Effective May 7, 2002 IDR has merged with World Education; a Boston-based non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of the poor through economic and social development programs. This merger comes after many years of working as 'sister' organizations to support the evolution of civil society. As part of World Education, IDR will continue research, knowledge dissemination, and capacity building and will also support and enhance World Education's ongoing civil society programs.
IDR Resource Materials and IDR Collections will continue to be available by mail order. IDR Reports will also be available by mail, at their present cost, for those who do not have access to the web. For those interested in ordering IDR Publications by mail, please see our new shipping and handling guidelines.
IDR Resource Materials Order IDR Publications
IDR Publications by topic:
Strengthening Civil Society | Promoting
Multisectoral Development Innovations | Influencing Policy through Advocacy
Reforming International Development Cooperation | Pursuing
Development Research Methods
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader free.
Sustainable Development Services (SDS) Project Resource Materials
To be used independently or in conjunction with IDR's Training and Consulting
Services
Financial Sustainability Strategies for NGOs
Consultant Guide, 2000, $25.00
Participant Workbook, 2000, $25.00
IDR's SDS Project has developed a comprehensive workshop designed to assist
NGOs in diversifying their revenue base in order to become more financially
sustainable. Materials emphasize entreprenurial concepts, such as marketing
and financial management. The Consultant Guide is designed
for use by consultants or other providers of technical ssistance from either
within or outside an NGO; the Participant Workbook materials can
be tailored to fit a variety of Northern and Southern institutional contexts.
Advocacy Sourcebook: Frameworks for Planning, Action & Reflection
Valerie Miller & Jane Covey, 1997, $75.00
Produced for use by both advocates and trainers, this innovative sourcebook
offers valuable analysis and practical advice to organizations wishing to
expand their advocacy capacity. Developed as a result of joint learning projects
between Southern and Northern NGOs, the Advocacy Sourcebook utilizes the
ideas of groups and individuals from around the globe. In doing so, it allows
the reader to tap into the growing body of collective NGO knowledge and experience.
The Advocacy Sourcebook contains a broad range of frameworks and concepts that vary in complexity and scope. In addition to referencing case studies of successful advocacy efforts throughout the world, it provides strategies for assessing public policy systems, increasing organizational capacity-building, and measuring the impact of individual advocacy campaigns. The sourcebook comes complete with materials that can be used or adapted for workshops, trainings and future advocacy efforts.
Building Knowledge & Community for Advocacy
1999, $35.00
This report summarizes the proceedings of a workshop on North-South advocacy
partnerships held by IDR in Boston on January 14-15, 1999. Intended both
to document what took place at the workshop and stimulate further networking
and dialogue on the issue, the report explores the theory and the practice
of advocacy work, drawing on the shared experiences of workshop participants.
Among the topics discussed are measuring impact, advocacy models and assumptions
about power, the challenges of North–South collaboration, capacity
building in both Northern and Southern organizations, and constituency building
for advocacy initiatives. For anyone interested in fostering a community
of advocates—locally, nationally and internationally—this report
is a valuable resource.
Strategic Thinking for NGO Leaders
1996, $25.00
This manual provides training designs, cases, conceptual inputs and reading
materials for facilitating workshops to help leaders of NGOs and grassroots
organizations learn how they can have maximum impact with minimum resources.
It is suitable for NGO training workshops and as a tool for organizational
consultations. The manual includes a participant's packet with originals
for photocopying.
Order IDR Publications | Back to Top
Volume 17.1 PDF
Critical Cooperation: An Alternative Form of Civil Society-Business Engagement
Jane G. Covey and L. David Brown
This analysis suggests that civil society-business cooperation is possible
even when important interests are in conflict. Attention to power, rights,
negotiation and key stakeholders is key for successful "critical cooperation."
IDR Reports, Volume 17.1
Volume 16.6 PDF
Scaling Up NGO Programs in India: Strategies and Debates
Peter Uvin, Pankaj S. Jain and L. David Brown
The politically-focused analysis suggests a new paradigm for scaling up impact
without growing large. The second analysis focuses on the organizational
and strategic aspects encountered by NGOs as they scale up. Finally the report
explores some implications for donor and NGO policy.
IDR Reports, Volume 16.5, 2000, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 16.5 PDF
Strengthening the Governance of Nonprofit Associations: Lessons from Two
Nationwide Efforts Within Bangladesh
Darcy Ashman
Compares two Bangladeshi NGO associations to explore the relationship between
their governance practices and the effectiveness of their joint actions.
IDR Reports, Volume 16.5, 2000, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 15.2 PDF
Addressing Civil Society's Challenges: Support Organizations as Emerging
Institutions
L. David Brown and Archana Kalegaonkar
This paper proposes a framework for understanding the challenges that face
civil societies in many countries as they are pressed to take larger roles
in social, economic and political development. It explores how support organizations
help deal with the challenges facing civil societies, as well as the special
challenges facing the support organizations as institutions themselves. It
also suggests that strengthening support organizations can have multiplier
effects for the civil societies they serve and so contribute to promoting
sustainable development.
IDR Reports, Volume 15.2, 1999, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 14.2 PDF
The Strength of Strong and Weak Ties: Building Social Capital for
the Formation and Governance of Civil Society Resource Organizations
Darcy Ashman, L. David Brown and Elizabeth Zwick
This report is a comprehensive look into both the nature of civil society
resource organizations (CSROs) and the social relationships which make them
work. In order to highlight the strategies through which such organizations
can be created and sustained, this report analyzes the formation and governance
of eight CSROs in seven countries. Its findings will prove relevant both
to development practitioners who work directly with CSROs, and scholars of
civil society organizations interested in how social capital supports social
development.
IDR Reports, Volume 14.2, 1998, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 10.2 PDF
Forming a Multi-National Development Coalition: Diversity and Oppression
in Organizational Relations
Jane G. Covey and L. David Brown
Examines a case of developing a North-South coalition and the kinds of challenges
that must be solved in overcoming the problems posed by initial power differences
to enable joint learning.
IDR Reports, Volume 10.2, 1994, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 11.7 PDF
Models of Inter-Organizational Collaboration in Development
Mark Leach
Identifies six alternative approaches to North-South partnership and the
advantages and disadvantages of each. Implications are developed for future
partnerships across the North-South boundary.
IDR Reports, Volume 11.7, 1994, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 11.6 PDF
Civil Society and Political Transition in Africa
Michael Bratton
Reviews the literature, proposes a definition of civil society, and applies
this definition to African experience. Also provides an extensive bibliography
of references on civil society.
IDR Reports, Volume 11.6, 1994, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 10.3 PDF
Development Bridging Organizations and Strategic Management for Social Change
L. David Brown
Addresses the nature of bridging organizations and their importance for social
change. It identifies inherent strategic problems of bridging organizations,
describes options for handling these problems, and discusses implications
for other organizations and for societal development.
IDR Reports, Volume 10.3, 1992, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 10.2 PDF
Forming a Multi-National Development Coalition: Diversity and Oppression
in Organizational Relations
Jane G. Covey and L. David Brown
Examines a case of developing a North-South coalition and the kinds of challenges
that must be solved in overcoming the problems posed by initial power differences
to enable joint learning.
IDR Reports, Volume 10.2, 1994
Volume 9.1 PDF
NGOs as Development Catalysts
L. David Brown
Examines the role of NGOs as development catalysts, and identifies three
kinds of catalyst roles in the activities of pioneering NGOs.
IDR Reports, Volume 9.1 1992, hardcopy $4.00
Development Organizations and Organization Development: Toward an Expanded
Paradigm for Organization Development
L. David Brown and Jane G. Covey, 1987, 4.5, $5.00
Organizing and Managing Private Development Agencies: Comparative Analysis
L. David Brown and Jane G. Covey, 1987, 4.1, $5.00
Strengthening Civil Society as a Sector: A Selection of IDR Reports (1997, Collection I, $15.00) focuses on the challenges of organizational interventions to strengthen the whole civil society sector rather than just individual organizations. Includes:
The Role of Voluntary Organizations in Development (L. David Brown & Michael Korten, 1991)
Bridging Organizations and Sustainable Development (Brown, 1991)
Strengthening the Grassroots: Nature and Role of Support Organizations. (L. David Brown & Rajesh Tandon, 1990).
Institution Development for Strengthening Civil Society (L. David Brown & Rajesh Tandon, 1994).
Building Civil Society Organizations: A Selection of IDR Reports (1997, Collection II, $15.00) focuses on concepts and interventions for strengthening civil society organizations to be more effective actors in development. Includes:
Organizational Microcosms and Ideological Negotiation (L. David Brown & Jane G. Covey, 1984).
Beyond Strategic Planning: Strategic Decisions in Nonprofit Organizations (Jane G. Covey & L. David Brown, 1985). Organization Development in Social Change Organizations: Some Implications for Practice (L. David Brown & Jane G. Covey, 1987). Organizational Barriers to NGO Strategic Action (L. David Brown, 1988)
Order IDR Publications | Back to Top
Volume 16.2 PDF
Intersectoral Cooperation: Lessons in Practice
Archana Kalegaonkar and L. David Brown
This report is intended for donors and others seeking to promote and participate
in intersectoral cooperation initiatives. The paper offers concrete, useful
lessons for effective intersectoral cooperation drawn from four USAID-sponsored
development projects.
IDR Reports, Volume 16.2, 2000, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 16.3 PDF
Promoting Corporate Citizenship in the Global South: Towards a Model of
Empowered Civil Society Collaboration with Business
Darcy Ashman
An in-depth look at the reality of business-civil society collaboration. Based
on an analysis of ten cases from India, Brazil and South Africa, the paper
offers a new conceptual model of intersectoral collaboration.
IDR Reports, Volume16.3, 2000, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 16.4 PDF
Strengthening North-South Partnerships: Addressing Structural Barriers
to Mutual Influence
Darcy Ashman
Ashman analyzes structural features in four cases of US PVO and African NGO
partnership to explain differences in perceptions and levels of satisfaction
with the partnerships. It proposes five structural changes to improve
the quality and effectiveness of these development partnerships.
IDR Reports, Volume16.4, 2000, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 15.1 PDF
Understanding Participation in Large Scale Development Programs
Namrata Jaitli and L. David Brown
The Society for Participatory Research and the Institute for Development
Research wished to study grassroots participation in development projects
organized by government and international agencies with regional support
organizations, and to build the capacity of non-governmental agencies to
monitor and evaluate development projects involving grassroots populations.
This study focuses on experience with grassroots participation in a large-scale,
government-sponsored forestry program in India.
IDR Reports, Volume15.1, 1999, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 13.5 PDF
Market-Civil Society Partnership Formation: A Status Report on Activity,
Strategies, and Tools
Steve Waddell
Analyzes interviews with thirty-four organizations involved in business-NGO
collaborations around the world. The study draws some overarching lessons
and identifies six emerging issues.
IDR Reports, Volume13.5, 1997, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 13.4 HTML
Public NGO-Financing Institutions in India: An Exploratory Study
L. David Brown, Rajesh Tandon, Anil Chaudhury & Sudarshan Synghal
Examines the experiences of NGO-Financing Institutions (NFIs) that provide
government funds to support nongovernmental organizations, and proposes some
concepts for understanding and designing NFIs in the future.
IDR Reports, Volume13.4, 1997, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 13.3 PDF
Fostering Intersectoral Partnering: A Guide to Promoting Cooperation Among
Government, Business, and Civil Society Actors
Steve Waddell and L. David Brown
Analyzes inter-organizational relationships broadly, and provides ten guiding
lessons about developing intersectoral relationships through a five-stage
process.
IDR Reports, Volume13.3, 1997, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 13.2
Social Capital, Mutual Influence and Social Learning in Intersectoral
Problem-Solving in Africa and Asia
L. David Brown and Darcy Ashman
Identifies factors associated with increasing social capacity to solve complex
problems through an analysis of thirteen cases of multiparty cooperation
in twelve countries in Africa and Asia.
IDR Reports, Volume13.2, 1997, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 13.1 PDF
Outcomes of Social Capital Strategies of Banks and Community-Based Organizations
in the US: The Four Pros: Property, Profit, Processes and Product
Steve Waddell
Examines nine case studies of bank and activist community-based organization
relationships that are producing innovative and mutually beneficial outcomes.
It analyzes the "four pros" in terms of social capital, which it
identifies as a critical ingredient in production that is just beginning
to be understood.
IDR Reports, Volume13.1, 1997, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 8.3 PDF
Civil Society, the State, and Roles of NGOs
Rajesh Tandon
discusses various conceptualizations of the role of NGOs in their contemporary
practice, and critiques these roles, and offers an alternative formulation.
IDR Reports, Volume13.1, 1991
Promoting Civil Society-Government Cooperation: A Selection of IDR Reports (1997, Collection III, $15.00) is a series of papers developed in an ongoing study of cooperation among grassroots groups, development NGOs, and government agencies. Includes:
Holding Together: Collaborators and Partnerships (Rajesh Tandon, 1992).
Multiparty Cooperation for Development in Asia (L. David Brown & Rajesh Tandon, 1992)
Creating Social Capital: Nongovernmental Development Organizations and Intersectoral Problem-Solving (L. David Brown, 1994)
Participation, Social Capital, and Intersectoral Problem-Solving: African and Asian Cases (L. David Brown & Darcy Ashman, 1996)
Order IDR Publications | Back to Top
Volume 11.8 PDF
Accountability and Effectiveness of NGO Policy Alliances
Jane G. Covey
IDR Reports, Volume11.8
Volume 11.5 PDF
Policy Influence by Development NGOs: A Vehicle for Strengthening Civil
Society
Valerie Miller
Examines the effort of Filipino non-governmental and popular organizations
to influence policy, and the relationship of such efforts to building a strong
civil society.
IDR Reports, Volume11.5, 1994, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 11.2 PDF
NGO Influence on National Policy Formation in Zimbabwe
Harold Sibande
IDR Reports, Volume11.2, 1996, hardcopy $5.00
NGOs In Policy Influence: A Selection of IDR Reports (1997, Collection IV, $12.00) includes a conceptual overview, and analyses of efforts to influence national and international policy undertaken by civil society organizations like NGOs and people's movements. Includes:
A Note on NGOs and Policy Influence (Jane G. Covey, 1992).
NGO and Grassroots Policy Influence: What is Success? (Valerie Miller, 1994).
Accountability and Effectiveness of NGO Policy Alliances (Jane G. Covey, 1994).
Order IDR Publications | Back to Top
Volume 16.1 PDF
Transnational Civil Society Coalitions and the World Bank: Lessons from
Project and Policy Influence Campaigns
L. David Brown and Jonathan Fox have revisited their 1998 book, The Struggle
for Accountability: The World Bank, NGOs, and Grassroots Movement to
produce this report. This concise paper extracts lessons from a variety of
case studies of transnational coalition efforts aimed at influencing World
Bank policies and projects.
IDR Reports, Volume 16.1, 2000, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 14.1 PDF
Social Learning in South–North Coalitions: Constructing Knowledge
Systems Across Social Chasms
L. David Brown
This paper focuses on social learning as a process that creates new perspectives
and behaviors at the social system level. Indispensable for anyone interested
in turning potential organizational discord into a beneficial process of
social learning, the report explores how differences among members of an
interorganizational network can be used to develop new knowledge and improved
practice.
IDR Reports, Volume 14.1, 1998, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 12.5 PDF
Promoting Independent Assessments of Multilateral Development Bank Anti-Poverty
Investments: Bringing Civil Society In
Jonathan Fox
Examines the possibilities of expanding civil society capacity to assess
and improve the programs of multilateral development banks through monitoring
and evaluation of specific projects.
IDR Reports, Volume 12.5, 1996, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 12.3 PDF
Targeting Poverty Targeting: The Multi-National Development Banks and
Poverty Reduction
John Gershman
Assesses the World Bank's changing patterns of lending and their impact on
poverty, draws lessons from NGO experiences in poverty reduction projects,
and concludes with policy options for the U.S. government.
IDR Reports, Volume 12.3, 1996, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 12.1 PDF
Partners for Development: USAID and PVO/NGO Relationships
Rebecca Sholes and Jane G. Covey
Examines the patterns of USAID funding for development initiatives by Northern
and Southern civil society organizations.
IDR Reports, Volume 12.1, 1996, hardcopy $5.00
The Struggle for Accountability: The World Bank, NGOs
and Grassroots Movements
Edited by Jonathan A. Fox and L. David Brown, Published by MIT Press, 1998,
$30.00
Order IDR Publications | Back to Top
Volume 11.4 PDF
Writing and Facilitating Cases for Development Activists
Elizabeth Zwick and L. David Brown
This guide is for developing action learning cases from the experiences of
grassroots development actors, and then using the resulting cases as tools
for capacity-building with civil society activists.
IDR Reports, Volume 11.4, 1994, hardcopy $5.00
Volume 10.4 PDF
Social Change Through Collective Reflection with Asian NGOs
L. David Brown
Describes a program of collective reflections with civil society leaders
that led to new initiatives by Northern and Southern participants that had
impacts on the NGO communities of several Asian countries as well as the
host organization of the reflections.
IDR Reports, Volume 10.4, 1994, hardcopy $5.00
Participatory Action Research: A Selection IDR Reports (1997, Collection V, $15.00) brings together a series of papers on different aspects of participatory research and action research that can contribute to social change. Includes:
Ideology and Political Economy of Inquiry: Action Research and Participatory Research (L. David Brown & Rajesh Tandon, 1983).
People Centered Development and Participatory Research (L. David Brown, 1985).
Participatory Research and Community Planning (L. David Brown, 1985).
Building Capacity Through Action Learning (Mark Leach, 1994).
Order IDR Publications | Back to Top