CIVICUS

CSI COUNTRY UPDATES

The following is a brief activity update on NCO project activities during the period April - November 2006. CIVICUS encourages you to contact one another if you would like to have more information on any of these activities. The list of contact addresses can be found on the CIVICUS website http://www.civicus.org.

Argentina
The Spanish version country report has been finalised and the English language version will be published shortly once the final editorial review is completed.

Armenia
The project is close to completion and CIVICUS iscurrently working with CDCS to finalise the country report.

Azerbaijan
Due to illness of the project coordinator some delays were encountered in the process. CIVICUS is currently waiting for the first draft of the country report.

Burkina Faso
The Civil Society Organisation Network for Development (RESOCIDE) is coordinating the CSI implementation in Burkina Faso. The media review and community sample survey have been completed and the Regional Stakeholder Consultation was held in October 2006. A first draft of the pre-NAG report, drafted in English, is expected soon.

Chile
The English version of the country report will be published shortly once the final editorial review is completed. A presentation and round table discussion on the results of the project was hosted by Fundación Soles on 6 October 2006 (see article).

Costa Rica
Due to a lack of funding, Fundación Acceso was not able to produce a country report following the full methodology of the CSI, but gathered secondary information that was available, producing a preliminary report.

East Timor
The East Timor NGO Forum, the CSI partner in East Timor, is close to completing the research activities but is facing enormous challenges given the socio-political environment and recent uprisings. Much support is being provided by UNDP which is also funding the project. However, at this point it is difficult to establish a realistic timeline.

Ecuador
A national workshop was held in September and the Spanish language version of the country report was finalised soon after; the report is currently being translated into English and will be published in December 2006.

Fiji
The CSI is implemented by the Fiji Council for Social Services (FCOSS). The NCO has completed the project activities and is now in the process of finalising the country report.

Gambia
TANGO (The Association of Non-Governmental Organisations) is implementing the CSI in the Gambia. TANGO focused on its fundraising activities in the first quarter of 2006. The EU has agreed in principle to fund the project. Activities for the implementation of the CSI should commence soon.

Ghana
The Ghana Association of Private Voluntary Organisations in Development (GAPVOD) is coordinating the CSI in collaboration with a World Bank project on social accountability. Due to the serious illness of the main researcher in the first half of 2006 the finalisation of the project was delayed. The country report is presently being finalised and is expected to be published in late November.

Guatemala
The country report is being finalised inits Spanish language version. The implementation in Guatemala was delayed due to various operational challenges.

Honduras
The country report is being finalised and will be published by December 2006.

The Hong Kong Council for Social Services (HKCSS) completed the various research activities early in 2006 and held the NAG scoring meeting in March 2006. The country report has been finalised and is expected to be published in November.

Indonesia
YAPPIKA is theparticipating organisation for the CSI in Indonesia. Due to its role in the Tsunami relief efforts, much of the CSI activities were stalled. Dedicated funding has been raised and project activities are well underway with a final report to be expected soon.

Jamaica
The Association ofDevelopment Agencies (ADA) is coordinating the CSI in Jamaica. ADA has finalised the research and is presently drafting the pre-scoring report.

Lebanon
The country report is currently in its final stages of editing and will be published in the next few days.

Mauritius
The Mauritius Council of Social Services (MACOSS) is implementing the CSI in Mauritius. Funding from UNDP has only recently been secured and MACOSS is currently setting up project teams and structures. The project is slated for initiation later this year.

Montenegro
The country report is near finalisation and will be published in the near future.

Nepal
The Institute for Cultural Affairs (ICA) has completed the research activities; however, the changes in the political environment have placed a challenge on the finalisation of the country report. The publication of the country report is expected in late November 2006.

Nigeria
The CSI is being implemented by ActionAid Nigeria. Preliminary project activities such as the NAG meeting have been organised. Research activities were undertaken in 2005, but were stalled due to the untimely death of the project coordinator in a plane crash in late 2005. During the first half of 2006 the processes were delayed further but have picked up again and the project is now set for completion, with a pre-NAG report having been drafted and the scoring meeting under way.

Orissa (India)
The Centre for Youth and Sustainable Development is steadily implementing the CSI in Orissa. The primary research has been completed and the project is now nearing finalisation.

Serbia
The country report is near finalisation and will be published in the near future.

Sierra Leone
The CSI is being implemented by the Campaign for Good Governance who was recently selected to implement the project. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with the World Bank-administered Trust Fund for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development. Most research activities have been completed and the partner is currently drafting the country report.

Taiwan
The Centre for International NGO Studies at the Sun-yat-Sen University is the implementing agency for the CSI-SAT in Taiwan. The scoring meeting was organised in May 2005. The final country report was published on www.civicus.org.

Turkey
The country report has been finalised and will be published after its launching at a press conference in mid December 2006.

Uganda
The project activities were undertaken by DENIVA, the project partner for the CSI in Uganda.The NAG scoring meeting was carried out in March 2006 and the country report was published in September 2006.

Uruguay
Both Spanish and English language versions of the country report have been published.

Vietnam
The Vietnam Institute for Development Studies was the implementing agency for the CSI-SAT with close support from UNDP and SNV. The collection of secondary sources was completed and the project team has published the final country report (see www.civicus.org).

*“Project completed” means that the Country Report as well as the evaluation have been completed.

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