Building Knowledge on CS

8/7/2019 Building Knowledge on CS

1/24

Secretary Generals Corner

ResourceCenter:

CURRENT CIVILSOCIETY ASSESSMENTPROJECTS

Interview Section

Alliance News

CIVICUS W orld

Knowledge is power.Today this well-known maxim is morerelevant than ever before. Atthe turn of the 21st centuryaccess to information andknowledge has become a cru-cial human and socialresource, determining theopportunities available toindividuals, communities andwhole societies alike.

Knowledge is essential forcivil society. We use it toadvocate for progressive poli-cy changes and involve citi-zens in public life. However,as much as we in civil societyneed to know about the cru-cial challenges facing oursocieties today, we also needto understand what factorsaffect our ability to accom-plish our agenda.

The past years have seen aconsiderable growth inresearch projects, universitycourses and institutions alldealing with civil society andits related topics, including

the non-profit sector, thethird sector, voluntary organi-zations and social capital. Forexample, in 1992 TheInternational Society forThird Sector Research was setup as an academic organiza-tion focusing specifically onthe third sector. Its goal wasto promote the exchange of

research and knowledgeamong scholars from all overthe world. More generally,research on civil society hasbecome increasingly interna-tional in perspective throughwidely known comparativeresearch projects, such as theCivil Society & GovernanceProgramme at the Universityof Sussex and the JohnsHopkins ComparativeNonprofit Sector Project.

Like manyscholarlyendeavours,researchprojects oncivil societyface thechallenge of marrying rigor-ous academicresearch with action-orientedinformation for civil societypractitioners. Many criticsargue that these research pro-jects, especially the onesbased in the positivist tradi-tion of Western social sci-ence, are falling short of meeting the needs of theindividuals who should bebenefiting from the actions of civil society the most.

From its inception, CIVICUSwas expected to put this cri-tique into action and confrontthe gap between research-based knowledge and the

practical guidance and toolscivil society practitioners werelooking for. Two of CIVI-CUS current activities aretackling this challenge.

The first is CIVICUSinvolvement as a partner inan initiative led by theHauser Center for Non-ProfitOrganizations at HarvardUniversity, and funded by theFord Foundation, on building

Civil Society ActionLearning Networks.

These networks arebased on the notionof learning throughknowledge sharing.As the issues civil

society deals with,both locally and glob-

ally, are growing incomplexity, civil societyorganizations are finding itmore and more difficult tokeep up with the ever-chang-ing internal and externalchallenges. This not onlyrequires an expanding knowl-edge base but also knowledgefrom a variety of sources.

Embedded in the tradition of participatory action research,the Civil Society ActionNetworks bring civil societyresearchers and practitionerstogether to understand thecore issues facing civil society.While these Action Learning

Building Knowledge About Civil Society Bridging the Gap Between Research & Action

26

JanuaryFebruary 2001Newsletter of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

Our focus this issue:

The CIVICUS Index

on Civil Society

continued on page 7

915

1620

2123


2/24

JanuaryFebruary 2001

CIVICUS orldW

2


The CIVICUS Index

on Civil Society is a

timely and important

initiative relevant to

many civil society

organizations.

The ability to share

information on our members is an impor-

tant part of the mis-

sion of CIVICUS. Please

send us news of your

activities and events to

the address listed on

the back page.

Please note...

At the beginning of a centuryin which knowledge and infor-mation are becoming the mostimportant assets for humandevelopment, many organiza-tions are collecting informationon issues related to civil soci-ety. During the last five years,efforts to measure and assessfeatures of civil society havemultiplied and several compar-ative international projectshave been conducted.

Strengthening the informationbase on civil society issues hasbeen one of the main pillarsof CIVICUS worksince its inception.In 1997, CIVICUSpublished The NewCivic Atlas, a com-

pilation on the stateof civil society in 60countries. This documentaimed to heighten the publicvisibility and recognition of citizens collective efforts forthe common good. Two yearslater, when the issue of pro-ducing an updated version of The New Civic Atlas was onthe agenda, CIVICUS mem-bers wanted a stronger com-

parative framework of thecountry profiles. Hence,the idea of the CIVICUSIndex on Civil Society cameinto being.

CIVICUS has been workingon the project for about a yearand a half. I have to confessthat the initial thinking anddesign is almost unrecogniz-able in the current CIVICUS

Index on Civil Society. At theoutset, the project was seen asa simple and straightforwardIndex, similar to the HumanDevelopment Index. The pro-ject, however, went throughseveral stages that refined themethodology and implementa-tion plan. It is now a flexible,participatory and innovativetool to assess the complexissues of the health of civilsociety at various levels.

We paid particular attention tothe validity of country-specificinstruments, as the one-size-

fits-all approach of someother international projectsoften made their findings lessuseful. The refinements andchanges were based on consul-tations with CIVICUS mem-bers and other civil societystakeholders held in approxi-mately 40 countries around theworld. These included sessions

at Regional Assemblies of CIVICUS members and a ses-sion at the CIVICUS WorldAssembly in Manila in lateSeptember 1999. We also ben-efited from input by the Indexon Civil Societys global pro-ject advisory group, whichconsists of more than 40 dis-tinguished members, civil soci-ety practitioners and academicsfrom all parts of the world.

What struck me most in theseconsultations was the vibran-cy of each discussion and theextremely high intellectualquality of individual contri-butions. It indicated to methat the CIVICUS Index onCivil Society is a timely andimportant initiative relevant tomany civil society organiza-tions. The responses to ourattempt to assess the strengthand health of civil societywere varied and make forinteresting reading. Some saidthat it is an exercise in mad-

ness given thechallenges of cul-tural relativity aswell as the lack of data on civil soci-ety in manycountries. Otherssaid that the time

is right for an exercise likethis, notwithstanding thenumerous challenges. Toquote one commentator, theIndex idea is ambitious, con-ceptually fraught and method-ologically a nightmare. This isno reason not to start on sucha path in fact it is a goodreason but it must beapproached incrementally.

In her article in this issue,Nilda Bullain reports onapplying the tool at a regionallevel. Her experiences andinterest, as well of others, inthe project proved to me thatthe Index is on the right track.We have set ambitious goalsfor ourselves: to increase theknowledge and understanding

We have set ambitious goals for ourselves: to

increase the knowledge and understanding of

civil society by reflecting on and assessing its

strength, health and impact.


3/24

JanuaryFebruary 2001 3

CIVICUS orldW


of civil society by reflectingon and assessing its strength,health and impact. This willbe achieved through aresearch process relying on acomprehensive stakeholdersurvey, aided by data yieldedfrom quantitative research.We also want to empowercivil society stakeholders by:

1) promoting dialogue,alliances and networks amongthem;

2) developing a vision of andmechanisms to achieve astronger civil society;

3) developing an agenda-and goal-setting tool to fosterpositive change

The three objectives will bemet by convening nationalstakeholders to talk about theresearch findings and then setgoals for the following twoyears. In taking forward thisproject we have consideredconcerns about costs, owner-ship and the practical use andvalues of this project. In theend, this is not a conventionalresearch exercise. It seeks to

be an action research initiativethat is actively linked from theoutset towards developing anengaging and dynamic advo-cacy agenda to strengthencivil society.

In November 2000, a work-shop I ran together withRichard Holloway of UNDPin Indonesia piloted the use of the Civil Society

Index/Diamond Tool and waswonderfully inspiring. Wetook some 40 civil societyleaders from all overIndonesia through an exercisewhere they first selected thoseindicators they believed wouldbe most useful in assessingthe current strength of civilsociety in their country. Wethen had them work in groupsto do assessments based onthe indicators they selected.We then constructed a visualpicture of their assessmentand then worked with them toset goals for strengtheningcivil society.

This project has many risksand we hope to learn muchfrom the pilot work we are

beginning. We hope to sharesome of the early results withyou all at the WorldAssembly in Vancouver from19-23 August 2001. If CIVICUS can achievethese goals - even par-tially - we hope to makea significant contribu-tion to putting the ideaof civil society on thepublic agenda and

strengthening civil soci-ety worldwide.

Un mensaje de laSecretaria General

Al comienzo de un siglo en elque el conocimiento y lainformacin se han convertidoen dos de los aspetos msimportantes del desarollohumano, existen muchas orga-

nizaciones dedicadas arecolectar datos pertinentes ala sociedad civil. Durante losltimos cinco aos, se hanmultiplicado los esfuerzospara medir y evaluar los ras-gos de la sociedad civil, y sehan llevado a cabo variosproyectos internacionalescomparativos en busca deestos datos.

Desde el comienzo de CIVI-CUS, nuestra labor principalnuestro ha sido el de analizry dar a conocer informacinsobre la sociedad civil. En1997, CIVICUS public elNuevo Atlas Cvico, una com-pilacin sobre el estado de lasociedad civil en sesenta pais-es. Este documento pretende

alabar los esfuerzos de lospueblos para mejorar el estadode la sociedad civil en elmundo. Dos aos mas tarde,

surgi la idea deproducir unaversin actual-izada del NuevoAtlas Cvico.Los miembrosde CIVICUSbuscaban una

mejor manera decomparar losperfiles de dis-

tintos pases en cuanto alesfuerzo de sus pueblos.

CIVICUS ha trabajado eneste proyecto durante un aoy medio. El Indice actual hacambiado mucho desde sucomienzo en cuanto a su plany diseo. El proyecto pas

por varias etapas a traves delas cuales se refin lametodologia y el plan deimplementacin. Ahora es undocumento flexible, participa-torio e inovador.

El Indice enfoca la validez delos instrumentos especficosutilizados por cada pas.

Todos los cambios al Indice sehicieron con la consulta previade los miembros de CIVICUSy otras entidades dedicadas apromover la sociedad civil enmas de cuarenta pases delmundo.

Una vez concludo el Indice,se celebraron asambleasregionales de CIVICUS ascomo una sesin de la asam-

blea mundial de CIVICUS enManila. Tambin se realizaronaportes informativos delproyecto por mas de cuarentadistinguidos miembros,acadmicos y otros individuosque se dedican a fomentar lasociedad civil en todo elmundo.

El Indice de la Sociedad Civilforma parte de una iniciativamuy importante que puedeafectar a muchas organiza-ciones dentro de las ramas dela sociedad civil. Las respues-tas que se dieron para evaluarla posicin actual de lasociedad civil fueron muyvariadas e interesantes.

Algunos observadoresopinaron que El Indice era

Kumi Naidoo

cntinua en pgina 4


4/24


CIVICUS orldW

4


ejercicio de la locura pormotivo del relativismo cultur-al y la falta de datos sobre lasociedad civil en muchos pas-es. Alguien coment que laidea del Indice abarca demasi-ado y sufre de problemasmetodolgicos, por lo cual esnecesario llevar acabo elproyecto en diferentes etapas.Otro crtico enojado sugirique intentar definirlo que constituye unasociedad civil salud-able es como intentardefinir lapornografa. Es posi-ble que no se sepa ladefinicin tcnicapero la reconoemoscuando la presenci-amos.

En su artculo dentro de staedicin Nilda Bullain nosindca cmo aplicar el Indicenivel reginal. Sus experien-cias a y su inters, as como laopinin de otras personas, meconvencieron que el Indice vapor buen camino. Tenemosmetas ambiciosas para mejo-rar el conocimiento y elentendimiento de la sociedad

civil por medio de reflexionary evalvar su posicin en lasociedad, su salud y suimpacto. Esto se alcanzar pormedio de un proceso de inves-tigacin que consiste en unaencuesta comprensiva de laspersonas interesadas respal-dadas, con el apoyo de datoscuantitativos. Tamben quere-mos apoyar a individuos

interesados en la sociedadcivil por medio de:

1) promocionar el dialogo, lasalianzas y las redes entre si;

2) desarrollar una visin ascomo mecanismos pararealizar una sociedad civil masfuerte;

3) desarrollar una agenda para

fijar metas que aseguren cam-bios positivos

Los tres objetivos se cumplenuna vez que se juntan per-sonas con interes a nivelnacional para hablar de losresultados de la investigaciny fijar metas para los prxi-mos dos aos.

Hemos considerado cuestionesrelacionadas al costo y valor de

este proyecto. Descubrimosque el proyecto no es un ejerci-cio normal de investigacin. Esuna iniciativa activa de investi-gacin que incluye a todos parareforzar la sociedad civil.

En noviembre de 2000, realicun taller con RichardHolloway de UNDP enIndonesia para comenzar el

uso del Indice de la SociedadCivil. Fue una inspiracinreunirnos con cuarenta lderesde la sociedad civil enIndonesia. En el primer ejer-cicio, se seleccionaron los ras-gos que mejor describen lacada fuerza de la sociedadcivil en pas. Despus sedefinieron indicadores espec-ficos. Finalmente creamos

una representacinvisual de sus opin-iones y reflexion-amos con ellos paradefinr como mejo-rar el estado de lasociedad civil.

Tomamos muchosriesgos en este

proyecto y esperamos apren-

der mucho de la obra quecomenzamos. Esperamoscompartir algunos resultadosprovisionales con ustedes enel Asamblea Mundial quetendra lugar en Vancouver del19 al 23 de agosto 2001. SiCIVICUS puede cumplir conestas metas, aunque sea par-cialmente, creemos que seraposible podemos destacar laimportancia y fortalezr el

concepto de la sociedad civildentro de la vida cotidiana detodo el mundo.

viene de pgina 3

Kumi Naidoo

El indice de la SociedadCivil de CIVICUS forma

parte de una iniciativa

muy relevante e impor-

tante que puede afectar

a muchas organizaciones

dentro de las ramas de la

sociedad civil.

Hemos fijado unas metas altas: mejorar el

conocimiento y el entendimiento de la

sociedad civil por medio de reflexionar y

evaluar su posicin e impacto dentro

de la sociedad.


5/24


CIVICUS orldW


Coin du ScretaireGnral

Lore dun sicle o la con-naissance et linformationdeviennent les biens les plusimportants pour le dveloppe-ment humain, beaucoup dor-ganisations travaillent recueillir des renseignements

sur les questions relative lasocit civile. Durant les cinqdernires annes, les effortsnotable se sont multiplis pourmesurer et valuer les charac-tristiques de la socit civile etplusieurs projets comparatifsde dimension internationaleont t mises en oeuvre.

Le renforcement et llargisse-ment de la base dinformation

et de donnes sur des ques-tions de la socit civile a tun des plus importantsaspects du travail de CIVI-CUS depuis son dbut. En1997, CIVICUS a dit TheNew Civic Atlas (Le nouvelatlas civique), une compilationsur ltat de la socit civiledans 60 pays. Le but de cedocument tait daccrotre lavisibilit et la reconnaissance

publiques des efforts collectifsdes citoyens pour le bien com-mun. Deux annes plus tard,quand la question dditer uneversion nouvelle de Le nouvelatlas civique tait lordre dujour, les membres ontsouhait une charpente pluscomparative des profils depays. Cest ainsi que lide delIndice sur la Socit Civile

de CIVICUS sest produite.

CIVICUS a t en train de tra-vailler sur ce projet depuis djun an et demi environ. Je doisadmettre que la pense et leplan initiaux ne sont presqueplus reconnaissables dans laversion actuelle de lIndice surla Socit Civile de CIVICUS.

Au dpart le projet a t envis-ag en tant quune Indice sim-ple et direct, semblable lIndice sur le DveloppementHumain du PNUD. Le projet,cependant, est pass par

plusieurs tapes qui ont raffinla mthodologie et le plandexcution. Cest maintenantun outil flexible, participatif etinnovateur pour valuer lesquestions complexes de lavitalit de la socit civile dif-frents niveaux.

Nous avons accord uneattention particulire lavalidit des instruments spci-fiques chaque pays, car lap-proche une taille pour tousde quelques autres projetsinternationaux ont souventrendu leurs rsultats moinsvidents. Les amliorations etles changements ont t bass

sur des consultations tenuesdans environ 40 pays autourdu monde avec des membresde CIVICUS et dautresacteurs et parties prenantes dela socit civile. Celles-ci ontinclus des sessions auxAssembles Rgionales desmembres de CIVICUS et unesession lAssembleMondiale de CIVICUS Manille en septembre 1999.Nous avons galement bnfi-ci des observations dugroupe consultatif a lchellemondiale du projet de lIndice

sur la Socit Civile, qui secompose de plus de 40 distin-gus membres de CIVICUS,praticiens de la socit civileet du monde universitaire, detoutes les rgions du monde.

Ce qui ma frapp la plus dansces consultations tait le vitalit

de chaque discussion et laqualit intellectuelle extrme-ment leve des contributionsindividuelles. Pour moi, cela asignifi que lIndice sur lasocit civile de CIVICUS estune initiative opportune etimportante pour beaucoupdorganisations de la socitcivile. La diversit des rponses notre tentative dvaluer la

force et la vitalit de la socitcivile en font une lectureintressante. Certains ontindiqu que cest un exercicedu fous tant donne les dfisde la relativit culturelle aussibien que le manque de donnessur la socit civile dans beau-coup des pays. Dautres ontindiqu que le moment est bonpour un exercice comme ceci,malgr les nombreux dfis.Pour citer un commentateur,lide de lIndice estambitieuse, conceptuellementcharge et mthodologique-ment un cauchemar. Cela nedoit pas tre raison pour ne pascommencer sur une telle voie en fait cest une bonne rai-son il faut lapprocher parvagues successives. Un cri-tique furieux a mme proposquessayant dfinir ce quiconstitue une socit civile enbonne sant est commeessayant dfinir la pornogra-phie. Nous nen connaissonspeut-tre pas la dfinition tech-nique mais quand nous lavoyons nous sommes srs delidentifier.

Dans son article dans ce

numro, Nilda Bullain fait unrapport sur lusage de cet outilau niveau rgional. Ses expri-ences et son intrt dans leprojet, aussi bien que ceux desautres, ma prouv quelIndice est sur la bonne voie.Nous avons fix des objectifsambitieux pour nous-mmes:augmenter la connaissance etla comprhension de la socit

LIndice sur la socit civile de CIVICUS est une initia-

tive opportune et importante et qui sied beaucoup

dorganisations de la socit civile.


6/24


CIVICUS orldW

6


civile en rflchissant et val-uant sa force, sa vitalit et sonimpact. Ceci sera ralis parun processus de recherchequantitative et qualitative parune enqute aussi complteque possible auprs desacteurs et parties prenante.Nous voulons renforcer le

pouvoir ces acteurs de lasocit civile par:

1) la promotion du dialogue,des alliances et des rseauxparmi eux

2) le dveloppement dunevision dune plus forte socitcivile, aussi bien que desmcanismes pour la raliser

3) en dveloppant un outil qui

mettra en place lordre de jouret les buts ncessaires pourstimuler le changement positif

Les trois objectifs seront rem-plis en assemblant les differentsacteurs nationaux pour discuterles rsultats de la recherche etfixer ensuite des objectifs pourles deux annes suivantes.

En avanant ce projet nousavons considr les soucis con-

cernant les frais, la proprit etlutilisation et les valeurs pra-tiques de ce projet. En fin decompte, ce nest pas un exerci-ce conventionnel de recherche.Il cherche tre une initiativede recherche qui est lie active-ment et ds le dbut audveloppement dun ordre dujour attrayant et dynamique de

plaidoyer pour renforcer lasocit civile.

En novembre 2000, un atelierque jai dirig avec RichardHolloway du PNUD enIndonsie a permis lutilisationde loutil de lIndice sur lasocit civile/diamond, et celatait merveilleusement inspira-teur. Nous avons facilit lexer-cice avec 40 leaders de lasocit civile venant de dif-frentes parties de lIndonsieo ils ont choisi premirementles indicateurs quils leur sem-bler les plus utiles pour valuerla force actuelle de la socitcivile dans leur pays. Ensuite,ils sont travaill en groupespour faire des valuationsbases sur les indicateurs quilsont choisis. Puis nous avonsconstruit ensemble une imagevisuelle de leur valuation etfinalement, nous avons fixensemble des objectifs pourrenforcer la socit civile.

Ce projet est en soi difficile -voire risqu et nousesprons apprendre beaucoupdu travail pilote en cours. Nousesprons partager certains des

premiers rsultats avec vous lAssemble Mondiale Vancouver, Canada du 19-23aot 2001. Si CIVICUSparvient atteindre ces buts -mme partiellement nousaurons apport une contribu-tion significative vers la miseen place de lide que la socitcivile a un rle incontournable

dans la dfinition de lordre dujour public et le renforcementde la socit civile dans lemonde entier.

Nous avons fix des

objectifs ambitieux pour

nous-mmes: augmenter

la connaissance et la

comprhension de la

socit civile en

rflechissant et valuant

sa force, sa vitalit et

son impact.

Kumi Naidoo


7/24


CIVICUS orldW

Building Knowledge About Civil Society

Networks are currently intheir infancy, it is expectedthat researchers and practi-tioners will learn from eachothers perspectives andadvance both the theory andpractice on civil society andthe current challenges it has todeal with.

CIVICUS second activityaimed at bridging the gapbetween knowledge and actionis the CIVICUS Index onCivil Society Project. Thisproject is designed to assessthe health and strength of civil society at various levels,from local, regional andnational, and from a singleorganization, to a particular

sub-sector of civil society, tocivil society as a whole. Thisis, however, much more than aresearch project. The ultimateaim of the Index on CivilSociety is to bring a variety of organizations together behinda common self-understandingof civil society, and to create acommon agenda on strength-ening their role in governanceand development.

Mrs. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, the German minister foreconomic cooperation anddevelopment, spoke at thelaunch of the GlobalDevelopment Network inDecember 1999. She said thegeneration and disseminationof relevant knowledge is notso much a question of techni-

cal capacities and means, butrather of choosing the rightapproach. CIVICUS is bear-ing this in mind in designingits Index Project. Similar tothe trend in civil society andcivil society research, theapproach is both internationaland comparative in nature.For civil society practitionersand researchers, the results of this comparative researchpromise to reveal importantsimilarities and differencesbetween countries, as well asthe particulars about onesown country. At the sametime the findings have thepotential to further refineempirically grounded theorieson the topic.

In her speech Mrs.Wieczorek-Zeul identifiedfour crucial insights aboutgathering and transferringknowledge and bridging thegap between that knowledgeand action. First, as discussedpreviously, knowledge ispower. Second, local knowl-edge is at risk of being lost.This insight reflects the cur-rent dominance of Northern,

particularly Anglo-Saxon,bodies of knowledge. Forexample, 80% of all internetsites today are in English,even though only 10% of theworlds population can under-stand the language. This, cou-pled with the reality of eco-nomic dependencies, meansthat many non-OECDcountries tend to import

foreign bodies of knowledge,rather then tap into theirown vast bodies of indigenousknowledge.

Third, knowledge must beembedded in its socio-culturalcontext. Many existing interna-tional research projects havetransferred successful Western

concepts and methodologicaltools to developing countries.But these have often failed toconsider the realities of non-Northern countries. The CIVI-CUS Index on Civil Societyadopts a participatory approachto empower local civil society.For example, in the projectspilot phase, the National LeadOrganizations (NLOs) imple-menting the project in their

country will convene a work-shop of civil society represen-tatives to assess the health of their civil society and set com-mon future goals. Thisapproach ensures local owner-ship of the implementationprocess and research findings.Further, CIVICUS puts pro-ject findings in their socio-cul-tural context, by balancing acomparative approach with the

unique features of each coun-try. Thus the Index methodol-ogy is flexible: while there is auniversal framework, it canbe adapted to specificnational contexts.

The final point made by Mrs.Wieczorek-Zeul is that knowl-edge is politically explosive.Many authoritarian states

monopolize the production of knowledge. Studies on gover-nance have shown that when aresearch approach is participa-tory, empowering and contex-tualized, the promotion of aprogressive agenda is muchmore powerful. The Index onCivil Society connects knowl-edge generation with initia-tives of civil society practi-tioners informed by thatvery knowledge.

This issue of CIVICUSWorld explores the need tobuild knowledge about civilsociety. Specifically we look atwhat CIVICUS is doing tobring knowledge and actiontogether through its Index onCivil Society Project. We also

highlight initiatives and orga-nizations that are buildinginformation about civil societyand using it to strengthen thevoice of citizens. Ela Bhatt,founder of the Self EmployedWomenss Assocation(SEWA) in India, used the oldSanskrit proverb One thatliberates is knowledge" toremind us of the empoweringnature of knowledge. She

explained that the peopleneed knowledge which liber-ates them from bondage of today and of tomorrow.Arent these the very goals wein civil society should bestriving for?

continued from page 1


8/24


CIVICUS orldW

8

Civil Society Index inCapacity BuildingProgrammes in Central& Eastern Europe

by Nilda BullainExecutive Director of theCivil Society DevelopmentFoundation (CSDF)in Hungary

If you took 25 people workingin non-governmental organiza-tions (NGOs) in Central andEastern Europe (CEE), lockedthem into a room and askedthem to come up with a defini-tion of what civil societymeans, one of two thingswould happen. Either theywould start long, intellectualdiscussions on philosophical,

historical and political consid-erations that would end inboredom and no common defi-nition. Or they would conductheated debate on concrete andpragmatic considerations of everyones own experience thatwould cause offense. At theend there would still be nocommon definition.

On the other hand, if you

asked the same group to comeup with a common under-standing of civil society basedon the CIVICUS Civil SocietyDiamond, you would get a setof well laid-out and meaning-ful flipcharts consisting of fourdifferent dimensions, providinga common picture of civil soci-ety in a given country.

The Civil SocietyDevelopment FoundationHungary is building NGOcapacity by providing trainingin nonprofit management andorganizational developmentacross Hungary and CEE.We encountered the CivilSociety Diamond approach inthe 3rd CIVICUS WorldAssembly in Manila andadopted this model as a toolin our training sessions.

In our experience, peopleworking in NGOs in thisregion, especially at a grass-roots level, have very differentlevels of understanding aboutcivil society definitions. Theydiffer on what an NGO is,what a foundation or an asso-

ciation is, what words such asnonprofit or third sector meanand how all of these relate tocivil society. The Diamondprovides a viable frameworkand reference tool - not over-simplified or too complex - togather and synthesize peoplesexperience in civil societywork. Thus far, we have usedit with NGO representativesfrom Bosnia, Croatia,

Macedonia, Romania,Yugoslavia and Hungary,usually in groups whereparticipants come fromdifferent countries.

Whether the training is onstrategic planning, cooperativeplanning or organizationaldevelopment, the Diamond

tool is a good introductoryexercise. The exercise helpsparticipants arrive at a com-mon understanding of thecontext in which they work,rather than trying to providean accurate picture of civilsociety in ones country.

The exercise clarified some of

the definitions mentionedabove, helping to describe thecurrent situation of NGOsand their environment. Theseall served as reference pointsfor further discussions aboutstrategic planning andresource mobilization. Forexample, we comparedRomania and Hungary, creat-ing Diamonds for each. Wesaw that the Hungarian

Diamond, where the govern-ment helps to implement poli-cy and finance the sector, hada larger left side of theDiamond, emphasizing spaceand structure. This is due toHungarian legislation andinter-sectoral relations becom-ing more developed. InRomania, however, whereNGOs are much more relianton foreign funding, the right,

or values and impact, side of the Diamond was larger. Thisdemonstrated certain valuesand impact.

Most importantly, however,the Diamond exercise led peo-ple to think about what couldand should be improved inthe various aspects of civil

society in their countries.Even if these ideas have notyet taken root in concertedactions, the participants of thecourses have definitely spreadthem around. And what elsebut a vision of a strong, influ-ential, multifunctional, color-ful and resourceful civil soci-ety can inspire the day-to-daywork of all of us involved inthe nonprofit sector?

The Diamond provides

a viable framework and

reference tool not

oversimplified or too

complex to gather

and synthesize peoples

experience in civil

society work.

How to Build a Common VisionThe CIVICUS Index on Civil Society


9/24


CIVICUS orldW

Resource CenterCURRENT CIVIL SOCIETY ASSESSMENT PROJECTS

The Johns HopkinsComparative NonprofitSector Project

The JHU ComparativeNonprofit Sector Project(CNP) is a systematic effort toanalyze the scope, structure,financing and role of the non-profit sector in a cross-sectionof countries around the world.This project aims to improveour knowledge and under-standing of this sector inorder to provide a sounderbasis for both public and pri-vate action towards it.

The CNPs objectives include:

documenting the scope,structure, financing androle of the nonprofit sec-tor in empirical terms;

taking a comparativeapproach in order toexplain the sectors differ-ing character from placeto place, and to identifythe factors that encourageand/or hinder itsdevelopment;

evaluating the contribu-tions and impact of thenonprofit sector on soci-ety as a whole;

increasing the publicawareness of the institu-tions which make up thenonprofit sector in differ-ent countries through avariety of publications;

building local capacity tocarry on this work intothe future.

The project work began in1990 in 13 countries. Today,the work extends into over 40countries in all regions of the world.

CONTACT

Comparative Nonprofit Sector ProjectCentre for Civil Society Studies

John Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies

3400 North Charles StreetBaltimore, Maryland21218 2688 U.S.A.Tel. (410) 516 4523Fax (410) 516 - 7818E-mail: [email protected]

Web: www.jhu.edu/~cnp/

The Civil Society & GovernanceProgramme

Carried out by the Institutefor Development Studies atthe University of Sussex, this3 year research programme,which began in 1998, is exam-ining the interplay betweencivil society and governmentsin 22 different countries span-ning Africa, Asia, LatinAmerica, Eastern Europe,the Middle East and theUnited States.

The project has 3 mainobjectives:

to achieve a clearerunderstanding of thecharacter and functioningof civil society in bothanalytical and practicalterms;

to look at the role civilsociety organizations playin enhancing or detractingfrom the quality of politi-cal life and governance indifferent societies;

to develop practical mea-sures which can strength-en civil society andenhance its impact as anagent for improving gov-ernance.

The project began by profil-ing civil society in each coun-try under consideration,including the role it plays inrelation to the governmentand the governments posturetowards it. This includes

looking at the social, economicand political contexts, andcivil societys promise andlimitations for fosteringimproved governance. Specificattention is being given tocivil societys present andpotential roles in tacklingpoverty and promotinggreater equality.

CONTACT

Diane Mulligan, Coordinator Institute of Development Studies

University of SussexBrightonBN1 9RE

United KingdomTel. +44(0)1273 606261

Fax +44(0)1273 621202/691647E-mail: [email protected]

Web: www.ids.ac.uk/ids/ civsoc/home.html

Civil Society in CentralAsia

Since the sudden indepen-dence of many Central AsianRepublics in the early 1990s,there has been a concertedeffort to help emerge and tostrengthen civil society struc-tures in these countries.

INTRAC is conducting a 3year research programme(beginning in late 2000) thathopes to strengthenINTRACs current efforts of mapping, monitoring and ana-lyzing the emergence of civilsociety in several Central Asiastates, including Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan andUzbekistan.

The purpose of the research isfour fold:


10/24


CIVICUS orldW

10


to map, monitor and ana-lyze the emergence of civil society in CentralAsia over time in order tobetter understand thedynamics of civil societyorganizations in a seriesof transitional states;

to increase INTRACs

understanding of thedynamics of civil societyorganizations in transi-tional states;

to identify those factorsthat encourage/ constrainthe development of civilsociety organizations inCentral Asia;

to begin the process of developing the institu-tional capacity of CSOsso that they might under-take policy relatedresearch, which wouldfeed into and inform poli-cy making.

The results of this researchseek to feed directly and con-tinually into on-going civilsociety development activitiesin the region.

CONTACT

Dr. Simon HeapINTRAC

P.O. Box 563Oxford

OX2 6RZUnited Kingdom

Tel +44(0)1865 201851Fax +44(0)1865 201852

E-mail: [email protected]: www.intrac.org/r-civsoc-ca.htm

The Measures Project:Balancing the Scales

In order to measure theimpact of the third sector onsociety, in 1996 IndependentSector began its MeasuresProject. This project aims tobuild a body of knowledgeabout the roles and contribu-tions of nonprofit institutionsin the US.

A national panel of organiza-tions was established in 1997-1998 through which changes in

the sector will be tracked andmeasurement techniques evalu-ated. In 1998, the MeasuresSurvey generated the first set of findings from panel memberson the special roles of nonprof-it organizations and religiouscongregations, engagement incivil society activities andaccountability and evaluation.The findings from this initialsurvey will be made available

in a forthcoming publication,Balancing the Scales: The 1998Measures Survey Final Report.

CONTACT

Independent Sector 1200 18th Street, NW, Suite 200Washington, DC 20036 U.S.A.

Tel. (202) 467-6161Fax (202) 467-6101

E-mail: [email protected]: www.independentsector.org/pro-grams/research/almanac_overview.html

The Nonprofit Almanac

The Nonprofit Almanac seriesprovides a statistical profile of the nonprofit sector and itsplace in the economy and soci-ety of the United States. Theseries demonstrates that thenonprofit organizations are amajor force in the U.S. econo-my and illustrates the changesand importance of the sectorover time.

The series addresses questionssuch as: what are the mainsources of funding?; what arethe average salaries for posi-tions in the nonprofit sector?;what is the total number of nonprofits in the UnitedStates?; and how large is each

sub-sector within the non-profit community?.

The 1998 NGOSustainability Index

Beginning in 1997 with thefirst edition of the NGOSustainability Index, this pro-ject has annually gauged thestrength and overall viabilityof the NGO sector in thetransition countries of Central

and Eastern Europe and theNew Independent States.

The Index was developed byUSAIDs Bureau for Europeand the New IndependentStates together with the NGOcommunity. The initial pur-pose of the Index was to meetthe fields needs for qualitative

indicators captured in a quan-titative format in the area of NGO development. Theseindicators include: donorassistance; the role of govern-ment; the legal environment;

people participation; andpost-donor presence. Theinsights gained help USAIDstaff and implementers makeeveryday project managementdecisions and assist them indesigning longer term projectdevelopment strategies.

The Index is a living docu-

ment that now includes 23countries and has become animportant tool for uncoveringareas of unmet needs.

CONTACT

U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment Ronald Reagan Building

Washington, D.C.20523-0016 U.S.A.Tel. (202) 712-4810

Fax (202) 216-3524 Web:www.usaid.gov/democracy/ngosust.doc


11/24


CIVICUS orldW


Global Civil Society Yearbook

The Center for the Study of Global Governance and theCenter for Civil Society at theLondon School of Economicsare embarking on a researchproject that will produce aGlobal Civil Society Yearbookin September 2001.

The Yearbook aims to givevoice to civil society in theprocess of globalization, to bea tool for participants in globalcivil society and to provide

assistance in agenda setting.Each year the Yearbook willcontain a section on pertinentcivil society issues, a sectionon where and how global civilsociety operates and interactsand a closing section contain-ing a data profile, a global civilsociety index, a discussion of the legal year and a chronolo-gy of important global events.

CONTACT

Marlies Glasius, Editor Centre for the Study of Global

GovernanceLondon School of Economics

Houghton StreetLondon WC2A 2AE

United KingdomTel. +44(0)171 955 7583

E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/global/

Yearbook/default.htm

Citizens & Governance:Civil Society in the New Millennium

The CommonwealthFoundations project "Citizensand Governance" began in1997. The project aims to ana-lyze the factors that encourageand hinder citizens to takeaction on their concerns, togain insight into the nature of civil society and to uncover therelationships between civilsociety, the state and the indi-vidual. The project hopes toidentify ways to strengthen,promote and encourage initia-tives undertaken by citizens toaddress issues and problems intheir everyday lives.

Between 1997 and 1999, thestudy gathered, in 47 coun-tries, the views of some 10,000citizens (the majority of themordinary or invisible citi-zens, whose voices are rarelyheard) on the following threequestions:

What is your view of agood society? To whatextent does such a societyexist today?

In such a good societywhat roles are best playedby citizens and what rolesare best played by stateinstitutions and othersectors?

What would enable citi-zens to play their rolesmore effectively in the

development of such asociety?

Ultimately, the project willresult in action that includesdeveloping a realistic frame-work of priorities and recom-mendations for citizens, theirvarious organizations, govern-ments, the private sector andCommonwealth institutions.

CONTACT Commonwealth Foundation

Marlborough HousePall Mall

London SW1Y 5HY United Kingdom

Tel. +44 (0)207 930 3783Fax +44 (0)207 839 8157

Email: [email protected]: www.commonwealthfounda-

tion.com

MEASURMENT TOOLS& RESOURCES

United Way of AmericasOutcome MeasurementResource Network

The United Ways onlineOutcome MeasurementResource Network providesorganizations with outcomemeasurement resources andlearnings. These include infor-mation, downloadable docu-ments and links to otherresources related to identifica-tion and measurement of pro-grams-level and community-level outcomes.

CONTACT

United Way of America701 N. Fairfax St.

Alexandria, VA 22314 U.S.A.Tel. (703) 836-7100

Web: www.unitedway.org/outcomes

Grantmakers EvaluationNetworkThe Grantmakers EvaluationNetwork (GEN) is an organi-zation for foundation staff andtrustees who share interest inevaluation and philanthropy.GEN strives to strengthenfoundations ability to achievedesired outcomes by usingevaluation to build a culture of


12/24


CIVICUS orldW

12

CIVICUS orldW

Resource Center

critical thinking and informeddecision making.

Numerous online resourcesare available through the web-site, including the GENnewsletter, other useful publi-cations and links to otherorganizations.

CONTACT

Ralph Culler Hogg Foundation

P.O. Box 7998Austin, Texas

78713-7998 U.S.A.Email: [email protected]

Web: http://hogg1.lac.utexas.edu/gen/

The EvaluationClearinghousePut together by GovernmentPerformance InformationConsultants (GPIC), theEvaluation Clearinghouse is areference site for performancemeasurement and programevaluation information avail-able on the internet. There are3 main sections to this site:

the evaluation clearing-house offering evaluationinformation on a varietyof topics including gov-ernment, education,health, internationalissues and social services;

the performance measure-ment section offeringgeneral information,examples of previouswork and links to otherrelevant onlinedocuments;

the think tanks sectionproviding informationand links to think tanksassociated with evaluationand performance mea-surement.

CONTACT

1393 Talcy CrescentOrleans, OntarioK4A 3C4 Canada

Tel. (613) 291-9864Fax: 613-834-5025

Email: [email protected]: members.home.net/gpic/con-

tent.htm

PUBLICATIONS onEVALUATION

The following is a brief list of publications. The websiteoffers a downloadable versionfor most, or provides orderinginformation.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation HandbookJanuary 1998www.wkkf.org/resources/evaluation/default.htm

Evaluation in Foundations:The Unrealized Potential by Patricia Patrizi & BernardMcMullan, December 1998www.wkkf.org/resources/evaluation/default.htm

Achieving & Measuring Community Outcomes:Challenges, Issues, SomeApproacheswww.national.unitedway.org/outcomes/publctns.htm#It0989

Community StatusReports, Targeted Community Interventions:Drawing a Distinction www.national.unitedway.org/outcomes/publctns.htm#It0989

Measuring Program Outcomes: A Practical Approach www.national.unitedway.org/outcomes/publctns.htm#It0989

Using Evaluation toImprove Grantmaker by Doug Easterling & NancyBaughmanwww.hogg1.lac.utexas.edu/Gen/

A Review of Evaluation Resources For Nonprofit

OrganizationsBy Sandra Bozzo & MichaelHallwww.ccp.ca/information/doc-uments/gd44.htm

Learning What Works:Evaluating Complex Social InterventionsThe Brookings Institutewww.brookings.org/gs/learn-ing.htm

RELATED RESOURCES

Richard Holloways CivilSociety Toolbox This Toolbox is a personalcollection of documents andorganizations that RichardHolloway has found useful,and a set of concepts that he

hopes will be a useful guide tothe publics thinking aboutcivil society.

The inventory provides themost comprehensive bibliog-raphy on documents dealingwith civil society currentlyavailable. The compartmentsof the toolbox are as follows:

the evolution of the termcivil society;

understanding civilsociety;

understanding civil soci-ety organizations (CSOs);

CSOs and government;

CSOs and business;

Financing CSOs;

Managing CSOs;

CSOs and the law;

networking amongst andsupporting CSOs;

advocacy in CSOs;

assessing CSOs;

organizational develop-ment of CSOs;

human resource develop-ment in CSOs;

CSOs and participation;

CSOs and democracy;

International assistance tocivil society


13/24


CIVICUS orldW CIVICUS orldW

Resource Center

Partnerships;

Assessing the ongoingadventures of civilsociety.

CONTACT

Web: www.pactworld.org/toolbox.html

Institute for DevelopmentResearchThe Institute forDevelopment Research (IDR),is a nonprofit research, educa-tion and consulting organiza-

tion dedicated to increasingthe capacity of civil societygroups to advance just andsustainable development. IDRidentifies and documentsemerging issues facing NGOsand other civil society organi-zations, collaborates with theactors involved to identifyeffective strategies and institu-tional innovations, and thendisseminates knowledge and

capacity building programs toadvance civil societys impacton complex developmentproblems.

IDRs services include finan-cial stability analysis andaction planning, education inthe basic concepts, approachesand options for financial sus-tainability, program designand program implementationsupport.

The website contains infor-mation on their programs andresearch as well as onlinereports, publications andresource materials.

CONTACT

44 Farnsworth StreetBoston, Massachusetts 02210-1211

USA|Tel. (617) 422-0422Fax (617) 482-0617E-Mail: [email protected]

Web: www.jsi.com/idr

Global DevelopmentNetworkThe Global DevelopmentNetwork (GDN) supports andlinks research and policy insti-tutes involved in the field of development, and whose workis predicated on the notionthat ideas matter. The initia-tive has proceeded on twofronts: knowledge generationand knowledge sharing.

The GDN offers research andpolicy institutes and existingnetworks around the world aseries of workshops; network-ing opportunities; researchgrant competitions; trainingopportunities; and other ser-vices to improve research

skills, business practices, andimproved connectivity withsources of knowledge.

The website offers informa-tion on all of the GDNs pro-grams and current activities,and provides a number of online discussion groups aswell as an online newsletter.

CONTACT

The World Bank Lyn Squire, Director Global

Development Network Secretariat1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC

20433 U.S.A.Tel. (202) 473-6549

(Carol Aaron)(202) 458-9891(Erik Johnson)

Fax: (202) 522-2532Web: www.gdnet.org/index.htm

E-Mail: [email protected]

International Society for Third Sector Research(ISTR)ISTR is a major internationalassociation promoting researchand education in the fields of philanthropy, civil society andthe nonprofit sector. ISTRreflects the growing worldwideinterest in Third Sectorresearch and provides a perma-nent forum for internationalresearch, while at the sametime building a global scholarlycommunity in this field.

The Societys main mission isto promote the study of non-profit organizations and phil-anthropy within and acrossvarious academic disciplines

and national boundaries, toprovide visibility and credibil-ity to this area of study, andto enable scholars in this fieldto share research and enterinto collaborative efforts.ISTR strives to broaden theparticipation of researchers inall parts of the world and in

all disciplines, with specialemphasis given to expand thenumber of Third Sectorresearchers in developingnations and Central andEastern Europe.

The website provides infor-mation on membership, theirinternational conferences,publications and their elec-tronic discussion group. Thesite is also searchable on spe-cific topics.

CONTACT

International Society for Third-Sector Research

The Johns Hopkins University

559 Wyman Park Bldg.3400 N. Charles StreetBaltimore, Maryland21218-2688 U.S.A.Tel. (410) 516-4678Fax (410) 516-4870

Email: [email protected](Admin Secretary)

Web: www.jhu.edu/~istr

continued on page 14


14/24


CIVICUS orldW

14

CIVICUS orldW

14

Resource Center

PRIA PRIA promotes people-centreddevelopment initiatives withinthe perspective of participatoryresearch. Its mission is tostrengthen a people-centred,holistic and comprehensiveevolution of society charac-terised by freedom, justice,equity, and sustainability by:(1) creating opportunities forsharing, analysing and learningamong formations of civil soci-ety; (2) engaging in indepen-dent and critical analysis of societal trends and issues,development policies and pro-grammes; and (3) enabling dia-logue across diverse perspec-tives, sectors and institutions.

Through its various centers,PRIA offers a range of work-shop and training pro-grammes on these issues.More information on work-shops, publications, includingthe PRIA newsletter, can befound on its website.

CONTACT

PRIA42, Tughlakabad Institutional Area

New Delhi - 110 062

Tel. 011-6081908, 6089559Fax: 011-6080183Email: [email protected]: www.pria.org

Social WatchSocial Watch is an interna-tional citizens coalition moni-toring the implementation of the world governments com-

mitments to eradicate povertyand achieve gender equity.

The website provides newsand relevant documents onsocial development around theworld. Also included arereports on social developmentsearchable by theme or coun-try (with information on theevaluation process), reports onhow the world is progressingtoward social developmentand a search engine providingscores for social indicators invarious countries and for vari-ous time periods.

CONTACT

Social Watch-Control Ciudadanoc/o Instituto del Tercer Mundo

Casilla de Correo 1539Montevideo 11000, Uruguay

Tel. +598 (2) 409 6192Fax: +598 (2) 401 9222

E-mail :[email protected]: www.socialwatch.org

UNDPs HumanDevelopment Index Following the UNDP, theworld community uses theHuman Development Index(HDI) to assess the level of human development in a vari-ety of countries. The HDIconsists of three componentsdefining human development:

long life, educational level andthe standard of living. Thisindex enables nations andgovernments to assess the sta-

tus of human development,

the nature of problems inhuman development, and todetermine priorities for policy.

CONTACT

UNDP Spokesperson:Michael Marek (Washington)

Tel. (202) 331-9130Web: www.undp.org/hdr2000

Current and past HumanDevelopment Reports, whichare, in part, generated fromthe HDI, are available onthe website.

Transparency InternationalTransparency International(TI) is a civil society organiza-tion dedicated to curbing bothinternational and nationalcorruption.

Available on the website arelinks to the On-line Source forInformation and Research of Integrity Systems (OSIRIS).This is one of the most com-prehensive databases on cor-ruption and governance, andwill soon be open to the public.

Also available is a link to theSIGMA/TI Anti-CorruptionDirectory, an in-depth refer-ence guide to multinationalprogrammes supportinganti-corruption efforts incentral and eastern Europeancountries.

CONTACT

Transparency InternationalOtto-Suhr-Allee 97/99

10585 BerlinGermany

Tel.: (+49.30) 343 8200Fax: (+49.30) 3470 3912

Email: [email protected]: www.transparency.de

World AuditWorld Audits aim is to pro-vide the public with a trulyglobal geopolitical perspectiveon issues such as democracy,human rights, press freedom,corruption and the rule of law.

World Audit brings togetherstatistics and reports fromhighly respected agencies,each with their own developedspecialties, e.g. FreedomHouse, TransparencyInternational, AmnestyInternational and TheInternational Commission of Jurists. World Audit also cre-ates its own WorldDemocracy Audit, which isavailable on its website.

CONTACT

Email: [email protected]: www.worldaudit.org


15/24



Resource Center

International Center for Nonprofit Law TheInternationalCenter forNonprofit Law (ICNL) is aninternational organizationwhose mission is to facilitateand support the developmentof civil society and the freedomof association on a global basis.ICNL, in cooperation withother international, national,and local organizations, pro-vides technical assistance forthe creation and improvementof laws and regulatory systemsthat permit, encourage, andregulate the not-for-profit,nongovernment (NGO) sectorin countries around the world.

ICNL maintains a documenta-tion center for laws, regula-tions, self-regulatory materials,and other relevant documents,it provides relevant trainingand education, and it conductsresearch relevant to strengthen-ing and improving laws affect-ing the NGO sector.

An on-line library is availablethrough the website. Many of

their publications are also avail-able online.

CONTACT

International Center For Not-For-Profit Law

733 15th St. NW, Suite 420Washington, D.C.

U.S.A. 20005Tel. (202) 624-0766Fax: (202) 624-0767

Email: [email protected]: www.icnl.org

LINK ResearchLINK Research is a free,easy-to-use Web service thatallows community based orga-nizations to post research pro-jects and enables researchersto find meaningful researchtopics.

Using LINK involves threeeasy steps:

Organizations post researchprojects they would like tohave done.

Researchers search the sitefor projects that match theirinterests and skills.

Researchers apply directly toorganizations.

The website contains easy,step by step instructions onsearching for and postingresearch projects.

CONTACT

Link ResearchP.O. Box 424459

San Francisco, CA U.S.A. 94142-4459Tel: (800) 883-7204 vm

Email: [email protected](President and CEO, Kristin Bosetti)

Web: www.LinkResearch.org

ELECTRONICDISCUSSION GROUPS

Institute for DevelopmentStudiesThe Civil Society andGovernance Programme hostsa listserv to discuss issuesconcerning all aspects of civilsociety and its interplay withgovernment /impact ongovernance.

If you want to join the list-serv, send an email to:[email protected]

ISTRThe ISTR Listserv (ISTR-L)offers an electronic mail net-work as a great way to com-

municate with ISTR membersand others interested in theThird Sector world, to sharenews and views, to seek infor-mation, and to engage in con-versation. To subscribe to theISTR ListServ (ISTR-L),send a one-line, no subject, e-mail message to:[email protected].

The one line message shouldsay:subscribe ISTR-L FirstnameLastname

Centre for Civil Society International (CCSI)CCSI maintains CivilSoc, alistserv reaching more than1,900 subscribers. It covers arange of subjects: upcomingevents or conferences, jobopportunities and internships,

new organizations or projects,as well as occasional queriesfor all list members. For moreinformation on how to sub-scribe, visit the CCSI websiteat http://fpmail.friends-part-ners.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/civilsoc

North-South-InstituteAs part of its researchproject The Rise of Nongovernmental Voices inMultilateral Organizations,the Institute maintains a mod-erated listserv. It serves notonly to share the researchfindings with others in theglobal community, but also togenerate a broader discussionabout the core issues of civilsociety .To subscribe, pleasesend a blank email to:[email protected].

Le Group De Discussionde la SqpA French speaking openunmoderated list for generaldiscussion on evaluation andassociated issues. To subscribesend an e-mail (no subject) [email protected]

The body of the massageshould read: SUSCRIBE sqepyour_Firstnameyour_LastName.


16/24


CIVICUS orldW

16

The CIVICUS Index strengthening civil society worldwide

Elba Luna is the director of theGrupo de Analisis y DesarrolloInstitucional y Social (GADIS) inArgentina. In the interview, she

reports on a research project on acivil society index she recently con-ducted in several provinces inArgentina.

Kumi Naidoo: Cul es la importanciade medir la fortaleza de la sociedadcivil?

Elba Luna: En pases comoArgentina (en el contexto deAmrica Latina y los pases menosdesarrollados), la importancia demedir la fortaleza de la sociedadcivil debe ser considerada en dossentidos:

como una herramientatcnica/conceptual (permiteacrecentar el conocimientosobre la iniciativa asociativa ysirve como instrumento para el

diseo y la focalizacin depolticas);

como un mecanismo de fort-

alecimiento institucional(fomenta legitimidad ycontrol social)

En nuestros pases, en general, se haconstrudo una imagen colectiva enrelacin a las organizaciones de lasociedad basada en la desconfianza,valor que ha moldeado en granmedida el escenario de las relacionesentre las OSC y los distintos actoressociales, especialmente el Estado. ElIndice al permitir sobre una baseciert las capacidades y ventajascomparativas instaladas, permitedemistificar muchas conviccines ycreencias basadas en aquel paradig-ma de la desconfianza. Esto tieneque ver con mucho de los hallazgosdel Indice, como por ejemplo la evi-dencia del predominio de la iniciati

In early 2000, CIVICUS installed a global project advisory group to obtain guidance on how

to design and implement the CIVICUS Index on Civil Society project. At the moment, the

group consists of more than 40 civil society practitioners and researchers from all regions of

the world.

Kumi Naidoo interviewed three distinguished members of the advisory group: Elba Luna,

Alan Fowler and Bob Bothwell along with Mall Hellam, Director of the Open Estonia

Foundation, CIVICUS national partner in implementing the Index project in Estonia. They

spoke on the relevance of the Index project for strengthening civil society worldwide. As a

service to our Spanish-speaking members, we print Elba Lunas interview in Spanish.


17/24




va basada en la lgica de la ayuda mutua asicomo la base importancia de la iniciativafilantrpica, que representa menos del 10% delas organizaciones que existen El Indice tambi-en seala el bajo volumen de los fondos prove-nientes de donaciones en relacin a la altsimasignificacin de los fondos propios aportadospor las organizaciones y provenientes en sugran mayora de aportes de sus miembros.

KN : Qu meritos ves en el Indice de la SociedadCivil de CIVICUS?

EL:

1. El alcance a nivel mundial;

2. Si en trminos generales se toma en con-sideracin los mismos niveles que el Indicede Argentina, la inclusin de la dimensinvalorativa es una contribucin de gran rel-evancia.

KN: Qu desafos?

EL: Estos mritos son tambin los principalesdesafos que deber enfrentar el Indice.

KN: Qu desafos encontraste en la fase de inves-tigacin? Cmo venciste esos desafos?

EL: La fase de investigacin tuvo dos desafosprincipales:

1. Construir el listado con el universo com-pleto de OSC de cada provincia y por

ende del pas. La informacin existenteestaba dispersa, no haba estadsticas y loque haba estaba desactualizado. Tuvimosque construir las bases de datos prctica-mente de cero. En la actualidad contamoscon una base de datos digitalizada de85.000 OSC.

2. Lograr un nivel de respuesta adecuado a laencuesta. La experiencia mundial indicaba

niveles de respuesta de alrededor del 10%.En la etapa piloto obtuvimos un nivel derespuesta del 75%.

KN: Cmo venciste estos desafos?

EL:

1. Trabajando con consultores locales; fueclave lidear con gente de las mismas

provincias. Ellos conocan el terreno ytenan cierto grado de legitimidad.Tambin podan resolver problemas prc-ticos sobre la marcha.

2. Contando con metodologas muy claras yminuciosamente desarrolladas tanto parala construccin de las bases de datos comopara la administracin de la encuesta.

3. Desarrollando guas metodolgicas para la

elaboracin de las bases de datos.4. Desarrollando actividades de capacitacin

con los consultores que permitieran con-struir un marco de referencia comn.

KN: Cmo te gustara que tu investigacin seautilizada en Argentina?

EL: Espero que sirva: (1) para la construccinde una nueva agenda en relacin a la importan-cia e impacto de las OSC en el desarrollo, (2)Como insumos e instrumentos de planificacin

de polticas, (3) Como aportes al conocimiento(de hecho las publicaciones estan siendo uti-lizadas como bibliografa en distintas universi-dades del pas), (4) La tipologa de OSC uti-lizada ya tiene vigencia en Argentina.


18/24


CIVICUS orldW

18


Alan Fowler is an indepen-dent development consultantand analyst, currently basedin Addis Abeba. A member of the board of directors of theInternational Society forThird Sector Research

(ISTR), he is very active in bridging the gapbetween research and practice. He recently

published a book called The Virtuous Spiral:A Guide to Sustainability Thinking andPractice for Non-Governmental Organisationsin International Development, published byEarthscan. He told Kumi about the potentialmerits of the Index project in the countries of the South.

Kumi Naidoo: Why is it important to assess thestrength of civil society?

Alan Fowler: I think that at this moment intime it is more important to understand theconfigurations and qualities of civil society,rather than assessing the strength per se.Strength implies, strength for what? As there isno commonly accepted agreement on civil soci-ety's functions, I think that 'mapping' whatcivil society means for its diverse occupants -organised citizenry is the priority.

KN: What information do you think civil societyorganizations (CSOs) need to be more effective intheir work? Do you feel the Index project willprovide this information?

AF: Information about each other, especiallyfor poor people half the world's population.Associational life for them is fragmented andnarrow because of information shortcomingsabout who else is around sharing similar drivesto satisfy their necessities. The CIVICUSproject might meet this need if it pays as muchattention to information dissemination as itdoes to data collection and analysis.

KN: What potential merits do you see in theCIVICUS Index on Civil Society project? Andwhat are its biggest challenges?

AF: The potential merit is in adopting aprocess and framework that is not overbur-dened with western biases and expectations.For example, to look at the shadowy side of civil society in terms of contention and resolu-

tion, not simple harmony and collective effort.The biggest challenge is methodological rigour,including the application of socio-anthropo-logical thinking and methods.

KN: What could be the particular relevance of the Index project for civil society inthe South?

AF: The greatest relevance would be for citi-zens in Southern countries to see themselvesbetter in their own terms and values, not thoseof the ideal types propagated by outsiders and

economic and political power holders.KN: What are the greatest challenges in measuring civil society, especially in the countries of thSouth?

AF: The major challenge is to provide infor-mation about a social phenomenon that isorganized informally. And doing this with avery careful use of language to describe what isfound.

Mall Hellam, director of the Open Estonia

Foundation and a CIVICUS board member,tells Kumi about the promise the Index projectholds in the particular context of Estonia.

Kumi Naidoo: Why is it important to assess thestrength of civil society?

Mall Hellam: By assessing the health of civilsociety we can learn how democratic our soci-eties actually are. CSOs are the main tools of a

The greatest relevance

of the Index Project

would be for citizens in

Southern countries to see

themselves better in their

own terms and values.


19/24




democratic society inrepresenting differentvalues and interestsas well as buildingsocial capital. Bymapping civil societyand assessing itshealth we will be ableto raise its awareness

among the publicand private sector aswell as among citi-

zens. This is particularly important for soci-eties in transition where the understanding of the nature and role of civil society is somewhatambiguous.

KN: What information do you think CSOs needto be more effective in their work? Do you feel theIndex will provide this information?

MH: CSOs represent a valuable resource inbuilding and maintaining a democratic order of a society. The Index Project will provide themwith information on the structure, size, scopeand impact of their civil societies and it willalso assess the external environment in whichthey operate. Supplied with that informationCSOs are able to more effectively participate inthe public policy process.

KN: What potential merits do you see in theCIVICUS Index on Civil Society project? Whatare its greatest challenges?

MH: After ten years of re-independence and aremarkable growth of CSOs, hardly anyresearch on civil society has been carried out inEstonia. Therefore we feel that the IndexProject will be especially important in the con-text of current economic, social and adminis-trative reforms. In particular, the CIVICUSIndex Project will for the first time give a freshand well-articulated insight into Estonian soci-ety and civil society in particular. It will also

supply scholars and civil society representa-tives with the data and arguments to help toput the problems of civil society on the publicagenda. This would be particularly importantin relation to the Estonian parliament and gov-ernment to promote projects and programsthat would contribute to the development of civil society. Another important merit of theIndex Project for Estonia is that it will raise

the capacity of local scholars to carry out civilsociety research and provide them with newmodern research tools related to the study of civil society.

KN: Why did you decide to participate in theimplementation of the CIVICUS Index on CivilSociety as the National Lead Organization inEstonia?

MH: The Open Estonia Foundation (OEF)decided to participate in the Index Project asNational Lead Organizations because of threereasons: (1) missing or inadequate knowledgeon civil society in general, except for a smallnumber of organizations; (2) the good publicimage and capacity of OEF to carry outnation-wide projects and participate in interna-tional programs; and (3) its previous expertiseon civil society research and its large networkof civil society experts.

Bob Bothwell is thefounding directorand president emeri-

tus of the NationalCommittee forResponsivePhilanthropy, basedin Washington, D.C.He developed ahighly regarded setof indicators of a

healthy civil society, published in the bookBeyond Prince and Merchant. CitizenParticipation and the Rise of Civil Society by

The Index Projectwill provide them with

information on the

structure, size, scope

and impact of their civil

societies and it will also

assess the external

environment in which

they operate.


20/24


CIVICUS orldW

20


the Institute of Cultural AffairsInternational, Brussels. Bob is among themost active members of the project advi-sory group, providing valuable inputs asthe project unfolds.

Kumi Naidoo: Why is it important toassess the strength of civil society?

Bob Bothwell: Few, if any, individuals,organizations, governments or civil soci-eties are perfect. In a world besieged withinjustice, beleaguered with limited visionand courage of our leaders, if not greedand corruption, and beset by scarceresources, it is incumbent on civil soci-eties to assess their strengths and weak-nesses in order to become maximallyeffective in improving both the humancondition and civil societies themselves.

KN: What potential merits do you see in the

CIVICUS Index on Civil Society project? BB: Insofar as this project can help dis-cover regional and worldwide standardsfor a healthy civil society, and candevelop objective measures of these stan-dards or ways of measuring them that areacceptable to many (though not necessar-ily to all), CIVICUS will advance thecapacity of civil societies to assess them-selves, their relationships to their owncountries and to their neighbors, and

therefore to plan their road-maps to abetter, more just world.

KN: What are the greatest challenges of the Index?

BB: I will be blunt. The Index can pro-vide a vision for a desirable future foreach region on the globe. Its developmentshould not be held hostage to a few coun-tries or members of CIVICUS, who donot want to see how they compare with

their neighbors, who are afraid of suchcomparisons. It will take courage forCIVICUS members to identify a healthi-er future for civil society than the one thatexists right now in their own backyards.

On a more technical level, we must notutilize behavior data impacted by govern-ment, business and society to suggestthat civil society is causative. For exam-ple, a societys trust truly a crucialvariable in social capital is determinedby interaction among families, by how a

government interacts with its citizens, byhow businesses interact with each other,their suppliers and customers, and byhow civil society organizations nurtureindividual people to learn how to workand play together, even as strangers. Tosuggest that civil society alone might beresponsible for levels of trust in a society,or changes in trust among citizens, is toignore that the overwhelming majority of activity in a country, whether economic,political or social, is conducted by busi-

ness, government and the family, not civilsociety organizations.

KN: What information do you think CSOsneed to be more effective in their work? Doyou feel the Index project will provide thisinformation?

BB: There are volumes and volumes of practioner and scholarly literature onwhat CSOs need to be more effective.They deal with leadership, management,

resource development, board of directorsresponsibilities and much more. TheCIVICUS Index will not contribute tothis literature. The Index should seek toprovide vision for healthy civil societyon a regional, if not worldwide basis. Weneed to know the possibilities and aspira-tions for civil society as seen by our bestthinkers and practitioners from around

globe. Nelson Mandela did not tell uswhat individual CSOs in South Africashould be, but what society shouldbecome.

KN: How does the Index project relate toother research projects in the field of civilsociety studies: What is distinct about theIndex?

BB: To my knowledge, no one else is closeto thinking through the complex possibili-ties of healthy civil society. The JohnsHopkins project measures the economicnature of civil societies; the FordFoundation project identifies the diversityof civil society within countries andamong countries. The CIVICUS Index of Civil Society seeks to construct regionaland worldwide theories of healthy civilsociety and to seek objective measurementof reality against the theories.

The Index should

seek to provide vision for healthy

civil society on a regional, if not

worldwide basis.


21/24



Jo Render

A Tribute

by Kumi Naidoo

Recently the CIVICUS Secretariat bid farewell to its longest standingcolleague when Jo Render left CIVICUS to join The First NationsDevelopment Institute, an organization working on indigenous rights issues.As one of the first full time staff of CIVICUS, Jo has been key to the devel-opment of our Alliance from an idea into a movement that spans more than100 countries on six continents. Today, amongst our members and support-ers all around the world, Jo is fondly known and respected.

One could tell hundreds of stories that illustrate the great contributions Johas made to CIVICUS, both in terms of intellectual input and workloadoutput. One such episode occurred around the 1999 World Assembly inManila. After spending the better part of the summer of 1999 working latenights and weekends in the run-up to the Assembly, Jo came to Manila andput in a series of 17 hour days. Most people would have taken a welldeserved vacation following days of dawn to dusk plenary and break-out ses-sions followed by logistical planning meetings late in the evening. Instead, Joleft Manila to fly to Vancouver and begin the process of planning the 2001World Assembly there.

Jo Render joined CIVICUS in April 1994, when the organization was lessthan a year old. Jo brought sound skills in management and administrationwhich were complimented by her eagerness to learn and her deep interest inglobal issues.

In Jos 6+ years with CIVICUS, she contributed mightily to CIVICUSoverall performance and substantial growth. She helped develop systems,programs, services, and relationships that strengthened the organizationsability to meet its goals and objectives.

Whether lending support to the CIVICUS board and tending to the gover-nance structures and policies, managing relationships with outside consul-tants and vendors, managing the information systems, establishing andimplementing membership services, or coordinating World Assembly activi-ties, Jo inevitably brought the highest level of professionalism, integrity,commitment, and enthusiasm to her work. CIVICUS has benefitted tremen-dously from the many contributions Jo made during her tenure.

Alliance News


22/24


CIVICUS orldW

22

Alliance News

Jo became CIVICUS senior program managerin 1999 and maintained a fast and productivepace tending to a broad array of programs andoportunities. Jo represented CIVICUS as a co-convenor in the Knowledge Resource Group of the Business Partners for Development. Sheworked closely with counterparts in thePhilippines to coordinate the myriad detailsinvolved in the 1999 World Assembly. Jo

worked with me to plan and conduct a special-ized UNDP-sponsored workshop on gover-nance that was held in the Philippines in June1999. In addition, she worked tirelessly toadvance the CIVICUS corporate engagementproject, to craft the partnership with otherorganizations and a program to engage youthin civil society, and to begin the process of building programs addressing womens leader-ship in civil society and civil societys role inpoverty eradication.

In the midst of all of her program responsibil-ities, CIVICUS continued to rely on Jos insti-tutional knowledge, experience, and involve-ment in board relations, membership services,and communications. She oversaw the produc-tion of CIVICUS World and the annualreports for much of her tenure, up through the1999 editions of these communications tools.

CIVICUS board and staff colleagues alikemiss Jos quick wit, indefatigable spirit, effi-cient and effective work ethic, and the thou-sands of questions she raised, causing one andall to think. Jos legacy at CIVICUS is that of an exemplary professional who has left hugeshoes to fill, as the American saying goes.

In August 2000, Jo left CIVICUS to becomeProgram Officer at First Peoples Worldwide,an initiative of the First Nations DevelopmentInstitute. In her new position, Jo is travellingthe world, building support for more effective

and sustainable development opportunities forindigenous communities. Her portfolioincludes advancing the corporate engagementstrategy of First Peoples, so her work has thepotential to continue to benefit CIVICUSconstituencies.

The depth and breadth of CIVICUS achieve-ments from 1994-2000 are due in large part to

the incredible energy, intellect, talent, and ded-icated service Jo Render contributed through-out that critical period of CIVICUS develop-ment and growth.

It is most appropriate that we include somereflections on Jos contributions to CIVICUSfrom Miklos Marschall and Teri Seigel, whospent so much time and effort building thisorganization with Jo during its first few years:

Teri Sieglformer Chief Operating Officer:

Jos work at CIVICUS was much like thefoundation of a house not as visible to thepublic, but youd miss it if it wasnt there. Ihad known her for a long time prior to herjoining CIVICUS, and I was thrilled to have achance to work with her. I could depend onher absolutely. She could take projects and runwith them with minimal supervision. If therewas something she was unsure about, sheasked. If she didnt agree with an approach,she voiced her objections and suggested alter-

natives. If something wasnt being done, shedid it or made sure it got done.

Many parts of CIVICUS are there because of Jo. She was the one who researched and recom-mended the best computer software and hard-ware for CIVICUS needs and resources. Shewas the one who designed the membershipsupport systems and made recommendations

Jos work at CIVICUS

was much like the foun-

dation of a house not

as visible to the public,

but youd miss it if it

wasnt there.


23/24


CIVICUS orldW

Alliance News

NEW MEMBERS

Association for Civil Society Development SMART

Croatia

Center for Development of NonProfit Organizations

Yugoslavia

Civil Society DevelopmentFoundation

Romania

Education for a Civil Society IPSA Latvia

Forum for Parliamentary DialogueLebanon

Friends of the NationGhana

Ghana Adult Learners AssociationGhana

International Youth FoundationUSA

Laurie Regelbrugge, Treasurer andDirector, ICP, Inc.

USA

Milano Graduate SchoolUSA

Network of Estonian NonprofitOrganizations

Estonia

Plan Institute for Citizenshipand Democracy

Canada

Socio-Economic DevelopmentSociety

Bangladesh

Sourcenet 2000 Plus DevelopmentInitiative Abroad

Egypt

St. George of Sofia Civil Society Bulgaria

Sudanese DevelopmentInitiative Abroad

Egypt

The International AwardAssociation

England

Vicente Garcia-Delgado SeguesSpain/USA

Volunteer Development Agency Northern Ireland

Volunteer Vancouver Canada

World Alliance of YMCAsSwitzerland

Zhuravlick, Inc.USA

to the Board on membership structures. Shewas the one who developed the first communi-cation vehicles for CIVICUS. In fact, it isthanks to Jos management and guidance thatthere is a CIVICUS World.

A particular event stands out in my mind thatexemplifies Jos character, work ethic and tal-ent. Most CIVICUS members probably know

that Jo was the key coordinator for the ManilaWorld Assembly (1999). But many may notrealize that the first World Assembly, inMexico, ran so smoothly because of Jo. I haddone the pre-event coordination, but threedays before I was due to leave for Mexico City,I was diagnosed with pneumonia and forbid-den by my doctor to travel. Jo never blinked.(She may have had plenty to say at home, but Inever heard it!). She dove right in, picking upmy responsibilities in addition to her alreadyheavy workload for the event. She was an

island of calm in a sea of conference insanity.I owe a debt of gratitude to Jo, not only for theMexico assembly, but for always being therewhen I and CIVICUS needed her. She pouredher heart, soul and mind into CIVICUS, often

at the expense of her health and personal life.She was truly an invaluable asset to theorganization.

Miklos Marschallformer Secretary General of CIVICUS

Besides Teri and myself, Jo was the thirdemployee of CIVICUS in its early days. Shejoined CIVICUS, supposedly as my temporarysecretary just for the first weeks, until I settledown, and find someone else.... Well, shespent the following 6 years of her career atCIVICUS. It was her quiet professionalismthat made her the indispensable unseen emi-nence of CIVICUS.

We could always rely on her in every situation.She was our computer expert, our web-pageguru, publication manager, membership offi-cer, just to name a few of her many responsi-bilities at CIVICUS. Throughout the years weworked together, I have learned to respect hervery much. Her contribution to CIVICUSsuccess has indeed been invaluable.


24/24

CIVICUS orldW

CIVICUS Staff Kumi Naidoo

Secretary General/Chief Executive Officer

Bonnie PearlmanChief Operating Officer/

General Manager

Donald MaynardSenior Communications Manager

Nicole AngottiExecutive Assistant to the Secretary

General

Janet Malabarba-Oliver Membership Associate

Jenine Perez ArizmendiStaff Assistant

Volkhart 'Finn' HeinrichCivil Society Index Project

Coordinator

Sara GeirholmCivil Society Index Project

Outreach Coordinator

Shabna AliWorld Assembly Program Manager

Simone RimlWorld Assembly Executive Assistant

Janice Duddy World Assembly Communications

Coordinator

Greg HolmesWorld Assembly Exhibition Coordinator

Lama MugaboWorld Assembly Learning Exchanges

Coordinator

Calendar of Events

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participationis an international alliance dedicated tostrengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. Its members include nongovernmen-tal and voluntary organizations, donor/corporate organizations, and interested individuals from more than100 countries. Through its international Board of Directors, staff, regional conveners, and Task Forces,CIVICUS works with its members to increase and strengthen the lines of communication among its

constituency using its newsletter and other publications, a growing database of information on civilsociety organizations around the world, representation at international, regional, and national meetings,and other forms of communication.

CIVICUS World is the newsletter of CIVICUS and is published sixtimes a year. It is posted free to all members. Contributions of news, reports, publications, or other subjects of interest to our members are welcome. Please send all contributions, questionsand/or comments to:

Editor,CIVICUS WorldCIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation919 18th Street, NW, 3rd Floor

Washington, DC 20006, USATel.:1-202-331-8518Fax:1-202-331-8774Email:[email protected] site:www.civicus.org

2000 CIVICUS. All rights reserved. Copying of any part of this publicationor in its entirety is permitted for individual, private use only. For all other purposes, please contact CIVICUS at the address listed above for reprint permission.

Board of Directors

Officers

Thierno Kane

Chair

Patrick JohnstonVice Chair

Sara Melndez

Secretary

John Richardson

Treasurer

August 1923, 2001CIVICUS Fourth World Assembly. 1923 August, 2001, Vancouver, CanadaPutting the Citizen at the Center: Strengthening Volunteerism andParticipatory Democracy. Contact: Shabna Ali, 2001 World AssemblyConference Manager,E-mail: [email protected]: www.civicus.org.

March 1516, 2001Independent Sector, Spring Research Forum 2001 Impact of InformationTechnology on Civil Society Washington DC, USA. Contact: E-mail:[email protected]: www.independentsector.org.

April 47, 2001The National Service-Learning Conference, Partnerships for a Civil Society,Denver, Colorado. The conference will focus on eight pathways: Education andLiteracy, Social Justice and Global Citizenship, Community Development,Youth Leadership, Diversity, The Environment, Research and Policy, andSpirituality. Contact: E-mail: [email protected],Web: www.nylc.org.

April 30May 2, 2001Council on Foundations, 52nd Annual Conference, Philadelphia, USA.Contact: Angelique Wilkins, E-mail: [email protected].

May 24, 2001Global Meeting of Generations Partnership Conference, Washington, DC.Focus on generational inclusion for equitable development.Contact: KirstenGelinas, E-Mail: [email protected].

May 1420, 2001Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries,Brussels, May 1420 2001, Venue: European Parliament.Web: www.unctad.org/en/subsites/ldcs/3-review.htm.

August 31September 7, 2001World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia andRelated Intolerance, South Africa.Web: www.un.org/rights/racism/.

Documents

Building Knowledge on CS