CSO Sustainability Index for Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia

Every year the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) presents the edition of the CSO Sustainability Index (CSOSI) for Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia.

CSO Sustainability Index addresses both advances and setbacks in seven key components or “dimensions” of the sustainability of the civil society sector: legal environment, organizational capacity, financial viability, advocacy, service provision, infrastructure, and public image.

The Index’s methodology relies on CSO practitioners and researchers, who in each country form an expert panel to assess and rate these dimensions of CSO sustainability during the year. The panel agrees on a score for each dimension, which can range from 1 (most developed) to 7 (most challenged). All of the scores are then averaged to produce an overall sustainability score for the CSO sector of a given country. An editorial committee composed of technical and regional experts reviews each panel’s scores and corresponding narrative reports, with the aim of maintaining consistent approaches and standards so as to allow crosscountry comparisons.

Here you can find the CSOSI publications:

Cover photo: Social Weekend, 2017