Non-governmental organizations : From being a bystander to becoming a resourceful force with regards to World Bank projects.

A number of NGOs follow the international development debate and are active in trying to influence important actors in the field. The impact of NGOs on large international actors such as the World Bank has for example been an important topic of discussion. The continuance of research on the development of NGOs in the World Bank is important for future work in the sector, both for NGOs and for the civil society. As important representatives of the civil society, NGOs have been the force to rely on and confine to. When examining NGOs impact on the World Bank, there are two levels to the research. Most previous research on NGOs as influencers in the World Bank has dealt with the overall impact of NGOs on the World Bank on policy level. This research sets out to investigate the second level of impact that NGOs have on the World Bank on project level to a major extent it relates to NGOs in the partner states. The study uses qualitative methods and an abductive approach in a desk study as the chosen method for collecting and assessing data. It takes its basis in Gramsci’s theory on civil society when examining existing work and uses as the theoretical framework. From the findings of the study it can be deduced that that NGOs impact on the World Bank projects can be essential for the success of the Bank. Starting from a small platform where NGOs were only invited on occasion to play ‘roles’ as a favor to the Bank, the NGOs are today recognized for their efficiency in Bank-financed projects where a good cooperation with locals is seen as important for the success of the project