Preface

 

If any democracy is to be successful, the people need to know the truth about the reality that surrounds them and they need to have an idea of how to solve the problems that harm their society and communities. But if the truth is hidden from them or the solutions to societies greatest challenges are discussed and implemented only by special interest groups, then society will not be able to change for the better. It is with this in mind that independent think tanks are founded. While the research or programs various independent think tanks carry out may be different, they are all founded on the desire to see their societies improve and hope that their ideas and knowledge will be shared and used to better the lives of all people rather than only a few. Yet this is not an easy task and independent think tanks face several challenges; the most difficult of which is to remain independent, have a transparent governance structure, and to build a sustainable organization.

 

Recognizing the crucial role that independent think tanks play in democratic societies and hoping to share knowledge on how to overcome the challenges that independent think tanks face, the East Asia Institute, Sandhi Governance Institute, the Open Myanmar Initiative, and the Renaissance Institute have come together to share their unique experiences with the goal of learning from one another. We all expect that this process of sharing experiences will allow us to improve our individual institutions and also serve as a bonding opportunity so that our individual organizations can be linked together in the international network of similar organizations which hope to advance democracy. Through these workshops we seek to reenergize ourselves and once again devote our efforts to achieving our individual goals of improving our respective societies and communities. We are confident that the sharing of our experiences will have a mutually positive impact.

 

1. Building a Sustainable Civil Society Organization

 

Introduction

 

Whether approaching the topic of building a sustainable organization as a seasoned, robust NGO, or as a new group of people seeking to help their fellow citizens, the best place to start is at the beginning. And in the beginning, being clear on what the goal is gives guidance and clarity to the long process ahead. Here, our goal is to build a sustainable civil society organization, and to do that, we must be clear on what a civil society organization (CSO) is. A CSO is an entity “created to bring about, or support processes to bring about, major positive change in the lives of the beneficiaries, clients or service users they have been formed to serve.”

 

The key phrases here are “major positive change” and “to serve,” and these phrases serve to distinguish CSOs from profit seeking enterprises in society. Companies and business measure themselves by the amount of profit they earn which can be clearly measured by expenditures and revenue. Measuring the success of CSOs in affecting “major positive change” is more difficult due to the subjective nature of the word “positive” and the fact that change does not always come despite extensive efforts on the part of the organization. The second phrase “to serve” also distinguishes CSOs from profit seeking enterprises in that CSOs seek to serve their community or beneficiaries while businesses mainly exist to serve themselves. Therefore, as a CSO, a crucial step when founding the organization is to define a mission statement that establishes the positive change the organization is seeking to bring about and guiding principles that will serve as means of evaluation in whether a program will be or was successful. Furthermore, as the CSO is designed to serve the clients, not the organization and individuals that make up the organization themselves, a clear governing document is needed so that outsiders can monitor the progress and work of the CSO...(Continued)

 

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“Produced by the East Asia Institute in partnership with Sandhi Governance Institute, Renaissance Institute, Open Myanmar Initiative, and Yangon School of Political Science”