The 2008 NGO Sustainability Index
For Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) recently released the 12th edition of the NGO Sustainability Index, a key analytical tool that measures the progress of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the European and Eurasia (E&E) region.
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| 2008 NGO Sustainability Index Cover |
USAID tracks the progress of the NGO sector in 29 countries in Europe and Eurasia. Contained in the 12-year collection is a historical record that provides a wealth of data on each country. The overall level of NGO sustainability in the Northern Tier countries (the Baltic countries, Central and Eastern Europe), Southern Tier (the Balkans states) and the Eurasia region (Russia, West NIS, the Caucasus and Central Asia) remained unchanged compared to 2007, while the Central Asian countries experienced an overall decline in NGO sustainability during 2008.
In addition to separate reports on 29 countries, this year’s Index includes two articles examining trends affecting NGO sustainability in the region. In “NGO Service Provision to the Public: Impacts on Civil Society and Democracy,” Kristie Evenson explores the growing importance of service delivery NGOs. In particular, she discusses the challenges they face in retaining independence and responding to their constituencies when the majority of funds for service provision are provided by governments or foreign donors. Elizabeth Warner, in “Public Financing Mechanisms and Their Implications for NGO Sustainability,” examines mechanisms that governments throughout the region are using to finance NGO activities: state funds, contracting, taxpayer designation systems, and subsidies. Country-specific examples illustrate the diverse impacts of such mechanisms on NGO sustainability.
The NGO Sustainability Index examines the overall enabling environment for civil society, focusing on seven dimensions: legal environment, organizational capacity, financial viability, advocacy, service provision, infrastructure, and public image. Each country report provides an in-depth analysis of the NGO sector along with comparative information regarding prior years' dimension scores, which are encapsulated in easy-to-read charts.
The full report can be found on USAID's Europe and Eurasia Website:
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/europe_eurasia/dem_gov/ngoindex (pdf, 3.6mb).
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the accessible version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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