The organisation wanting to form an NGO umbrella group in Papua New Guinea says the voices of the country's NGOs have not been heard on many important issues because they are too fragmented.
The Papua New Guinea Civil Society Organisation has been meeting with NGOs and church groups to see what support there is for an umbrella group.
The interim-chair person for the Organisation, Susan Setae says there are still people who do not see the need for the umbrella group but in general the support is there.
She says NGOs need their and the common peoples views heard at the government and international level and they need a focal point for these views.
"We need to have one co-ordinated voice that can be represented at a international level. I think Papua New Guinea NGOs have missed out on a lot of important forums, government forums and our voices have not been heard because we are fragmented, we are individually based."
Susan Setae says they are planning to hold four different regional meetings this year to get a greater sense of support for the umbrella group.
