Over the last months, work on the CSI focused on refining the project redesign proposal. Most of the work revolved around fine-tuning the 'qualitative scenarios' for the scoring and on developing the main research methods (focus groups, community sample). Input from members of the re-design group proved to be very helpful in spotting specific weaknesses in the conceptual framework and suggesting means to strengthen the methodology. The redesign proposal will be finalised over the coming weeks and will form the basis of a toolkit for CIVICUS’ national partners who will implement the CSI at country level in 2003/4. CIVICUS will issue a request for statement of interest to become a national partner in the CSI over the coming weeks.

The pilot phase of the CSI revealed the many potential users of the CSI, ranging from local civil society support organisations to governments and universities. A further group of interested users are bi-lateral donors. Over the past years, these donors have been struggling with the task of mapping civil society in order to be able to develop specific civil society enhancement initiatives. Here, the CSI provides a unique tool for a locally- driven, yet comparative and comprehensive, assessment of the state of civil society.

The Canadian International Development Agency, the Swedish International Development Agency as well as the World Bank have indicated strong interest in using and supporting the CSI. CIDA approved a grant of CDN $200,000 and SIDA a grant of approximately USD $240,000 for the next phase of the CSI. The CSI team was invited to present the project at a Brown Bag Lunch at the World Bank on October 29 and received very positive feedback, which led to further discussions on potential co- operation between the World Bank and CIVICUS on the CSI.

In Indonesia and Wales, the CSI has been implemented over the last months. In Indonesia, a series of 6 regional, three-day workshops has been conducted by the CSO support organisation YAPPIKA, bringing together about 360 civil society stakeholders from a wide spectrum of civil society organisations as well as government, political parties and the media. A special booklet on the CSI methodology was published by YAPIKKA to facilitate the workshops.

The implementation in Indonesia was very successful in terms of

• sharing experiences - bringing together civil society members that are not used to
• working together to discuss crucial issues
• expanding networks among participants
• learning new methods to assess and reflect upon the state of civil society
• developing some level of common platform on main strategies to address the weaknesses of civil society

A national workshop to present and discuss the findings will be held in December. In Wales, the project team recently published a country report on the CSI, which will form an important basis for the annual conference of the Wales Council for Voluntary Action in early November. The country report will soon be posted on the CIVICUS website.

Lastly, please note the change in contact details. CIVICUS has recently moved into its permanent premises in Newtown, a vibrant and rapidly developing neighbourhood in downtown Johannesburg:

CIVICUS Civil Society Index
CIVICUS House
PO Box 933
Southdale, 2135
South Africa
Tel: +27 11 833 5959
Fax: +27 11 833 7997

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or comments.

Best wishes,

Finn