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CIVICUS Civil Society Index 2003-2004: Call for Statements of Interest
CIVICUS
November 30, 2002

A guide to the CIVICUS Civil Society Index

What is the CIVICUS Civil Society Index?
The CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) is an action-research project that assesses the state of civil society in countries around the world, with a view to creating a knowledge base and an impetus for civil society enhancement initiatives.

The Index is initiated and implemented by, and for, civil society organizations. However, it also actively involves, and disseminates its findings to a broad range of stakeholders including governments, donors, academics and the public at large.

What does the Index aim to achieve?
The immediate objectives of the CSI are to:

• Increase knowledge and raise awareness of the state of civil society, and
• Empower stakeholders through the promotion of dialogue, collective learning and network-building.
• The ultimate aims of the CSI are to:
• Enhance the strength and sustainability of civil society, and
• Strengthen civil society’s contribution to positive social change.

What is its current status?
During its pilot phase in 2000-01, the CSI was implemented in 14 countries: Ghana, South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, Pakistan, Belarus, Croatia, Estonia, Romania, the Ukraine, Canada, New Zealand, Indonesia and Wales. Drawing on lessons learned from the pilot phase, aspects of the CSI conceptual framework and research methodology have been redesigned and the newly revamped CSI is now ready for implementation approximately 25 countries over 2003-04 and an additional 30 countries over 2005-06.

How does the CSI assess the state of civil society?
The CSI defines civil society as "the arena, between family, government, and market, where people voluntarily associate to advance common interests". In conceptualizing civil society as an arena, the project emphasizes the importance of civil society’s role in providing a public space where diverse societal values and interests interact.

In order to obtain a picture of the overall state of civil society, the Index assesses and scores (on a scale of 0 to 3) four different dimensions of civil society:

• The structure of civil society;
• The external environment in which civil society exists and functions;
• The values practiced and promoted in the civil society arena; and
• The impact of activities pursued by civil society actors.

Each dimension comprises several sub-dimensions which, in turn, are composed of a number of individual indicators. Individual indicators are each scored from 0 to 3 and these scores are then aggregated into sub-dimension and dimension scores.

The four dimensions are broken up in the following sub-dimensions:

• Structure: (1) Breadth of citizen participation, (2) Depth of citizen participation, (3) Diversity within civil society, (4) Level of organization, (5) Inter-relations, (6) Resources
• Environment: (1) Political context, (2) Basic freedoms and rights, (3) Socio-economic context, (4) Socio-cultural context, (5) Legal environment, (6) State-civil society relations, (7) Private sector-civil society relations
• Values: (1) Democracy, (2) Transparency, (3) Tolerance, (4) Non-violence, (5) Gender equity, (6) Poverty eradication, (7) Environmental protection
• Impact: (1) Influencing public policy (2) Holding state and private sector accountable, (3) Empowering citizens, (4) Meeting societal needs

How is the CSI implemented?
The implementation of the CSI at the country level is coordinated by a National Index Team (made up of a National Coordinating Organization, a participatory researcher and a civil society expert).

The National Index Team is assisted by a 12-person National Advisory Group, consisting of a diverse set of civil society stakeholders. The National Index Team, assisted by its Advisory Group, begins by reviewing the CSI conceptual framework and research methodology as proposed by CIVICUS (adapting this as necessary to its country context) and preparing a map of civil society in the country.

The National Index Team then coordinates secondary and primary research on each of the four identified dimensions of civil society. This research involves: conducting a thorough review of existing secondary data on civil society, undertaking a media review, fact-finding (seeking out existing, but unpublished data on civil society), organizing and conducting regional focus groups (of civil society stakeholders) and community surveys (of ordinary citizens in different parts of the country).

Research findings are then presented to the National Advisory Group which acts as a "jury" and attributes a score of 0 to 3 to each indicator (universal scoring standards designed to accommodate country-level particularities, while at the same time allowing cross-country comparison are provided). These scores are then aggregated into a score for each sub-dimension and, finally, into an overall score for each of the four dimensions of civil society.

Research findings and scores are presented and validated at a national workshop where strategies for prioritizing and addressing identified weaknesses are discussed. A final country report including research findings, scores and the outcomes of the national workshop is published for national and international readership.

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