Supporting community-based organizations

Description

A Community-Based Organization (CBO)is a non-formal organization (usually without formal government recognition) created and controlled by the beneficiaries themselves for their own benefit, i.e. the organization's target population is resident within the community. Such groups often form federations, associations or regional cooperatives which function to service, support, follow-up or provide political representation. Membership groups can evolve into a subset of support/service NGOs.

A Beneficiary-Owned Organization (BOO) is an inter-village, non-formal organization appropriate for a low level partnership based on indirect service delivery where development and sustainability are not the focus.

Context

The strategic significance of supporting community-based organizations emerged in the 1970s, as international development actors recognized the limitations of top-down approaches. Through grassroots mobilizations during the 1980s and 1990s—particularly in health, education, and environmental initiatives—donors and governments observed that community-led efforts yielded more sustainable outcomes. Global frameworks, including the Agenda 21 (1992) and the Sustainable Development Goals, further solidified widespread endorsement of these organizations as essential agents of localized problem-solving and empowerment.

Implementation

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities. Agenda 21 recommends support for community-based people's organizations, especially farmers and pastoralists.

Counter-claim

Supporting community-based organizations is an overrated and ineffective strategy. These groups often lack the resources, expertise, and oversight needed to create lasting change. Their small-scale initiatives rarely scale up to meaningful impact, and funding them diverts resources from proven, larger institutions that drive systemic progress. Prioritizing community-based organizations wastes time and money that could be better spent on comprehensive, well-monitored programs with measurable results. This strategy should not be prioritized.