"The growth of civil society has been one of the most significant trends in international development " (The World Bank). Thanks to the greater ease of global communications brought about by the ICT revolution, civil society and social movements have increased their role and relevance, seeking new ways of cooperating together and creating synergies and opportunities for participation. At the international, regional and national levels, NGOs and other civil society actors have important perspectives to contribute on development. Such organisations are an access point to a committed and important group of citizens with influence, and can also be an entry point to reaching the poor.

Positioning itself as the news agency of civil society , IPS places special emphasis on its relationship and engagement with this sector, which represents one of its key audiences. IPS is committed to reflecting the viewpoints of NGOs and other civil society organisations, and to meeting their information needs. Moreover, by leveraging its relationships with international institutions and decision–makers around the world, IPS acts as a global communication channel that facilitates networking and brings about change – not least in the South, and amongst the smaller NGOs beyond usual big names, which are rarely if ever reported upon by other media.

Over the years the comparative content analyses of Professor Giffard and his team at the University of Washington have documented the unique space which IPS offers to civil society sources, compared to other news agencies. Giffard has also documented the web of civil society networks gathered around our online space.

Alliances and partnerships with civil society organisations have been undertaken in the fields of news and content provision, capacity building, and dissemination and networking. Most IPS global and regional projects are carried out with civil society partners.

For example, IPS has played a leading role as a news provider and communication focal point for the World Social Forums. TerraViva has been present at every WSF since the beginning, and acts as a communication bridge to the private sector, meeting concurrently at the World Economic Forum.

Similarly, IPS plays a communication role within CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation , an influential network of organisations at the local, national, regional and international levels spanning the spectrum of civil society. CIVICUS is dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. IPS produces TerraViva at the CIVICUS World Assemblies and is working jointly with Oxfam–Novib and CIVICUS to strengthen relations between media and civil society.

Offering media training to civil society communicators is part of the new Sustainable Development in the South three–year project 2008–2010 that IPS will carry out jointly with Friends of the Earth International .