(ii) Enhancing the Environment for NGO Activities

Additional assistance measures for NGO activities are the various projects for developing the environments for NGOs. For instance, under the NGO Consultant Scheme, NGO staff commissioned by MOFA responds to consultations and inquiries from citizens and NGO personnel on issues pertaining to the establishment, organization management, international cooperation and other activities of NGOs. In addition, the Program provides consultations at international cooperation events and other venues while also offering services where personnel are dispatched to hold seminars. In this way, efforts are being made to promote NGO activities as well as understanding of NGO activities. Furthermore, efforts are being made to increase the management ability and expertise of NGOs. One example of these efforts is the NGO study group. These groups are held by NGOs

## (iii) Dialogue and Cooperation with NGOs

In order to promote dialogue and cooperation with NGOs, since 1996 MOfA has held the NGO-MOFA Regular Meetings and engaged in active consultations regarding the financial cooperation system for NGOs, such as Japan’s assistance policies and the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects. Meanwhile, in 2002, as a forum for exchanging ideas and opinions with field-level NGOs, it opened meetings between NGOs and embassies, which are called “ODA Embassies”. Embassy

## (b) Collaboration with Private Sector Enterprises

## (i) Public-Private Cooperation for Accelerated Growth

The activities of private sector enterprises can engender development results in developing countries on a level beyond the reach of ODA alone, as they can be expected to promote employment, augment tax revenue, acquire foreign currency, transfer technologies, and expand trade and investment. Therefore, in order to promote such activities by private sector companies, in April 2008 the Public-Private Cooperation for Accelerated Growth was announced as a measure to promote themselves on various themes such as the environment and advancing partnerships with businesses, as well as symposiums.

JICA also provides a wide range of training for NGO staff. For example, JICA conducts: 1) NGO human resource development training in project management for improving the capacity of project implementation in developing countries, as well as in organizational management for enhancing public relations and fund-raising abilities domestically; 2) project cycle management (PCM) training aimed at acquiring methods for planning, monitoring, and evaluating projects such as those implemented under the JICA Partnership Program; and 3) dispatching advisors to domestic or overseas NGO offices to provide face-to-face advice on problems faced by them.

officials, aid implementing agencies, and NGO-related parties have thus far carried out discussions on the efficient and effective implementation of ODA in 27 countries, such as Nepal and Sri Lanka. JICA also holds the NGO-JICA Conference, which promotes the understanding and participation of citizens, including NGOs, in order to realize more effective international cooperation.

public-private cooperation. For this, the government receives consultations and proposals from private sector enterprises related to their activities which are conducive to economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries, as well as public-private cooperation projects together with ODA.

In addition, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in which private enterprises aim to make an active contribution to the local communities in