Following agreement in Nedlac, an advisory committee charged with investigating and advising government on the means for providing future support to organs of civil society has been established.

The committee will, in particular, consider the feasibility of establishing a national development agency to provide and coordinate support to organs of civil society. The committee's terms of reference include the development of recommendations to government on:

• The role of a national development agency.
• Institutional arrangements for a national development agency, including structure, legal status, relationship to government, relationship to other existing development institutions, financial relationships between government and civil- society organisations.
• Transition from existing arrangements to the establishment of a national development agency, including consideration of the future of existing development- funding agencies.

In agreeing to the establishment of the advisory committee, Nedlac constituencies concurred that the report produced by the committee should be mindful of the work of Nedlac's Development Chamber. It was also agreed that formal constituency views on this area would be put forward at the point when the committee's report was negotiated in Nedlac, as constituency representatives on the advisory committee would not be providing mandated contributions.

The committee's report will be considered in Nedlac's Development Chamber during the second half of 1996.