Dissonance or dialogue: changing relations with the corporate sector

In recent years, both the corporate sector and civil society organisations, particularly international NGOs, have become more influential in shaping development debates and policies. There is increasing awareness within the corporate sector of the need to demonstrate social responsibility; and growing acceptance among NGOs that business is essential to the economic growth which will fuel social development. This paper shows how the two sectors can engage constructively in order to establish and monitor standards, though it also argues the need for some pressure groups to retain an uncompromising and radical agenda in order to keep the critical debates alive. This article is freely available as a chapter in Debating Development: NGOs and the Future.