Effective networking among S Asian CSOs stressed

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Participants and resource persons of a three-day regional workshop on civic engagement in procurement at the BRAC Centre for Development Management at Rajendrapur on Thursday.

Activists of civil society organisations (CSOs) and resource persons from seven countries representing four continents laid emphasis on developing effective networking among them to build capacity to engage in monitoring of public procurement processes and outcomes, said a press release.
They observed that there were commonalities in the environment of South Asian countries for citizen engagement in public procurement. The demand for monitoring procurement issues by CSOs is also growing in the region.
Such an observation was made in a regional workshop on strengthening citizen engagement in procurement, reviewing experiences, identifying challenges and exploring opportunities, sponsored by the Affiliated Network on Social Accountability in South Asia (ANSA) and the World Bank.
The three-day workshop ended at BRAC Centre for Development Management at Rajendrapur Thursday.
The workshop brought together nearly 40 participants from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka representing a cross section of stakeholders-policy makers, civil society practitioners, media networks, development partners and international resource persons from Africa, Latin America and East Asia.
The broad objectives of the workshop included understanding the state of play in civic engagement in public procurement in the region and discussing the challenges of developing civic engagement in procurement, with a focus on mechanisms of engagement, institution building strategies and partnership with governments.
Pro Vice Chancellor of BRAC University Dr Golam Samdani Fakir addressed the concluding session as the chief guest.