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Accreditation and power: fighting the kitemarks
If donors were in the business of electrifying a township, it might be prudent to buy accredited electric plugs with kitemarks. However, once they move beyond such concrete projects, the use of accreditation diminishes rapidly …
Company–NGO partnerships in the Asia Pacific
Even before the financial crisis, it was widely recognized both that civil society has a key role to play in the Asia Pacific region and that it has inadequate resources at its disposal. Since the …
Getting a world alliance started – my four years at CIVICUS
To the question ‘Was it easy to establish CIVICUS?’ my answer is ‘Yes and no’. A good mix of naivete and idealism was certainly necessary. I am sure a thorough risk assessment would have killed …
Bank pilot in Bolivia fails to create ‘clear, structured space’ for CSOs
‘It’s like you’re walking down the street and someone you know asks you to go along for a ride. You don’t know what’s going on but you might as well go if you’ve got nothing …
Church, state and civil society in Latin America
Over the last decade Latin American countries have been witnessing a rapid change in the dynamics and activities of civil society organizations. The changing relationship of NGOs with governments and business sectors is perhaps one …
29,000 business owners fund social development in Mexico’s largest state
In 1994 34 chambers and associations representing many of Chihuahua’s 29,000 employers joined in an ambitious enterprise. The aim: to improve the quality of life of the people of Chihuahua. The means: every employer in …
Softly, softly – helping the Kosovans to help themselves
‘What should we be doing about Kosovo?’ is a question being asked in many funding organizations. One message seem to come over loud and clear: the Kosovans have a vast capacity for organizing their own …
Kosovo – the lessons to be learned
‘Sometimes when you see how these peaceful Albanian peasants have been slaughtered without cause, their possessions taken, their wives and children left to starve, your heart really breaks with the sorrow of it. … Entire …
Towards a perfect civil society
When I am asked whether a perfect civil society has ever existed, the answer often surprises people. A study by Charles H Fairbanks showed that it existed in Kosovo in the middle years of this …
The emerging sector revisited
An undoubted highlight of the EFC conference in Turin in November was the presentation by Lester Salamon of the key findings of Phase II of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project. Salamon has been …