Bridging Organizations and Sustainable Development

In many developing countries, sustainable social and economic development depends on creating effective local organizations, horizontal linkages across sectors, and vertical linkages that enable grassroots influence on national policy-making. This paper examines the role of "bridging organizations" in creating such institutional arrangements. Examples of bridging organizations and their constituencies of various types (associations, networks, cross-sectoral partnerships, political coalitions, social movements) are described. On the basis of these examples, it is argued that bridging organizations and their constituent networks are shaped by values and visions, their tasks, member diversity, and external threats. The cases suggest that bridging organizations can play key roles in building local organizations, creating horizontal linkages, increasing grassroots influence on policy, and disseminating new visions and organizational innovations. Finally the paper argues that bridging organizations are central players in an emerging "multisectoral" development paradigm that is less subject to the flaws of the still-dominant market-led and state-led paradigms.

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