportunities.

The NGO sector should therefore move decisively towards digitalisation rather than maintaining parallel systems in which digital processes coexist indefinitely with handwritten and carbon-copy records.

The state-NGO relationship

The relationship between the government and NGOs in Bangladesh has never been entirely smooth. It has often been characterised by tension, negotiation and periods of cooperation and disagreement.

But what needs to be remembered is that development itself is profound and highly complex. It cannot be managed by a single actor — even by a powerful state.

Responsibilities must be distributed among different actors according to their respective strengths and comparative advantages.

The state has a central and indispensable role. NGOs, the private sector, communities and development partners have roles of their own. Their relationships may not always be easy, but they are necessary.

There is room for everyone, and there is a role for everybody. 

Dr Selim Jahan is the former Director of the Human Development Report Office (HDRO) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York . 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.