While civil society played a key role in bringing down the communist regimes in the late 1980s and recently showed its potency in Georgia and Ukraine, many non-governmental groups from Central Europe to Central Asia find themselves struggling for survival. For some, the outlook is uncertain. Others are discovering innovative ways to sustain themselves. “Civil society remains an important bulwark against tyranny and we must continue the tradition of civil engagement if democracy is to survive and thrive,” said Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister Pal Csaky at a meeting of civil society organizations and donors in Bratislava in June 2005*. He spoke of his own experience as a young activist in pushing for political change that led to the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. Changing circumstances In the years after the Berlin Wall was brought down, the international community responded with generous support to civil society organizations working on a variety of activities from protecting abused women in Bulgaria to fighting for human rights in Uzbekistan. This explosion of civic action produced literally thousands of civil society groups as citizens came together to help rebuild their societies from the bottom up. Things are now changing. While the European Commission remains a major source of finance to civil society in the region, the international philanthropist George Soros – who has played such a key role in supporting civil society -- and other donors are turning their attention to parts of the world where they feel needs are more urgent. As they look elsewhere, civil society groups – especially those in Central Europe -- face a threat to their existence at a time when alternative financial resources are not yet assured and their legal status remains fragile. This existential challenge is stimulating an urgent but measured debate about the sustainability of what is widely known in the region as the ‘third sector’. “We live in turbulent times and must respond to these new circumstances if we are to fulfill the goals and ideals we set ourselves,” says Emina Visnic who runs the Croatian Youth Network. Innovative approaches to financial sustainability As international financial support dwindles, the focus has shifted to mobilizing resources locally. There is growing interest in new funding mechanisms borrowed from the non-profit sector in Western Europe and North America. These range from endowments to corporate social responsibility programs and tax deductions on charitable contributions. While fund raising is undoubtedly tough in countries with little tradition of philanthropic giving, paradoxically the challenge may act as a shot in the arm. ‘It certainly creates a strong incentive for civil society groups to inform citizens and create a culture of public accountability. In the process, they become more closely attuned to public concerns and gain greater legitimacy,’ says Nick Deychakiwsky, head of the Mott Foundation’s office in Ukraine.
The Pontis Foundation, a grant making body in Slovakia, has managed to attract funds from local corporations, the government and ordinary citizens to finance its programs in the country and abroad. Funds from local sources now account for 60% of its $900,000 annual budget. Civil society groups providing social services are best placed to secure local support. They benefit from a growing trend, most marked in Central Europe, for governments to outsource the provision of social services. An example is the Barka organization in the Polish city of Poznan which has been contracted by the local government for a range of services to the city’s homeless and other marginalized groups. Fund raising is more difficult for advocacy groups and think tanks which constitute an important corner of the civil society scene across the region. “They are an endangered species’, says Lenka Surotchak, Director of Pontis. ‘Their role is not well understood in a region where public policy is still considered the preserve of the state.’ And when they do get official support, they run the risk of co-option or capture by the very governments they wish to influence. One upshot of the threat to these watch-dog groups is a renewed emphasis on networking across borders to learn from each other’s experience and increase the impact of advocacy campaigns. One example is the mobilization of Roma groups in South East Europe to push their governments to launch the Decade of Roma Inclusion earlier this year. Another is networking by Central Asian civil society groups around the threat of HIV/AIDS. Financial straits are also stimulating efforts to use the internet and other cost-effective means to drive advocacy campaigns. Four years ago Krista Baumane set up a public policy group in Latvia called Politika. Its website now attracts 30,000 users each month. To help underwrite her advocacy work at home, Ms. Baumane earns income from training groups in Georgia and Central Asia in how to use the internet for which she gets backing from international donors. Improving accountability and transparency As the civil society market becomes more competitive, some groups are differentiating themselves by turning to independent auditing companies to vouch for the way they are managed and their operational effectiveness. SGS, a Geneva-based surveillance company, has developed a new practice area providing these services to a growing roster of civil society groups, who want to be benchmarked against others, and to donors who want reassurance that their contributions will achieve the intended results. Greater transparency on governance arrangements helps improve the performance and broaden support through heightened public confidence. It can also strengthen the hand of civil society in other ways. By modeling the behaviors they demand of governments, their credibility and impact is enhanced. Ms. Visnic describes this kind of example-setting as ‘projective advocacy.’ There is also an effort to increase professionalism. This improves effectiveness while making it easier to attract and retain the kind of high-quality staff necessary to meet the sophisticated needs of their citizens. “Civic virtue is as important as ever but the time for simple enthusiasts is gone -- we need grounded professionals who can move the agenda forward’, says Martin Butora, Director of the Slovak Institute for Public Affairs. A supportive environment is key The ability of civil society groups to deliver rests in large part on their operating environment. World Bank Director Annette Dixon sees an important role for her institution in advising governments on how to develop legal and administrative frameworks to enable civil society to contribute in a transparent, ordered way. At present there are big differences across the region in the effectiveness of democratic institutions and the enabling environment for civil society expansion. ‘We must be patient,’ says Jacek Wojnarowski, a long-time civil society activist from Poland. ‘You can write a democratic constitution in months and establish a market economy in years, but it takes decades to develop a mature civil society.’ Maybe so, but Croatia, Hungary, and other countries are already showing the way forward. Croatia, for example, has set-up a government office to cooperate with civil society groups and lobby for them within the government. In doing so, Cvjetana Plavsa-Matic, Director for the National Foundation for Civil Society Development, argues that Croatia has created space for civil society to contribute more effectively to the country’s future development. With gaps between rich and poor widening across much of the region, civil society groups continue to have an important role. “We may be doing great work but if we can’t survive and prosper, the future will be bleak. This means promoting the strength of individual organizations while improving the overall operating environment”, says Lenka Suratchok. * The Bratislava forum was sponsored by the World Bank, the European Commission and the Pontis Foundation of Slovakia. It focused on how civil society organizations can be sustainable both in terms of financial resources and the policy and legal framework in which they operate
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