Romania

The Civil Society Index was first implemented in Romania in 2001 by the Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF), leading to a first report. From 2003 to 2005, the Civil Society Index was implemented again by the Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF), with the international coordination of CIVICUS. This implementation led to the publication of an analytical country report, presenting the results of the CSI initiative in the country.

Dialogue for Civil Society: a report on the state of civil society in Romania

Over that period, the report provides a rich description of the current state of Romanian civil society, which has clearly matured over the last few years.

However, the CSI study also confirmed many well-known weaknesses of post-Communist civil societies, such as low levels of citizen participation, weak societal trust and a lack of cooperation among civil society actors. According to participants, the broad scope of the project, which consciously sought to go beyond NGOs and include trade unions, professional associations and other civil society actors, proved to be both challenging and rewarding. As the authors of the report conclude:

“It is hoped that the participatory and knowledge-based nature of the CSI project has laid the groundwork for civil society and other stakeholders to act upon the goals set forth in this report: to strengthen Romanian civil society and make it more sustainable.”

CSI Country Reports in Romania