This chapter examines and compares the relationship of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and other civil society organisations and coalitions with the United Nations (UN) and, in the context of summitry, with the G7/8. The growing importance of new informal practices in UN-civil society interaction was inevitable in view of the fact that formal extension of NGO access has not been politically possible at the UN. Practices and structures vary from country to country, and there are different government departments that incorporate units responsible for continuous monitoring, co-ordination, and follow-up of G7/8-related activities and issues, both at the summit level and at lower levels of the broader G7/8 system. The tradition of host-government dialogue with civil society continued before and during the Genoa Summit. In the preparatory phase, the Italian government made a serious effort to communicate with NGOs, especially in the areas of development aid and poverty reduction.