Book Notes
Creating Credibility: Legitimacy and Accountability for Transnational Civil Society. By L. David Brown. Sterling, VA: Kumarian Press, 2008. 256 pages. Cost: $59.00 (hardcover), $24.95 (paperback). To order: www.kpbooks.com
In many countries, civil society organizations (CSOs) are more trusted by the general public than businesses and government. Business leaders might maximize their profits at the expense of the business or its customers, and government officials might use their power for their own gain, but CSOs depend on their good reputations and performance in order to mobilize resources. They have fewer opportunities to convert resources into self-interested uses. Recent experience suggests, however, that civil society leaders can also be guilty of self-interested behavior, even though the rewards may be less dramatic than they are in other sectors. This is especially a concern as CSOs become more influential in national and international affairs.
Without legitimacy in the eyes of the public and other key actors, CSOs cannot effectively function in the transnational arena. Civil society expert L. David Brown provides approaches to assessing and enhancing the legitimacy and accountability of CSOs, allowing them to reach their full potential in contributions to governance and problem-solving. Creating Credibility is an essential text for anyone concerned with understanding the challenges to civil society legitimacy and finding ways CSOs can respond to these challenges.
Conflicts vs. Social Harmony: Does Non-Profit Sector Matter? By Masayuki Deguchi, Godvind P. Dhakal, Tek Nath Dhakal. Tokyo, Japan: Aggreplanning, 2008. 305 pages. To order: Contact Masayuki Deguchi, deguchi@soken.ac.jp
What is linguapolitics? Linguapolitics is an interdisciplinary science that researches the political, social, and cultural effects present in a situation where multi-lingual individuals have the opportunity to choose one or several languages with which to communicate.
In this context, “language” refers to sets of patterned signs that are input to information processing equipment (for example, the human brain). Language, in this sense, not only includes spoken language but also any other form of communication, including but not limited to Braille, sign language, and computer character codes.
The Nonprofit Almanac 2008. By Kennard T. Wing, Thomas H. Pollak, and Amy Blackwood. Baltimore, MD: The Urban Institute Press, 2008. 270 pages. Cost: $39.50. To order: www.urban.org
America’s nonprofit sector continues to grow faster than its business sector and government. The Nonprofit Almanac 2008 presents data on the place of nonprofits in the national economy and data regarding trends in wages, employment, private giving, volunteering, and finances. The tables and graphics will give scholars, practitioners, and policymakers the data they need at a glance while the textual analysis will help them plan for the future.
Just Another Emperor? The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism.
By Michael Edwards. New York: Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action and The Young Foundation, 2008. 110 pages. Cost: US $11.95, UK £7.95; www.justanotheremperor.org
Business involvement in philanthropy
is increasing day by day, but is it a blessing, a curse, or somewhere in between? Just Another Emperor?
takes a comprehensive and critical look at this vital new phenomenon.
The movement in the nonprofit world to make charities more like businesses and create new markets for goods and services that benefit society has been nicknamed “philanthrocapitalism.” There is no doubt that this is an important phenomenon. Very large sums of money have been generated for philanthropy, particularly in finance and IT industries. Michael Edwards argues that despite its great potential, this movement is oversold in both its proposed means and its promised ends because it sees business methods as the answer to social problems, but offers little evidence or analysis to support this claim, and ignores strong evidence pointing in the opposite direction.
This book looks at the rise of major new philanthropic funds and actors, and asks if they represent a genuinely new kind of philanthropy. It examines the evidence for applying business models in the social sector, and makes a series of recommendations on how they could best contribute to lasting
social change.
Philanthropy in Israel 2006: Patters of Giving and Volunteering of the Israeli Public. Beersheva, Israel: Israeli Center for Third Sector Research, 2007. Cost: 75 NIS; US $20. To order: ictr@bgu.ac.il
This year the issue of philanthropy in the Israeli public emerged with full force in the wake of the Second Lebanon War and the important role played by voluntary organizations, individual volunteers and donors in supporting the civilian population of northern Israel. But the issue of philanthropy and its place in society does not appear on the public agenda in Israel only in times of emergency.
The findings of this research will enable researchers, policy-makers and the wider public in Israel to follow trends and review processes related to philanthropic activities in Israel and the relations between these and other forces in our society and economy.
More Sweat, Less Blood: A Disaster
Preparedness Manual. By Ahmad, 
M.M. and Kumar, A. Bangkok: Asian Institute, 2007. 72 pages.
To order: In Bangladesh, A.H. Development
Publishing House; E-mail: aynul01@bdonline.com; In Thailand: Asia Books Co., Ltd. ; Email:chen@asiabooks.com; www.asiabooks.com
This manual was prepared by the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, with collaborative support of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System
(IOTWS) Program, USAID. There are seven modules which extensively cover disaster preparedness including the role of local institutions in building a community resilient to disasters like tsunamis, cyclones, floods and droughts. This manual can be used as reference material for the training
related to disaster management and its preparedness. It gives an overview on the changing perception of disaster and development within socio-economic framework where it reflects the issues and concerns of the vulnerable sections of the society such as women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly in particular, and community in general.
Various natures and types of disasters have also been captured and described with detail regarding the severity and consequences of the catastrophes. Specially, the natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, droughts, earthquakes and tsunamis were given due importance in this manual, more than man-made disasters. On the other hand, relief and rehabilitation have also been discussed highlighting various issues during the post disaster scenario.
Government agencies, non-governmental organizations, community based organizations and affected populations at large often find themselves in a critical situation to ensure speedy recovery. Therefore, there is a need to share these issues with all the stakeholders of disaster management to develop a common understanding so that proactive action can be taken in the face of disaster to optimize the resources for maximum benefits. In this manual, disaster preparedness has been classified into structural and non-structural, where shelter, water sanitation and other necessary infrastructure are important to prepare the community for future disasters. Risk and vulnerability assessment, awareness of the early warning system, evacuation route mapping and formulation of preparedness plan are incorporated into the non-structural preparedness framework.
The current debate on integrating disaster management into development planning has successfully drawn the attention of policy makers, planners and implementing agencies at all levels to strengthen the institutional capabilities through information, communication and technology to cope with future disasters. The telecommunication revolution has made a substantial difference in most of the developing countries in terms of transfer of technology to the vulnerable community. This manual suggests appropriate strategies for the usage of communication tools like mobile phones
Seeing Through. Power, Accountability and Civil Society. (Ver a Traves. 
Poder rendición de cuentas y sociedad civil). Edited by Anabel Cruz and Inés M. Pousadela. Montevideo, Uruguay:
Insituto de Comunicación y Desarrollo (ICD), 2008.190 pages. Online: www.lasociedadcivil.org/transparencia.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Ibero American countries have moved in the last three decades from authoritarian regimens to democratic regimens. This transition has led civil society organizations to shift from protests to proposals, taking on new responsibilities,
greater public scrutiny and the obligation to be accountable
for their actions to new and diverse audiences. At the present time, a group of CSOs from Latin America and Spain have assumed these new responsibilities and now face the challenge of a greater demand of accountability, transparency
and legitimacy. This publication includes a comparative study of in-depth studies carried out in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Uruguay and Spain. The conceptual framework and different implications of the accountability are analyzed, as well as its different forms and possible contents. In addition,
the book contains a broad panorama of available accountability
tools and mechanisms and a compendium of good practices, learned lessons and recommendations.
NGO Involvement in International Organizations: A Legal Analysis. By Sergey Ripinsky and Peter Van den Bossche. London, UK: British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 2007. 362 pags. Cost £39. To order: www.biicl.org
In light of the growing influence of NGOs in international decision-making, this book investigates arrangements for NGO involvement in the activities of a range of international institutions, and examines and compares relevant rules and practices.
The analysis focuses in particular on the legal basis for NGO involvement, forms of involvement, NGO participatory rights, applicable accreditation criteria and procedures, and rules on subsequent monitoring of accredited NGOs. International institutions include: United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC); United National Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); International Labour Organization (ILO); World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); World Health Organization (WHO); United National Environment Programme (UNEP); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); World Bank; and World Trade Organization (WTO). This study will provide information for assessing the relative effectiveness of different modalities for engagement with NGOs in considering improvements to the existing systems.
Futures for Civil Society. London, UK: Carnegie
UK Trust, 2007. 9 pages. Hard copies
of these reports can be requested from morven@carnegieuk.org
In 2006, the Carnegie UK Trust launched an “Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society”
in the UK and Ireland. The goals of the Inquiry are to:
Explore the possible threats to and opportunities for the development of a healthy civil society, looking out to 2025. Indentify how policy and practice
can be enhanced to help strengthen civil society. Enhance
the ability of civil society associations to prepare for the challenges of the future.
This report summarises the findings of the Inquiry events that are documented in two reports:
The Shape of Civil Society to Come. 53 pages.
This report analyses the drivers of change and how they might affect civil society, looking out to 2025. Drivers of change are forces (social, technological, economic, environmental,
political or organisational or legal) that may affect civil society for good or ill.
Scenarios for Civil Society. 32 pages.
Drawing on the findings of the report ‘The shape of civil society to come’, this report describes a number of scenarios that are designed to illustrate
what the future might hold for civil society, looking out to 2025. The purpose of the scenarios are to stimulate further deliberation about what actions might need to be taken now to take advantage
of emerging opportunities or diminish possible threats to civil society.
Recommend Actions to Foster the Adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Practices in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). By Carlo Cici and Federica Ranghieri. Edited by Estrella Peinado-Vara and Gabriela de la Garza. Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, 2008. 160 pages. www.csramericas.org
The book presents strategies to promote the adoption of CSR practices in small and medium enterprises. It is based on country specific research in eight Latin American countries:
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico,
Peru and Venezuela. Each chapter includes a description
of the social and economic situation in each country, the current state of CSR and some recommended actions to foster CSR within the marketplace, workplace, community
and environmental areas, as well as which actors should lead each action item. Actors include multilateral development
institutions (MDIs), national governments and local authorities, business associations and civil society. However, all actors need to cooperate in order to improve the state of CSR in the aforementioned countries and in Latin America.
Sociedad Civil y Desarrollo Local (Civil Society and Local Development). 
Edited by Anabel Cruz and Andrés Solari. Copublishers: ISTR, ICD, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo and Editorial Porrua, Mexico, 2007.
This book includes the papers presented at the VI Regional Conference of ISTR for Latin America and the Caribbean, which took place in Lima, 10-12 August 2005, and was hosted by the Universidad Ricardo Palma. The book presents important views on civil society, social participation and local development.The book is organized in seven sections, with an initial section that presents the contribution of Dr. Maria Isabel Remy as the keynote address of the conference. The book provides an overview on various topics including the status of the Third Sector in the region, participation and social capital, evaluation of participation, networking and local actors, public policies and environment, among other topics.
The articles in this book are in Spanish (26), Portuguese (6), and English (2).
The Politics of Civil Society, Neoliberalism or Social Left? By Frederick Powell. Bristol, UK: The Policy Press, 2007. 264 pages. Cost: €22.99 paperback; €65.00 hardback. To order: www.policypress.org.uk
The Politics of Civil Society offers a wide-ranging analysis of recent shifts in ideas and paradigms that underpin social policy and provides an understanding of the broader political implications of civil society. Since the 1980s the renaissance of civil society has introduced new ideas about the nature of power, citizenship and human rights, with such slogans as 'active citizenship' and 'participation' radically challenging the dominance of the state, the power of professionals and the welfare system itself. Frederick Powell traces the historical roots of these apparent changes and movements, demonstrates in detail their often paradoxical results and speculates about the whole future of social policy. He has produced an entirely original synthesis, as well as a major guide to social policy, that goes well beyond traditional interpretations of civil society as the voluntary and community sector.
New Routledge Series on Civil Society in Asia. Edited by Mark Sidel. London, UK: Routledge, 2007. Contact Mark Sidel at mark-sidel@uiowa.edu for more information or visit www.law.uiowa.edu/faculty/mark-sidel.php
This series addresses the role of civil society, nonprofit, philanthropic, NGO, religious and other organizations in their social context both in individual countries and in comparative perspective across East, Southeast, and South Asia. Themes include defining the role and scope of civil society; the role of foundations, religious philanthropy, and other philanthropic organizations; business, philanthropy, and civil society; ethnography of particular civil society, NGO, community-based or other organizations; transnational civil society organizations in Asia; the legal regulation of civil society; self-regulation and accountability; Asian diasporas and civil society; and resources and fundraising for civil society.
Nonprofit Governance in the United States, Findings on Performance and Accountability from the First National Representative Study. By Francie Ostrower. Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2007. 31 pages. Available online at: www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411479
Nonprofit boards are increasingly a focus of those interested in greater accountability and transparency, including policymakers, media, and the public. To help inform current policy debates and initiatives to strengthen nonprofit governance, in 2005 the Urban Institute conducted the first ever national representative survey of nonprofit governance, with over 5,100 participants. This report presents survey findings, discussing: relationships between public policy and governance, factors that promote or impede boards' performance of basic stewardship responsibilities, board composition and factors associated with board diversity and recruitment processes, including the difficulty experienced by many nonprofits in finding members.
The Landscape of Philanthropy and Civil Society in Turkey: Key Findings, Reflections, and Recommendations. By Filiz Bikmen. Istanbul, Turkey: Third Sector Foundation of Turkey (TUSEV), 2007. 66 pages. To order: www.tusev.org.tr
This report extracts key findings from two comprehensive studies, "Philanthropy in Turkey: Citizens, Foundations and the Pursuit of Social Justice," a compendium of four comprehensive studies revealing key insights on the history of the Ottoman Empire; and "Civil Society in Turkey: An Era of Transition," a detailed assessment of civil society's structure, environment, values and impact, as well as a list of recommendations to strengthen civil society in Turkey. Bikmen examines the themes of individual participation and civil society organizations from a multitude of perspectives in an attempt to identify key challenges and opportunities for promoting social change and development in Turkey. A CD attached to the back of the report contains the full reports of the two studies mentioned above.
The Routledge Companion to Nonprofit Marketing. By Adrian Sargeant and Walter Wymer. London, UK: Routledge, 2007 (available 31 Dec 2007). 448 pages. Cost: $190.00. Pre-order from www.routledge.com
This collection of cutting-edge articles offers a complete overview of marketing in the nonprofit sector. It examines the issues faced by public and nonprofit organizations in marketing and raising funds, and provides a comprehensive review of the latest research. The book explores the latest thinking in some of the most important nonprofit arenas, including: voluntary sector; marketing; fundraising; arts marketing; education marketing; political marketing; social marketing; volunteer recruitment, management and retention; and public sector marketing and e-government.
The Future of Democracy: Developing the Next Generation o
f American Citizens. By Peter Levine. Medford, MA: Tufts University Press and University Press of New England, 2007. 308 pages. Cost: $27.95. To Order: www.upne.com/1-58465-648-4.html
We need young people to be civically engaged in order to define and address public problems. In recent years, young Americans have become dangerously less engaged. They are tolerant, patriotic, and idealistic, and some have invented such novel and impressive forms of civic engagement, such as blogs and "buycott" movements, and transnational youth networks.. But most lack the skills and opportunities they need to participate in politics or address public problems. Peter Levine clearly explains the causes, symptoms, and repercussions of this damaging trend, and, most importantly, the means whereby America can confront and reverse it. Levine demonstrates how to change young people's civic attitudes, skills, and knowledge and, equally importantly, to reform our institutions so that civic engagement is rewarding and effective.
Immigrant Community Services in Chinese and Vietnamese Enclaves. By Winston Tseng. New York, NY: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2006. 304 pages. Cost $75.00. To order: http://www.lfbscholarly.com/ new_americans/tseng_321317.htm
This book studies community based organizations (CBOs) within Chinese and Vietnamese enclaves. These provide cultural services, leadership, and advocacy, facilitating social adjustment. Their viability depends on government and community support and adapting to changing political and community priorities. Even though ethnic CBOs and immigrant populations lack political voice, they represent valuable human and social capital. Ethnic CBOs have central roles to play in fostering collaboration and legitimacy across government and communities and strengthening cultural proficient health and human services to support immigrant populations. With globalization increasingly contested in immigrant neighborhoods, ethnic CBOs have become fundamental urban features that local and global development cannot do without.
Reclaiming Democracy: Civil Society and Electoral Change in Central 
and Eastern Europe. Joerg Forbrig and Pavol Demeš, Editors. Washington, DC and Vienna: German Marshall Fund and Erste Foundation, 2007. Hard copies are free of charge. To order: contact Joerg Forbrig (jforbrig@gmfus.org) or download from www.gmfus.org/publications
A remarkable sequence of democratic changes has swept through Central and Eastern Europe in recent years. In Slovakia and Croatia, Serbia, Georgia and Ukraine, postcommunist politics had increasingly departed from the democratic reforms initiated after 1989. Instead, semi-authoritarian regimes had emerged that openly manipulated democratic processes and abused the human, civic and political rights of their citizens. Yet on the occasion of national elections, neo-autocrats in the five countries found themselves challenged by democratic alliances of opposition parties, civil society groups and citizens at large. These asserted a democratic choice over the future of their countries and, by way of peaceful mobilization, returned democratically elected governments to office.
Variously labeled “color revolutions,” “transitions from postcommunism” or “electoral breakthroughs,” and for some representing even a new “wave of democracy,” the recent changes in the five countries have fascinated scholarly observers and democratic activists alike. For this reason, this book provides a cross-section of perspectives on recent democratic breakthroughs in Central and Eastern Europe. Case studies drafted by civic leaders present inside accounts of how civil society helped to assert democracy, while comparative analyses by academic experts shed light on a range of further factors that facilitated these changes, including the semi-authoritarian nature of postcommunism, economic aspects, civil society strategies and resources, and youth participation.
Prefaced by former President of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel, this book is a joint project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and Erste Foundation of Austria.
Directory of Asia Pacific Grantmakers. Lingfield, UK: Chapel & York Ltd: 2007. 279 pages. Cost: Hard copy £15.50, CD £7.50, PDF £4.50. To order: www.chapelyork.com
Individual and corporate wealth is soaring in the Asia Pacific region and philanthropy is booming. The largest foundations now rank alongside some of the biggest in North America and Europe. And many of these grantmakers fund outside the region.
This is the first ever comprehensive directory of Asia Pacific grantmakers, profiling over 900 independent grantmakers in the 19 Asia Pacific countries Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tibet and Vietnam. Profiles include full contact details, funding interests, geographical focus and financial information. The Index enables the user to find grantmakers funding particular areas of work and particular countries and regions.
CIVICUS Global Survey of the State of Civil Society, Vol. 1: Country Profiles. Edited by V. Finn Heinrich. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, 2007. 500 pages. Cost: US$29.95. To order: www.kpbooks.com; kpbooks@kpbooks.com
Since the turn of the millennium, civil society is no longer seen as a panacea for the world’s problems. A lack of agreement over the exact definition of “civil society,” inconclusive results from studies on civil society’s contributions to democracy and development, and calls for greater accountability among civic organizations all point to the need for critical self-analysis and reflection. The CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) is the result of rigorous self-examination by civil society actors around the world.
How is something as vast and contested as civil society measured? The thousands of organizations and stakeholders that contributed to the CSI have engaged in a 360-degree participatory assessment of civil society, that included not only quantitative indicators, but also qualitative appraisals that are often neglected in evaluations of civil society. The CIVICUS Global Survey of the State of Civil Society: Volume 1 presents the program’s findings in the form of 44 concise country profiles which look at factors such as civic engagement, democracy, corruption, social capital, gender equity, and civil society’s role in policy. In most chapters, the assessment is followed by policy recommendations. (The second volume, a comparative analysis of findings, will be released later in 2007.) The result is arguably the most encompassing picture of civil society ever produced.
The contents of this first volume includes the CIVICUS Civil Society Index - Framework and Research Methodology; country profiles on Argentina, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Orissa (India), Poland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, South Korea, Taiwan, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vietnam and Wales; and an Annex on Research Methods.
The UK Voluntary Sector Almanac 2007. By Oliver Reichardt, Karl Wilding and David Kane. London, UK: The National Council for Voluntary Organisations, 2007. 108 pages. Cost: paperback £25.00 (£17.50 NCVO Members). To order: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/almanac07
This completely new 7th edition, supported by Rathbones and based on 
GuideStar UK data and other sources, is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the sector, combining easy-to-read graphs with in-depth tables.
The sector continues to increase its income, and improvements to efficiency mean charities are reaching more people than ever. However the challenges presented by the economic and political environment are still important, particularly for the smallest charities.
The almanac provides a wealth of evidence including:
• The different types and sources of the sector’s income
• How the money is being spent
• The sector’s growing workforce, the changingnature of volunteering and detailed information on who gives to charity
Religions and Philanthropy. Global Issues in Historical Perspective. Giuliana Gemelli, Editor. Part of the Master in International Studies in Philanthopy and Social Entrepreneurship Series. Bologna, Italy: Baskerville Publishers Collana UniPress, 2007. 361 pages. Cost: €23. To order: www.baskerville.it
The book is the product of the Research Laboratory of MISP. The idea for this research project was first developed in an international seminar held in Bologna, October 14-15, 2004.
The book is divided in two parts. The first part develops a study of the vision, values and role of philanthropy in the framework of religious traditions, in a global perspective as well as from the historical point of view. The focus of the second part is the process of differentiation as well as hybridization of philanthropic traditions in the Mediterranean areas and their evolutionary patterns and relations with other aspects of social and economic life.
Dealing with such a complex subject, this book reveals its authors’ often heterogeneous perspectives.
Religion is traditionally a powerful force for generosity. In a pioneer article of 1961, H.A. Moe affirms that religion is the mother of philanthropy. Forty years later, a survey of the Independent Sector reaffirms this principle and underlines the relations between charitable organizations and giving practices. Not only do community and social values shape philanthropy, but philanthropy as a set of values and practices is a reflector of social behaviors as well as a molder of social visions and norms.
Civil Society During the Second Lebanon War. By Hagai Katz, Einat Raviv, Hila Yogev, Miri Ya’acobi, Esther Levinson, Yael Elon, and Benjamin Gidron. Beer-Sheva: Israeli Center for Third-sector Research (ICTR), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 2007. 59 pages. To order: www.bgu.ac.il/ictr
The war in Lebanon in 2006 has caught the Israeli society by complete surprise. In Israel, its main victims were the residents of the Northern Region, who were forced to stay in shelters for weeks or leave their homes and head south. Hundreds of thousands have experienced this ordeal.
The report details the findings of this research and discusses their implications, considering various issues, including Third Sector-government relations, the role of the Third Sector in emergency preparedness and response, the advantages and weaknesses of Third Sector organizations, and the long term implications of their involvement during the crisis for their long-term capacity and sustainability.
Nonprofits & Technology. Emerging Research for Usable Knowledge. 
By Michael Cortés and Kevin M. Rafter. Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books, Inc., 2007. 212 pages. Cost: paperback US$32.95. To order: www.lyceumbooks.com/shop
Nonprofits & Technology identifies the ways that new information and communication technology both help and hinder nonprofit effectiveness. The book establishes a body of dependable research on the subject, compiling the resources needed tomake better technology-adoption and management decisions in the nonprofit sector.
The book features chapters by both scholars and practitioners, organized to emphasize the varying approaches to common issues, and explains the ways in which new technology affects nonprofit effectiveness.
Latin America’s Elusive Democracies (previously published in Spanish and Portuguese as La Democracia Inesperada). By Bernardo Sorj. Rio de Janeiro: Centro Edelstein de Pesquisas Sociais, 2007. Copies may be downloaded free of charge at http://www.centroedelstein.org.br/ebooks/e-book02-eng.pdf
Sorj begins with the question: “What times are these?” Obviously, this question casts our thinking in many different directions. But his quest is disciplined by a central thesis that gives meaning to the book’s title (“The Unexpected Democracy” in the Spanish version).
"Democracy seems to have been consolidated, but it is not the democracy we expected.” This thesis frames a challenge: in order to understand our countries and their democracies, we must first understand the nature of global changes and, second, discern their specific manifestations in countries such as ours, with their oppressive legacy of poverty, inequality, and socially-entrenched authoritarianism.
Sorj delves into various issues such as his reflection on the “dual difficulty” posed by the study of citizenship in the Latin American context and the notion that citizenship leads inexorably to that of rights, but argues that rights should not be understood only in the abstract, but also, and most importantly, in terms of how they interface with the specific characteristics of our societies.
Sorj takes a balanced and critical look at the various idealized perspectives of civil society, nongovernmental organizations, and human rights. While he does not deny the importance of these spheres and their contributions, he does not hesitate to point out the errorsin theory and practiceresulting from the idealistic and moralistic postures that frequently go hand in hand with such perspectives.
Race, Repression and Resistance: A Brief History of South African 
Civil Society to 1994. By Phiroshaw Camay and Anne Gordon. Fordsburg, South Africa: CORE Publishing, 2007. Cost: 114.00 South African Rand, plus 20 Rand for postage in South Africa. To order: Florence Thinane + 27 11 836 9942 or corejhb@mail.ngo.za
This book is a sweeping history of civil society in South Africa. It examines in broad terms indigenous social cultural roots of civil society, the European occupations, whiterule before and during apartheid and the resistance by civil society to build a non-racial and democratic society. It provides a brief interpretation of the evolution of civil society under some key analytical themes.
European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) EU Funding Guide for NGOs, 13th Edition. Brussels: ECAS, 2007. Cost: Volume One: €40; Volume Two: €35; Volumes One and Two: €60. To order: www.ecas.org/publications/2374/default.aspx?ID=601
This two-volume set contains a full chapter on the 2007-2013 financial perspectives, extensive information on the restructuring of EU external aid, and information on the new structural funds which can provide support for a wide range of projects. The Guide advises on how to go about applying, makes it easy to research more than 80 available European Commission funds, lists the contact person for each program, and lists other sources of funding.
Volume One contains tips for fundraisers, new financial perspectives, funding programs for projects inside the EU (including programs on health, social policy, youth, environment and culture), structural funds and foundations. Volume Two contains funding programs for projects outside the EU (including development aid, human rights, gender equality and AIDS initiatives), European Neighborhood Policies for countries bordering the EU, pre-accession aid for the Western Balkans, and foundations.
Philanthropy and Social Justice in Islam: Principles, Potentials and Practices. By Samiul Hasan. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A.S. Noordeen Publisher, 2007. 350 + pages. Cost: RM33.50 (approximately US $10). To order: www.asnislamicbooks.com/your_order.htm.
The book analyses the principles and practices of philanthropy and distributive justice in Islam. It argues, with analyses and examples, that the accomplishment of purposive philanthropy (and just charity), as commanded by the fundamental tenets of Islam, through the professionalization and rationalization of zakat management, modernization of awaqaf, etc. has the potential of optimizing impacts of philanthropic activities and thereby augmenting distributive justice in Muslim societies. The analyses are documented enough (250+ items in the reference list with explanations in 400+ end notes) to be used as a text for the study of philanthropy and distributive justice in Islam in tertiary institutions. They are also to be used by non-profit and international organizations worldwide in order to understand the principles and issues of philanthropy and distributive justice in Muslim societies.
Philanthropy and Social Change in Latin America. Edited by Cynthia Sanborn and Felipe Portocarrero. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press: 2006. 480 pages. Cost US $24.99, £16.96, 23.10. To order: http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/SANPHI.html
Latin America is a profoundly philanthropic region with deeply rooted traditions of solidarity with the less fortunate. Recently, different forms of philanthropy are emerging in the region, often involving community organization and social change. This volume brings together groundbreaking perspectives on such diverse themes as corporate philanthropy, immigrant networks, and new grant-making and operating foundations with corporate, family, and community origins.
The People Shall Govern. By Ephrem Tadesse, Gillian Ameck, Colin Christensen, Pamela Masiko, Mpho Matlhakola, Westen Shilaho, Richard Smith. Johannesburg, South Africa: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR): 2006. 50 pages. Copies available at: www.csvr.org.za/papers/paptpsg.pdf
This research paper forms part of an action-research and information dissemination project entitled Consensus-building Approaches and Policy Coordination Mechanisms: Responsive and Responsible Policy Formulation and Implementation in South Africa. This paper explores the nature, extent and impact of public participation in government policy processes. This report critically investigates some of South Africa’s post-apartheid policy-making processes, in order to assess the extent to which ordinary citizens have been empowered to understand policies and articulate their opinions, needs and aspirations in relation to these policies. The report tries to amplify and articulate the voices of those who feel on the outside of policy-making processes. It combines an academic analysis of the concepts related to public participation and the virtues of a participatory democracy, with a record and description of real life experiences of citizens trying to influence decision-makers.
Vietnam’s New Order: International Perspectives on the State and Reform in Vietnam. Edited by Stéphanie Balme and Mark Sidel. New York: Palgrave Macmillan: 2006. 272 pages. Cost: US $69.95. To order: http://www.palgrave-usa.com/catalog/ product.aspx?isbn=1403975523
This volume brings together distinguished international specialists on Vietnam and its reform process to explore the impact of reform in Vietnam on the Vietnamese state, society, and order, and Vietnam’s international and regional environment. The volume includes essays on Vietnam’s law, international and regional relations, and economic integration from two conferences convened at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, with distinguished contributors from Vietnam, Australia, Finland, France, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, and United States.
NGOs and the State in the Twenty-First Century: Ghana and India. By Fatima Alikhan, Peter Kyei, Emma Mawdsley, Gina Porter, Janet Townsend, Saraswati Raju, Rameswari Va. Oxford, UK: International NGO Training and Research Centre: 2006. 208 pages. Cost: £17.95. To order: http://www.intrac.org/publications.php?id=10
The architecture of aid has changed. More aid from rich countries is being directed to southern governments. As a result, southern NGOs have become worryingly dependent on contracts with their governments to continue their work. An international team of academics bring their extensive experience of NGOs to this critique of the impact of this shift in funding policy on recent NGOState relations. Through interviews with politicians, civil servants and NGO staff in Ghana and India, they present their cutting-edge research in a lively and engaging manner. In their comparative analysis, the authors identify solutions to the problems encountered, draw illuminating conclusions and provide practical recommendations for ways forward.
El Tercer Sector en México: Perspectivas de Investigación. (The Third Sector in Mexico: Research Perspectives) (Spanish). Edited by Jacqueline Butcher and María Guadalupe Serna. Centro Mexicano para la Filantropía & Instituto de Investigaciones Dr. José María Luis Mora: 2006. 469 pages. Cost $18.29 plus shipping. To order: http://www.cemefi.org or contact Janet González at janet@cemefi.org, Carlos Cordourier at carlos@cemefi.org
The work integrated in this anthology represents a retrospective view of five years of papers presented at the Mexican Annual Third Sector Research Seminars organized every year by the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (CEMEFI) in collaboration with different Mexican public and private universities.
The intention of this book is to present the result of a careful selection of the best papers and presentations shared by researchers and experts invited to Mexico from different parts of the world on the subjects of civil society and Third Sector from 2001 to the present date. The content presents five thematic areas: civil society, social organizations, social capital, volunteering and social responsibility. In accordance with this classification, we find conceptual debates as well as empirical studies presented throughout the text. Authors such as Alan Fowler, Virginia Hodgkinson, Hagai Katz, Felipe Portocarrero, and Robert Putnam, among others, contribute to this volume.
Portrait of a Giving Community: Philanthropy by the Pakistani-American Diaspora. By Adil Najam. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press: 2007. 231 pages. Cost US $19.95, £ 12.95, 18.50. To order: http://www.hup.harvard.edu/ catalog/NAJPOR.html
Portrait of a Giving Community is based on a nationwide survey of the giving habits of Pakistani-Americans. This study not only examines the history, demography, and institutional geography of Pakistani-Americans but also looks at how this immigrant community manages its multiple identities through charitable giving and volunteering. It provides a snapshot in time of a generous and giving community whose philanthropy has become increasingly “American” without being less “Pakistani.” The study addresses the questions, who are the Pakistani-Americans? What is the extent of their diaspora giving to Pakistan? What can be done to increase and channel their philanthropy for more equitable development in Pakistan? How much do they give within the U.S. and to causes unrelated to Pakistan? How does this community manage the hyphen in “Pakistani-American”?
Valuing Relationships as a Strategic Resource. Written and compiled by Laurie Lumsden and Catherine Breathnach. Dublin: Centre for Nonprofit Management, Trinity College: 2006. Cost: 15. To order http://www.cnm.tcd.ie/dialogue/projects.php
This Centre for Nonprofit Management Resource Pack aims to enable nonprofit organisations and groups to map their relationships, to deepen understanding of the operation of those relationships, and to maximize the value of relationships as a strategic resource to an organisation or group in seeking to achieve its mission. The Resource Pack includes two handbooks and three workbooks. These outline and structure a number of research exercises which an organisation or group can undertake. The pack may be purchased in CD Rom format.
The Foundation: A Great American Secret: How Private Wealth is Changing the World. By Joel L. Fleishman. New York: The Perseus Books Group: 2007. 384 pages. Cost: US $27.95. To order: www.publicaffairsbooks.com
Foundations are a peculiarly American institution. They have been the dynamo of social change since their invention at the beginning of the last century. Yet they are cloaked in secrecy- their decision-making and operations are inscrutable to the point of obscurity-leaving them substantially unaccountable to anyone. Joel Fleishman has been in and around foundations for almost half a century...running them, sitting on their boards, and seeking grants from them. And in this groundbreaking book he explains the history of foundations, tells the stories of the most successful foundation initiatives-and of those that have failed-and explains why it matters. The baby boomer generation is going to participate in the largest transfer of wealth in history when it passes on its assets to its successor generation. The third sector is about to become more powerful than ever. This book shows how foundations can provide a vital spur to the engine of the American, and the world’s, economy-if they are properly established and run.
Foreign Aid: Diplomacy, Development and Domestic Politics. By Carol Lancaster. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press: 2006. 288 pages. Cost: $20. For purchasing information: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/ 204591.ctl
A twentieth-century innovation, foreign aid has become a familiar and even expected element in international relations. But scholars and government officials continue to debate why countries provide it: some claim that it is primarily a tool of diplomacy, some argue that it is largely intended to support development in poor countries, and still others point out its myriad newer uses. Drawing on her expertise in both comparative politics and international relations and on her experience as a former public official, Lancaster provides five in-depth case studies—the United States, Japan, France, Germany, and Denmark—that demonstrate how domestic politics and international pressures combine to shape how and why donor governments give aid. In doing so, she explores the impact on foreign aid of political institutions, interest groups, and the ways governments organize their giving.
Promoting Donor Resiliency and Preventing Donor Fatigue: The Science, Spirituality & Strategies of Donor Uplift. By Charles Bernard Maclean, PhD. Portland, OR: PhilanthropyNow.com: Cost $59. To Order: www.philanthropynow.com
The Tool Kit & 12 Month Tool Kit Subscription To Email Updates provides an easy to follow step-by-step process for putting it to work where you work, and practical, proven, pithy assessment tools. The kit contains case studies and role plays to use with your staff, clients, colleagues and family, research based strategies, and tips for shifting into uplift.
This practical Tool Kit gives users a wide range of research driven innovative tools to turn donor fatigue problems into opportunities to build uplifting lifetime relationships between givers and askers. The tool kit is geared toward nonprofit leaders who depend on building donor relationships for a lifetime, financial advisors who raise the giving question and assist clients to vet out nonprofits, and donors who want to control and feel good about their giving and themselves.
The Legitimacy of Philanthropic Foundations: U.S. and European Perspectives. Edited by Kenneth Prewitt, Mattei Dogan, Steven Heydemann, and Stefan Toepler. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation: 2006. 336 pages. Cost: US $45. To order: www.russellsage.org/publications/books
Though privately controlled, foundations perform essential roles that serve society at large. They spearhead some of the world’s largest and most innovative initiatives in science, health, education, and the arts, fulfilling important needs that could not be addressed adequately in the marketplace or the public sector. Still, many people have little understanding of what foundations do and how they continue to earn public endorsement. The Legitimacy of Philanthropic Foundations provides a thorough examination of why foundations exist and the varied purposes they serve in contemporary democratic societies.
The Legitimacy of Philanthropic Foundations looks at foundations in the United States and Europe to examine their relationship to the state, the market, and civil society. Peter Frumkin argues that unlike elected officials, who must often avoid topics that could spark political opposition, and corporate officers, who must meet bottom-line priorities, foundations can independently tackle sensitive issues of public importance. Kenneth Prewitt argues that foundations embody elements of classical liberalism, such as individual autonomy and limited government interference in private matters and achieve legitimacy by putting private wealth to work for the public good. Others argue that foundations achieve legitimacy by redistributing wealth from the pockets of rich philanthropists to the poor. But Julian Wolpert finds that foundations do not redistribute money directly to the poor as much as many people believe. Instead, many foundations focus their efforts on education, health, and scientific research, making investments that benefit society in the long-term, and focusing on farsighted approaches that a myopic electorate would not have patience to permit its government to address.
Originating from private fortunes but working for the public good, independently managed but subject to legal prescriptions, philanthropic foundations occupy a unique space somewhere between the public and private sectors. The Legitimacy of Philanthropic Foundations places foundations in a broad social and historical context, improving our understanding of one of society’s most influential—and least understood—organizational forms.
Nonprofits and Government: Collaboration and Conflict. Second 
Edition. Edited by Elizabeth T. Boris and C. Eugene Steuerle. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press: 2006. 466 pages. Cost: $29.50. To order: www.urban.org/books
The past several decades have seen unprecedented growth in the scope and complexity of relationships between government and nonprofit organizations. These relationships have been more fruitful than many critics had feared and more problematic than many advocates had hoped. Nonprofits and Government is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary exploration of nonprofit-government relations. The second edition of this book is fully updated and includes two new chapters. The authors address a host of important issues, including nonprofit advocacy, direct regulatory and tax policy, the conversion of nonprofits to for-profits, clashes in government interaction with religion and the arts, and international nonprofit-government relationships.
The Non-Profit Sector: A Research Handbook. Second Edition. Edited by Walter W. Powell and Richard Steinberg. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press: 2006. 672 pages. Cost: US $65. To order: http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks
The second edition of The Nonprofit Sector: A Research Handbook provides a novel, comprehensive, cross-disciplinary perspective on nonprofit organizations and their role and function in society. This edition includes twenty-seven new or updated chapters, and keeps pace with industry trends and advances as well as with the changing interests and needs of students, practitioners, and researchers.
The Nonprofit Sector examines a wide array of organizations, international issues, social science theories, and philanthropic traditions and covering a broad range of topics including the history and scope of nonprofit activities in the United States and abroad, the relation of nonprofits to the marketplace, government-nonprofit issues, key activities of nonprofits, aspects of giving to and joining nonprofits, and nonprofit mission and governance.
Grassroots NGOs by Women for Women: The Driving Force of 
Development in India. By Femida Handy, Meenaz Kassam, Suzanne Feeney, and Bhagyashree Ranade. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd: 2006. 244 pages. Cost: $29.95. To order: www.sagepub.com
Based on empirical evidence from first-hand interactions with 20 Indian women founders of NGOs, this book presents a theoretical understanding of the role and impact of NGOs in women’s development. It looks at what motivates and facilitates female entrepreneurship in NGOs, the structures that evolve based on their feminist ideologies, the services they provide and the social impact of these NGOs in promoting the empowerment of women.
NGO Accountability: Politics, Principles and Innovations. Edited by Lisa Jordan and Peter van Tuijl. London, UK: Earthscan: 2006. 288 pages. Cost: £19.99 paper and £70.00 hardback. To order: http://shop.earthscan.co.uk
As the fastest growing segment of civil society, as well as featuring prominently in the global political arena, NGOs are under fire for being ‘unaccountable,’ but who do NGOs actually represent? Who should they be accountable to and how?
This book examines the issues and politics of NGO accountability and governance across all sectors internationally. It offers an assessment of the key technical tools available including legal accountability, certification and donor-based accountability regimes, and questions whether these are appropriate and viable options or attempts to ‘roll-back’ NGOs to a more one-dimensional function as organizers of national and global charity. In the spirit of moving towards greater, real accountability the book looks in detail at innovations that have developed from within NGOs and offers new approaches and flexible frameworks that enable accountability to become a reality for all parties world-wide.
The Management of Non-Profit and Charitable Organizations in Canada. Edited by Vic Murray. Markham, Ontario: LexisNexis Canada: 2006. 504 pages. Cost: $75. To order: www.lexisnexis.ca/bookstore
This book is a comprehensive resource that covers all aspects of management, for all types of non-profit organizations with a Canadian focus. This book includes the latest ideas and research on how to confidently manage boards of directors, executive leadership, legal issues, government and community relationships, resource development, planning, accountability and evaluation, money, staff, and technology.
Looting Africa: The Economics of Exploitation. By Patrick Bond. London,
UK: Zed Books: 2006. 224 pages. Cost: £12.99/US$19.99 paper, £39.99/ US $55.00 cloth. To order: www.zedbooks.co.uk
Despite the rhetoric, the people of Sub-Saharan Africa are becoming poorer. From Tony Blair’s Africa Commission, the G7 finance ministers’ debt relief, the Live 8 concerts, the Make Poverty History campaign and the G8 Gleneagles promises, to the United Nations 2005 summit and the Hong Kong WTO meeting, Africa’s gains have been mainly limited to public relations. The central problems remain exploitative debt and financial relationships with the North, phantom aid, unfair trade, distorted investment and the continent’s brain/skills drain. Moreover, capitalism in most African countries has witnessed the emergence of excessively powerful ruling elites with incomes derived from financial-parasitical accumulation. Without overstressing the ‘mistakes’ of such elites, this book contextualizes Africa’s wealth outflow within a stagnant but volatile world economy.
Official Agency Funding of NGOs in Seven Countries: Mechanisms, Trends and Implications. By Brian Pratt, Jerry Adams and Hannah Warren. Oxford, UK: International NGO Training and Research Centre: 2006. 60 pages. Cost: £8.95. To order: www.intrac.org/publications.php?id=101
This paper analyses the mechanisms by which the official agencies of seven major European countries — Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK — distribute ODA to domestic NGOs. It provides details of historical developments of official aid funding of NGOs, overall trends and the implications of these funding mechanisms for NGOs and civil society. In addition, it outlines the influence of wider policy issues of official agencies, such as the emphasis on security and the aid harmonization agenda.
Rebuilding Communities the Public Trust Way: Community Foundation Assistance to CDCs, 19802000. By Jeffrey S. Lowe. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books: 2006. 138 pages. Cost: US $21.95 paper, US $60 cloth. To order: www.lexingtonbooks.com
Rebuilding Communities the Public Trust Way highlights cases of community foundation assistance to Community Development Corporations (CDCs) during the final two decades of the twentieth century in Cleveland, Ohio; Florida; and New Orleans, Louisiana. Jeffrey S. Lowe describes the influence of these three community foundations on CDC capacity to engage in activities that facilitate the revitalization of urban communities and provides recommendations for other community foundations and policymakers seeking to work with CDCs.
Community Voices: Creating Sustainable Spaces. Edited by Sally Paulin. Claremont, Australia: The University of Western Australia Press: 2006. 249 pages. Cost: $39.95. To order: http://www.uwapress.uwa.edu.au/titles/index/
community_voices
This book focuses on the way people come together in community groups to achieve sustainable outcomes. It uses a series of Western Australian case studies to examine a range of projects and campaigns. Locations are a mix of urban and rural communities, and examples of projects explored are the Western Australian Forest Campaign, Saving the Moore River Campaign, and Children Caring for our Coastline.
Grouped by theme, issues covered in the text include community recognition and empowerment, indigenous approaches to sustainability, political ecology, funding, organizational issues and leadership. It explores varied approaches to community sustainability and highlights successes and failures of previous projects and campaigns.
Fair Trade Moves Center Stage. By John Wilkinson. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: The Edelstein Center for Social Research: 2006. 36 pages. Copies available at http://www.centroedelstein.org.br/wp3_english.pdf
Fair trade began some fifty years ago as a mixture of charity and solidarity and, for some thirty years, it remained politically and economically marginal. This situation has changed drastically over the last fifteen years, which have simultaneously seen the institutionalization of the movement, the mainstreaming of its products and the incorporation of its objectives into dominant political discourses. This paper presents a profile of the fair trade movement and discusses the factors which have been responsible for the attention which is currently being given to its demands.
Social Entrepreneurship: New Models of Sustainable Social Change. 
Edited by Alex Nicholls. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press: 2006. 480 pages. Cost: £60.00. To order: www.oup.com/uk/catalogue
This book examines the phenomenon of ‘social entrepreneurship’ as practiced by grass-roots activists, NGOs, policy makers and international institutions, and corporations. ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ is a term that has come to be applied to the activities of roots activists, NGOs, policy makers and international institutions, and corporations among others, which address a range of social issues in innovative and creative ways.
Themed around the emerging agendas for developing new, sustainable models of social sector excellence and systemic impact, Social Entrepreneurship offers a wide-ranging, internationally-focused selection of cutting-edge work from leading academics, policy makers, and practitioners. Together they seek to clarify some of the ambiguity around this term, describe a range of social entrepreneurship projects, and establish a clear set of frameworks with which to understand it.
Financing Nonprofits: Putting Theory into Practice. Edited by Dennis R. Young. Lanham, Maryland: AltaMira Press, 2006. 454 pages. Cost US $33.96 paper, US $72.25 cloth. To order: www.altamirapress.com
Nonprofits often struggle financially, overwhelmed by the need to muster a complex combination of income streams that range from grants and government funding to gifts-in-kind and volunteer labor. Financing Nonprofits draws upon a growing body of scholarship on the economics and organizational theory of nonprofit organizations to offer a set of practically applicable principles that can guide nonprofits towards firmer financial ground.
Organized under the auspices of the National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise, Financing Nonprofits argues that those who would manage nonprofit organizations must first develop a conceptual framework through which they can understand the complicated and fast-paced landscape surrounding nonprofit decision-making. It offers a piece by piece analysis of the many potential components of nonprofit operating income, including a detailed study on how to accumulate the capital needed for major infrastructure projects or endowments and an examination of how to maintain a healthy investment profile once sufficient capital exists.
Transnational Civil Society: An Introduction. Edited by Srilatha Batliwala and L. David Brown. Bloomfield, Connecticut: Kumarian Press, 2006. 288 pages. Cost US $27.95 paper; US $55.00 cloth. To order: www.kpbooks.com
The growing impact of cross-border civil society networks and campaigns on global policy has made transnational civil society an increasingly important phenomenon. This book provides an introduction to the history, characteristics, and achievements of influential transnational civil society networks, coalitions, and movements. The editors give an in-depth analysis of the forces that have shaped transnational activism: globalism, economic and political power structures, and cross-border organization by non-state actors. Important transnational movements that have shaped our world - labor, environment, human rights, women's rights, peace, and economic justice - are also described and analyzed.
What Counts: Social Accounting for Nonprofits and Cooperatives, Second Edition. By Laurie Mook, Jack Quarter, and Betty Jane (B.J.) Richmond . Sigel Press, 2007. 272 pages. Cost: £29.99. To order: www.sigelpress.com
This book synthesizes practical social accounting strategies for nonprofits and cooperativesCthe primary one being the adaptation of a Value Added Statement called an Expanded Value Added StatementCwith more theoretical analysis of topics such as social accounting, value added, and the social economy (the conceptual framework within which nonprofits and cooperatives are cast).
This second edition reflects the growing demand for knowledge about social accounting for nonprofits and cooperatives, and also coincides with the creation of supplementary resources to accompany the book.
Strengthening Global Civil Society. By Leni Wild. London, United Kingdom: Institute for Public Policy Research, 2006. 19 pages. Available online at http://www.ippr.org.uk/ publicationsandreports/publication.asp?id=447
Global civil society is a deeply contested concept. What precisely it means, whether it is a good or a bad thing, whether it is a truly global phenomenon or essentially a western concept, and how global civil society organizations might be made more accountable for their impacts are just some of the questions that are the subject of an ongoing intellectual and political debate.
This paper results from an international conference held at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Study and Conference Centre in Italy, July 2005. The author discusses personal perspectives on issues addressed at the conference concerning global civil society. The author argues that while global civil society is not inherently progressive there are plenty of recent examples of where global civil society groups have been a force for progressive social change. The paper identifies specific ways that these progressive forces can be strengthened.
Educational Technologies and Social Inequality in Brazilian Public Schools. By Julie Remold. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: The Edelstein Center for Social Research, 2006. 163 pages. In English and Portuguese. Available in English online at http://www.centroedelstein.org.br/english/livros.shtml. Available in Portuguese online at http://www.centroedelstein.org.br/livros.shtml
This work examines how technology use in Brazilian basic education is influenced by cultural context. The author analyzes how context shapes the capacity of technology to improve educational quality and equity, and describe the impacts that educational technologies have on the settings in which they are used. This research focuses on the widespread educational initiatives that propose to improve equity in public education through increased technology use.
Internet, Public Sphere and Political Marketing: Between the Promotion of Communication and Moralist Solipsism. By Bernardo Sorj. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: The Edelstein Center for Social Research, 2006. 24 pages. In English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Available online at http://www.centroedelstein.org.br/english/working.shtml
The basis of this article is taken from material that circulated on the Internet during the campaign for the referendum on arms trade, which took place in Brazil on the 23rd of October 2005, and resulted in a landslide NO vote against arms trade prohibition. The author argues that the over-optimistic forecasts maintaining that new communication technologies (would) enhance democracy have been merely wishful thinking and should be contrasted against the backdrop of historical experience. The case of this referendum implies that the impact exerted by the Internet on political dynamics shows a far more complex reality, and that alongside Internet's positive aspects are also negative ones, such as its potential to destroy the public sphere. The author's perspective is that both the public sphere and the market demand an effort by the public to construct a collective realm with minimum regulations, so that it may operate responsibly and be kept free from control by individuals or groups often related to economic power and political marketing.
Unequal Partnerships: Beyond the Rhetoric of Philanthropic Collaboration. By Ira Silver. Oxford, United Kingdom: Routledge, 2005. 160 pages. Cost £55.00. To order: www.routledge.com
Through an examination of the Chicago Initiative, Silver analyzes how elite philanthropists exercise social control over community organizations that do work in poor neighborhoods. The book looks at the hierarchical relationship between foundations and the organizations they fund. It investigates community-based organizations' strategic attempts to assert influence over foundation funding priorities. The book draws upon several years of research about comprehensive community initiatives undertaken by foundations in cities across the U.S. during the 1980s and 1990s; initiatives that aimed to give community-based organizations unprecedented access to foundations' purse strings. A chief dilemma built into these initiatives is that they aimed to be collaborative even while foundations maintained a vested interest in gate-keeping the kinds of neighborhood revitalization reforms that community-based organization received grants to undertake.
Mapping the Terrain: Exploring Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation of Roma Programming in an Enlarged European Union. By Zosa de sas Kropiwnicki and Fran Deans. Oxford, United Kingdom: International NGO Training and Research Centre: 2006. 54 pages. Cost: £8.95. To order: www.intrac.org/publications.php?id=99
This paper provides an overview of the monitoring and evaluation strategies adopted at multiple levels of governance by various stakeholders who express a desire to include the Romani minority in the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. It is argued that, in spite of international and national rhetoric in favour of participatory approaches to Roma issues among some international and national bodies, with a few exceptions, current approaches to monitoring and evaluation tend to exclude Roma input and fail to provide an accurate picture of the lived reality of the Roma on the ground.
NGO Leadership Development: A Review of the Literature. By John Hailey. Praxis Paper 10. Oxford, United Kingdom: International NGO Training and Research Centre: 2006. 44 pages. Cost £5.95. To order: www.intrac.org/pages/PraxisPaper10.html. Copies available online.
NGO leaders often face extraordinary challengesBboth at a personal and organisational level. These challenges are demanding, and distinct from those faced by governments or the for-profit sector. NGO leaders are often isolated and unsupported. There is talk of a leadership deficit, because of the shortage of talented leaders and the growth of the non-profit sector generally. As a result, there is some urgency in attempts to develop a new generation of leaders, and to provide relevant support to existing and future leaders.
This Praxis Paper examines the role of leaders and leadership in NGOs. It draws on the analysis of recent research into the characteristics of NGO leaders, and explores the challenges of designing leadership development programmes appropriate to the needs of NGOs. This paper identifies the elements of successful leadership development, and assesses the skills or competencies that need be developed.
Strategic Giving: The Art and Science of Philanthropy. By Peter Frumkin. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2006. 448 pages. Cost US $39.00 Cloth. To order: www.press.uchicago.edu
This book examines the dramatically changing philanthropic landscape as a new generation of wealthy donors seeks to leave its mark on the public sphere. Peter Frumkin reveals why these donors could benefit from having a comprehensive plan to guide their giving. He provides the framework to understand and develop this kind of philanthropic strategy. Frumkin argues here that contemporary philanthropy requires a thorough rethinking of its underlying logic. Philanthropy should be seen, he contends, as both a powerful way to meet public needs and a meaningful way to express private beliefs and commitments. He demonstrates that finding a way to simultaneously fulfill both of these functions is crucial to the survival of philanthropy and its potential to support pluralism in society.
The book identifies five essential elements donors must consider when developing a philanthropic strategyCthe vehicle through which giving will flow, the way impact will be achieved, the level of engagement and profile sought, the time frame for giving, and the underlying purpose of the gift. The book provides a new basis for understanding philanthropic effectiveness and a promising new way for philanthropy to achieve the legitimacy that has at times eluded it.
Social Enterprise: At the Crossroads of Market, Public Policies and Civil Society. Edited by Marthe Nyssens. New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group Publishers, July 2006. 320 pages. Cost: $140 USD HB, $49 USD PB. Order: http://www.routledge-ny.com
SERIES: Routledge Studies in the Management of Voluntary and Non-Profit Organizations. Edited by Stephen P. Osborne
Building upon the work of the EMES European Research Network Social Enterprise this book presents the results of an extensive research project carried out over a four-year period. More precisely, this book develops a theory of social enterprise through a comparative analysis of 160 social enterprises across 11 EU countries. This book breaks new ground both in its articulation of multidisciplinary theoretical framework and through its rigorous analysis of empirical evidence based on a homogenized data collection methodology.
The empirical field chosen to carry out the analysis is that of work integration, which is emblematic of the dynamics of social enterprises and a major sphere of activity. The main goal of 'work integration social enterprises' (WISEs) is to help disadvantaged unemployed people, who are at risk of permanent exclusion from the labor market, and to integrate them back into work and society in general through productive activity.
The text is structured around a number of key themes (multiple goals and multiple stakeholders, multiple resources, trajectories of workers, public policies) and developed through a pan-European analysis. Each theme is illustrated with short country experiences that reflect the diversity of welfare models across Europe.
The International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law. Volume 8, Number 3 (May 2006). A quarterly production of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL). http://www.icnl.org/knowledge/ijnl/vol8iss3/ijnl_vol8ss3.pdf
This issue features a special section on a particularly timely topic, Russia and the Newly Independent States. This issue opens with an examination of Russia's new NGO law and some of the knotty issues that it raises, written by Natalia Bourjaily. Next, Alexander Livshin and Richard Weitz examine the shifts in Russian civil society under Vladimir Putin, and Julia Khodorova offers an overview of Russian philanthropy. Sada Aksartova suggests some factors that may explain why American donors gravitated toward civil society in general and NGOs in particular after the Cold War. And Alexander Vinnikov summarizes Ukrainian foundation law and regulations. Leading off the other articles in this issue, Douglas Rutzen and Michelle Coulton consider a range of possible approaches to assess how legal and regulatory reform may affect the voluntary sector in Canada; which applies equally to other countries facing the same issue. In another article, Kristen Ghodsee argues that feminist NGOs must change their ways if they truly want to help women in Eastern Europe. Finally, Statistics New Zealand and The Committee for the Study of the New Zealand Non-Profit Sector, set forth criteria for identifying not-for-profit organizations; again, though the focus is on New Zealand, much of the article applies elsewhere as well.
Civil Society Capacity Building in Post-Conflict Societies: The Experience of Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovó. By Bill Sterland. Published by Praxis Publications through International NGO Training and Research Center (INTRAC), June 2006. 68 pages. Cost: $11.20 USD. Order and download: http://www.intrac.org
This paper investigates the approaches and methods applied to NGO capacity building in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and Kosovo during parallel and ongoing experiences of internationally determined post-conflict social, political and economic rehabilitation and transition. Capacity building in both Bosnia and Kosovo is a new term, having arrived with equally novel concepts such as the 'NGO,' 'civil society,' 'democracy,' and 'good governance' as part of a broader development discourse driving efforts to re-establish social cohesion and fashion new states according to Western-style liberal democracy.B&H and Kosovo have progressed from the immediate chaos of a post-conflict environment along the road to long-term institutional strengthening and economic development. In Kosovo, many NGOs are taxed with defining a social mission for themselves that goes beyond the supply of services independent of local authorities who are increasingly showing their readiness to provide for the needs of their local communities. In B&H, NGOs are challenged with strengthening a range of capacities, such as gaining theoretical understanding of social and economic development, increasing specialist knowledge within an organization, adopting rights-based approaches, strengthening advocacy and campaigning skills, improving analytical reflection, developing social research capabilities, and providing inputs into public policy, all of which will assist them to impact positively on nationally-led development policies. In both contexts, NGO performance and relevance will also be dependent on the civil society sector=s ability to improve internal cohesion, and also on cross-sector dialogue, cooperation and coordination.
Building Organizational Capacity in Iranian Civil Society: Mapping the Progress of CSOs. By Catherine Squire. Published by Praxis Publications through International NGO Training and Research Center (INTRAC), June 2006. 57 pages. Cost: $11.20 USD. Order and download: http://www.intrac.org
Iran has a vibrant and firmly established civil society, which has developed with strong roots in local traditions and communities. CSO support organizations are relative newcomers, with most being established in the last 5 years. The approaches of CSOs are evolving constantly. However, there is no structure in place to help CSO's learn from each other.This paper outlines the various capacity building approaches and activities undertaken within Iran: from promoting the concepts of democracy, rights, and citizens' participation through workshops and seminars etc; skills training courses for individuals; to capacity building at the organizational level. The paper details key civil society capacity building issues in relation to organizations' internal organization, external relations and program performance, and provides a summary of priority needs relating to organizational capacity building practice.
How Individualists Make Solidarity Work. By Galia Chimiak. Warsaw: Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, 2006. Distributed free of charge. (in English) Order: E-mail: pozytek@mps.gov.pl
Available in Polish at http://www.pozytek.gov.pl/Nasze,publikacje,657.html
For details about the book in Polish see: http://www.pozytek.gov.pl/Galia,Chimiak,publikacja,823.html
Besides making an overview of relevant theories and empirical studies dealing with the emergence of civil society in former communist countries, this book presents a group portrait of social activists based on an empirical research carried out in Poland. Specifically, NGO activists, social capital, modes of engagement and motivations are analyzed on the basis of in-depth interviews conducted among 40 leaders, volunteers and paid workers involved in public benefit organizations. The appearance of first-generation activists who represent the liberal, individualistic model of civil society provides counter-argument to the prevalent view regarding the communitarian nature of grass-roots civic initiatives in Poland. The continued relevance of the Polish intelligentsia ethos for social activism turns out to be the outcome ofBrather than the reason for involvement in NGOs. Otherwise put, currently human solidarity can be acquired by working in an NGO. Participation in civic initiatives proves to be a source of indigenous, grass-roots change in the country.
The Transformative Power of Women's Philanthropy--New Directions for Philanthropic Fundraising. Edited by Martha A. Taylor and Sondra C. Shaw-Hardy. Jossey-Bass: 2006. 224 pages. Paperback. Cost: US$29.00. Order: www.josseybass.com
This book explores the dynamic, ever-expanding field of women=s philanthropy. Chapters range from the theoretical to the practical with professional and personal perspectives woven throughout. Claire Gaudiani examines how American women's philanthropy helped to build economic growth and a democratic society. Bonita Banducci offers insight into how women's philanthropic leadership is different. Eleanor Bown reflects on couples' decision making about charitable giving. Tracy Gary shares a thirty-year perspective on the growth of giving by women donors.
Democracy and Citizenship. Citizen Participation and Public Deliberation in Mexican Local Governments. Edited by Andrew D. Selee and Leticia Santín del Río. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Ágora, March 2006. 256 pages. Order: www.wilsoncenter.org/lap
This publication is the result of an international meeting that took place in Mexico City in June of 2004. This meeting which included participants from Mexico, Colombia, Spain and the United States, sought to understand the theoretical possibilities and the practical achievements of citizen participation and public deliberation in local governments in Mexico.
The publication is part of a series of works in six countries in Latin America that seek to understand new ways of creating synergies between citizens and local governments to achieve deeper democratic practices and more sustainable and effective public policies. The book is primarily in Spanish; however, there are summaries in English after each chapter.
Community Foundations: Symposium on a Global Movement. By Eleanor Sacks. Brussels, Belgium: WINGS. 2006. Order: www.cfsymposium.org or European Foundation Centre Library: library@efc.be
This report is on current issues for the community foundation movement informed by discussions held at the Symposium in Berlin in December 2004. The report includes summaries of plenary speeches and of principal discussions on topics such as how community foundations grow, their role in facilitating diaspora giving, their work to foster inclusion in divided communities, their role in encouraging generosity, and their experience in making an impact through activities additional to grantmaking.
IRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa. No. 53. 2006. www.uv.es/reciriec
The scientific journal published by CIRIEC, has posted an issue on 'Social economy (third sector) and corporate social responsibility.'
CIRIEC-España, is a Spanish Latin-American review. Its research field ranges over enterprises and entities whose aim is to serve the general benefit, and in particular, public and social economyBthe last one mostly composed of co-operatives, labour-managed enterprises, mutuals, foundations and associations. Most works are published in Spanish, but some special issues and all of the abstracts are in English and French.
NGOs in Livelihood Improvement. By Tek Nath Dhakal. New Delhi, India: Adroit Publishers, 2006. 280 pages. Cost: IRPs 400. Order: dprabin@ntc.net.np
This book assesses whether Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are better institutional options for benefitting the poor people to improve their livelihood status.
The book provides a comprehensive perspective and theoretical understanding on the role of NGOs to support the livelihood improvement of the people and particularly of the poor and deprived communities. It reviews the overall socio-economic scenario of Nepal and assesses the efforts made for meeting the development needs. Primary information was generated examining two NGOs – PLAN International and Backward Society, two of the largest INGOs and NGOs in Nepal.
This book explores the development of NGOs in Nepal, policies adopted for involving them as development partners, and their contribution in the socio-economic development of the people. It gives a clear picture of the target communities at the grassroots, and the effects on the livelihood situation after these (I)NGOs’ interventions. It assesses the NGOs’ strengths and weaknesses to intervene in a developing country like Nepal and particularly to the poorer section of the society. The book concludes that the NGOs essentially stand on awareness building and skill development of the grassroots for improving livelihood situation.
To Export Progress: The Golden Age of University Assistance in the Americas. By Daniel C. Levy. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2006. 400 pages. Cost: US $45 cloth. Order: iupress.indiana.edu
The middle of the twentieth century brought an unprecedented peacetime crusade by industrialized nations to transform the Third World. Crucial to this effort was a partnership between the agencies in the developed nations and Third World reformers, and the social institution chosen to lead the great transformation to modernity was the university.
In this study of the attempts to export the modern Western university, its ideas, and its form to the Third World, Daniel C. Levy examines the development assistance provided by the Ford Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Inter-American Development Bank and their relations with local partners in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s. Levy considers the funders, how they selected partners, which countries and institutions were favored, and to what effect.
Guided by a provocative ideal type of philanthropic action, Levy crafts a study of change, exploring the changes that were pursued and those that were achieved. He finds more positive results than have been previously assumed, and these carry substantial contemporary implications for both domestic reform and international influence.
This well-documented story of ambitious goals and massive efforts, and of the clash between the export model and local reality enlarges our understanding of an extraordinary chapter in modern philanthropy, international assistance, and Latin American development.
Community Foundations in Germany–Conclusions and Perspectives. Edited by Stefan Nährlich, Rupert Graf Strachwitz, Eva Maria Hinterhuber, Karin Müller. Wiesbaden, Germany: VS-Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2005. 332 pages. Cost: 34.90 C In German. Order: www.vs-verlag.de
This volume undertakes the first attempt to draw conclusions about the evolution of community foundations in Germany. Almost ten years after the “import” of the idea and the conception of community foundations in Germany, the first stage of the development seems to have been accomplished.
The authors examine whether and to what extent the Anglo-Saxon model of the community foundation has so far been implemented, adapted and developed successfully in Germany. In order to reach conclusions about the state of the art of the German community foundation sector, the articles analyze the history of philanthropic traditions, the legal framework and the relationship of state, market and civil society in Germany. In conclusion, the volume explores the European and international development of community foundations.
Social Capital and Welfare Reform: Organizations, Congregations, and Communities. By Jo Anne Schneider. Columbia University Press, 2006. 373 pages. paper $29.50 / £25.50; cloth $69.50 / £45.00. Order: www.columbia.edu/cu/cup
In this groundbreaking study, Jo Anne Schneider considers the reasons behind the limited success of most welfare reform initiatives and offers evidence-based recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of welfare policy. Schneider draws on her rich and nuanced ethnographic studies of Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Kenosha, Wisconsin, to clarify the role of social capital for both individuals and institutions. She shows that the social relationships and patterns of trust that enable people to gain access to resources like government services, organization funding, and jobs are crucial in helping families achieve their goals. Schneider examines the complex ways in which social capital functions in conjunction with economic, human, and cultural capital, and explores social capital dynamics among government, nonprofits and congregations that together provide the welfare support system.
Non-Governmental Organizations in Ethiopia: Examining Relations Between Local and International Groups. By Daniel Sahleyesus Telake. Wales, UK: The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd, 2005. 336 pp. Hardcover US $119.95; UK £74.95. To order: www.mellenpress.com
This study examines the relations between Southern and Northern Non-Governmental Development Organizations based on patterns that the author observed in Ethiopia. Southern, or as alternatively called in this study Local NGOs (LNGOs), and Northern NGOs (NNGOs) mainly use the term ‘partnership’ to describe their mutual relation and it has become a fashionable term among the larger development community. The evidence at hand suggests that ‘partnership’ has been perceived by most, if not all, as a superior type of relationship, but its practice is widely questioned by the local NGOs. The relationship is structured in such a way that the Northern NGO is the one financing the LNGO and transfers trust, which the trustee (the LNGO) is expected to be deserving of. However, the relationship is not only about finance. Ideas, approaches and better forms of practice are also part of the relationship. Building mutual trust between the two groups would require genuine commitment on both sides.
This study demonstrates the existence of different types of relationships between Northern and Local NGOs in Ethiopia. From the perspective of LNGOs, these relationships range from very poor (donor-recipient type) to that of fairly satisfactory (close to partnership) along a continuum. Generally speaking, solidarity-based relationships resemble most closely the model of genuine partnerships with church-based relationships coming in as a good second variety. Paternalism or domination was more frequently suffered by small NGOs working with fluctuating partners.
Promoting the Rule of Law Abroad: In Search of Knowledge. Edited by Thomas Carothers. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2006. 350 pages. Cost: US $19.95 paper/ US $50.00 cloth. Order: www.CarnegieEndowment.org/RuleofLaw
Promoting the rule of law has become a major part of Western efforts to spread democracy and market economics around the world. Yet, although programs to foster the rule of law abroad have mushroomed, well-grounded knowledge about what factors ensure success, and why, remains scarce. This collection of essays on international rule-of-law practices and policies provides insights into the challenges that define this vital but misunderstood field.
Carothers argues that in recent years, foreign policy makers have encouraged rule-of-law solutions to a variety of 21st century challenges: human rights abuses in China, untamed Russian capitalism, and Mexico’s treacherous transitions. Carothers cautions, however, that turning to the rule of law as a panacea for the ills of countries in transition from dictatorships or statist economies should make patients and prescribers wary.
Carothers raises a series of potent questions: Is there a common definition of the rule of law that unite different programs in this domain, how can such efforts be made more effective, and what obstacles exist to doing so?
In this book, leading practitioners and policy-oriented scholars draw on years of experience– in Russia, China, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa– to critically assess the rationale, methods, and goals of rule-of-law policies.
The International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law, Volume 8, Issue 2, January 2006
To view the complete current journal as well as past volumes: www.icnl.org
Special Section: Public Benefits Commissions
• The Public Benefit Commission: A Comparative Overview.
By David Moore
• Charity Commission for England and Wales. By Richard Fries
• Moldovan Certification Commission. By Ilya Trombitsky
• Armenian Governmental Commission Regulating Charitable Programs. By Tatshat Stepanyan
Articles
• From Elections to Democracy in Central Europe: Public Participation and the Role of Civil Society. By Susan Rose-Ackerman
• Reinventing Liberia: Civil Society, Governance, and a Nation’s Post-War Recovery. By J. Peter Pham
• The Law of Zakat Management and Non-Governmental Zakat Collectors in Indonesia. By Alfitri
• The Power Shift and the NGO Credibility Crisis. By James McGann and Mary Johnstone
• Annus Horribilis for Smaller Nonprofits: Restoring Hope Through Building Donor Resiliency By Charles B. Maclean and Jim Moore
Review
Understanding Organizational Sustainability Through African Proverbs: Insights for Leaders and Facilitators. By Chiku Malunga, with Charles Banda. Reviewed by Emeka Iheme
A Voice for Human Rights. Mary Robinson. Edited by Kevin Boyle. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. 456 pages. Cost: US 49.95/£32.50 cloth. Order: www.pennpress.org
Few names are so closely connected with the cause of human rights as that of Mary Robinson. As former President of Ireland and more recently United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, she was ideally positioned for passionately and eloquently arguing the case for human rights around the world. This volume is a unique account in her own words of Robinson’s campaigns as United Nations High Commissioner. Over five tumultuous years that included the tragic events of 9/11, she offered moral leadership and vision to the global human rights movement.
This book is an annotated collection of Robinson’s speeches, given between 1997 and 2002, when she served as High Commissioner. The book also provides the first in-depth account of the work of the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Development of Civil Society in Central Asia. By Janice Giffen, Lucy Earle, Charles Buxton. Oxford, UK: INTRAC, 2005. 200 pages. Cost: £ 16.95 paper. Order: www.intrac.org/publications
This book considers the applicability and use of civil society, both as a concept and in practice, in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The volume examines whether civil society organisations (CSOs) are a progressive force for change, or a safety net. Various forms of CSOs are investigated: NGOs and community based organisations, trade unions, political parties and religious groups, as well as more long-standing soviet and traditional institutions and practices. The book contains lessons and perspectives about civil society growth across time, and considers future directions.
Building Analytical and Adaptive Capacities for Organisational Effectiveness. By Mia Sorgenfrei and Rebecca Wrigley. Praxis Paper 7. Oxford, UK: INTRAC, 2005. Cost: £5.95. Order: www.intrac.org/pages/PraxisPaper7.html
Civil society organisations (CSOs) operate in a complex and constantly changing environment. This has significant implications for their effectiveness. This paper suggests that by helping CSOs to understand and strengthen analytical and adaptive capacities, we may help them increase their effectiveness. The authors offer a cross-disciplinary review of current thinking about analytical and adaptive capacity, drawing on fields such as organisational learning and change, strategic management, systems thinking and complexity theory. The paper proposes practical considerations which may guide future efforts to develop the analytical and adaptive capacities of CSOs.
The Implications for Northern NGOs of Adopting Rights-Based Approaches: A Preliminary Exploration. By Emma Harris-Curtis, Oscar Marleyn and Oliver Bakewell. Occasional Paper Series 41. Oxford, UK: INTRAC, 2005. 50 pages. Cost: £8.95. Order: www.intrac.org/publications
This paper presents the experience of some Northern NGOs in engaging with rights-based approaches. It is based on research carried out by INTRAC and South Research among 17 European NGOs. The research focuses on the particular challenges INGOs face when translating rights policies into operational reality. The paper explores the different ways NGOs interpret rights-based approaches and how they have put them into practice. It also reflects on the organisational implications of adopting rights-based approaches.
Social Justice Grantmaking: A Report on Foundation Trends. By Independent Sector and the Foundation Center. New York, NY: The Foundation Center, 2005. Cost: US$ 24.95. Order: www.fdncenter.org/marketplace
This is the first study to examine foundation funding for nonprofit organizations making structural changes to increase opportunities for those struggling economically, socially, or politically. Independent Sector and the Foundation Center partnered in developing this research. It focuses mainly on funding trends from 1998 through 2002 based on an analysis of the Foundation Center’s grants database, which includes all of the grants of $10,000 and up awarded by more than 1,000 of the nation’s largest private and community foundations. The report analyzes social justice giving by field, recipient type, funder, recipient location, and type of support. In addition, the report includes profiles of 26 leading social justice grantmakers, which will enhance both the practice and understanding of social justice philanthropy.
Foundation Funding for the Arts: An Overview of Recent Trends. By the Foundation Center and Grantmakers in the Arts. New York, NY: The Foundation Center, 2005. 17 pages. Report can be downloaded in PDF format from: www.fdncenter.org
The arts are at the core of all civilizations, providing a means for expression and knowledge. Foundations have supported the arts for years as a way to build artistic skills and life long appreciation. Past research has demonstrated the value of an Arts education throughout life. To document the annual giving by U.S. Foundations to arts programs the Foundation Center in collaboration with Grantmakers for the Arts prepared one of the first in-depth studies on foundation arts education support. The study highlighted in its findings the increase in charitable giving from private and community foundations for arts education, which it attributed to the targeting of arts education funding to many age groups and purposes.
Civic Organization Solidarity in Andalucia (In Spanish). By the Center of Politic Sociology of the University Pablo de Olavide.
The purpose of this book is to pinpoint the reasons volunteers help other people, their socio-demographic profile, their attitudes and values, and the activities realized. The object of this research is to study the volunteer who engages in voluntary action with association in the urban city. This research demonstrates the argument for the analytic discussion and scientific instruments for the empiric analysis about this phenomenon that is very important for the civic health of our society. This book provides analytic arguments about the reasons people volunteer.
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) recently completed four new working papers on CSOs and policy influence in the developing country contexts. These are a part of ODIs Civil Society Partnership Program which aims to promote improved contribution by CSOs to “pro-poor” national and international development policies. (www.odi.org.uk/cspp)
Text can be downloaded in PDF format at: www.odi.org.uk/publications/working_papers/index.html. Or the paper can be purchased for £8.00 from: www.odi.org.uk
Partnerships and Accountability: Current Thinking and Approaches among agencies supporting Civil Society Organizations. By Monica Blagascu and John Young. ODI Working Paper 25, August 2005.
CSOs are increasingly involved in development of policy, and recognize the need to use evidence to be engaged in the policy process more effectively. ODI’s Civil Society Partnership program is designed to help them do this. While seeking to capitalize on ODI’s 40 years of development, research and policy work, the program recognizes the need to learn much more about how Southern organizations do it. To facilitate this, CSPP will need to develop long term equitable relationships with a wide range of Southern partner organizations. This working paper presents a summary of current thinking on the issues of accountability, partnership, and capacity building between Northern and Southern organizations, and this paper provides some examples of current practice among organizations involved in similar work.
Networks and Policy Processes in International Development. By Emily Perkin and Julius Court. ODI Working Paper 252, August 2005.
We know networks matter. However, beyond the hype, there still remains limited systematic understanding of when, why and how they function best for policy impact in international development. The objective of this paper is to review and synthesize existing literature in an effort to start to answer these questions. This paper combines over 100 diverse texts, hoping to provide a systematic overview of recent work from the general literature as well as from that focusing on international development. An accompanying annotated bibliography provides more information on each of the sources reviewed.
Civil Society Participation in Health Research and Policy: A Review of Models, Mechanisms, and Measures. By Shyama Kuruvilla. ODI Working Paper 251, August 2005.
Civil society organizations can participate in health research and policy in a variety of ways. As with other complex socio-political interventions, replicating participation methods across contexts, in the same way and to the same effect, is clearly impracticable, if not impossible. However, a significant understanding of participation processes, effects and explana