Armenia

From 2005 to 2006, the Civil Society Index was implemented in Armenia by the Center for the Development of Civil Society (CDCS), 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.

The Armenian Civil Society in 2005-2006

Over that period, the analysis shows that the structure of civil society in Armenia has a large diversity of CSOs, which allows for the expression of interests of all social groups, including marginalised groups. However, there is minimal interaction and collaboration among the CSOs, resulting in a diffusion of limited resources and thus reduced impact.

The Armenian civil society environment is somewhat enabling with existing institutional frameworks and reforms requested by the European Union that protects citizen rights, activities and CSOs. At the same time, constraints such as lack of support and widespread distrust of the sector hamper its ability to develop and flourish. Thus the civil society impact and values dimensions are least developed, making it difficult for the sector to affect change and influence public policy.

By developing a collective strategy for the country, improving cooperation between the different CS actors and strengthening the capacity of CSOs and civil society networks through transparent and democratic practices, civil society in Armenia can continue to respond to the needs of the people, and affect positive social and political change in the country.

The Armenian Civil Society in 2010

From 2008 to 2010 the CSI has been implemented by Counterpart International and USAID Civic Advocacy Support Programme (CASP). This new implementation phase has currently led to the publication of 5 case studies drawing out and exploring some of the strengths and weaknesses of civil society in each of the dimensions of the CSI diamond.

Impact of Environmental Organisations on Policy Change in Armenia (2010)

The study looks into the lobbying and campaigning that the environmental CSOs do in order to get their issues on the decision makers’ agendas. Armenia CSOs relationship with governmental entities has improved through this lobbying, and government increasingly solicits CSOs input on various policies that have environmental implications. The study found that environmental CSOs have a wide range of partners they work with in Armenia and abroad and this has given them the ability to lobby and campaign for policy change with more support. In order for the CSOs to be more effective, it was found that it was imperative that they use a proactive strategy and not one that is reactive to the policies already implemented.

Status of CSO Accountability in Armenia (2010)

The study looks into the accountability mechanism used by Armenian civil society by conducting interviews with NGOs, youth groups, cultural groups, sports associations and educational groups. The study focused on the accountability that CSOs in Armenia have towards their donors vs. their beneficiaries.

See Lusine Hakobyan (national coordinator for implemenation of CSI at Counterpart International) and Mane Tadevosyan (researcher) discussing the main findings and recommendations of the CSI case study into Armenian civil society organizations’ (CSO) accountability to stakeholders on their YouTube video.

Financial Sustainability of Armenian CSOs (2010)

Throughout the development of Armenia’s civil society sector, non profit organisations have repeatedly been reported to be financially insecure institutions, heavily dependent on foreign donor organisations. A striking departure on such previous findings was however discovered during the current implementation phase of the CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) which showed that 88.5% OF Armenian civil society organisations (CSOs) do have a stable financial resource basis.

See Lusine Hakobyan (national coordinator for implemenation of CSI at Counterpart International) and Mane Tadevosyan (researcher) discussing the main findings and recommendations of the CSI case study into Armenian civil society organizations’ (CSO) financial sustainability on their YouTube video.

Culture of Volunteerism in Armenia (2010)

This publication is a culmination of the research done by Ms. Mane Tadevosyan and Ms Lusine Hakobyan, the national coordinator for the CIVICUS Civil Society Index in Armenia. The booklet outlines the pattern of civic participation in volunteering in Armenia using three main focus areas; the regulatory environment, motivations behind volunteerism and volunteer management practices in an effort to inform policy makers on ways of improving volunteer contributions.

See Lusine Hakobyan (national coordinator for implemenation of CSI at Counterpart International) and Mane Tadevosyan (researcher) discussing the main findings and recommendations of the CSI case study to further encourage volunteering in Armenia on their YouTube video.

Corporate Social Responsibility – A New Framework for Action (2010)

This case study is designed to explore the level of commitment of Armenia’s largest companies to socially responsible behavior and the role of Armenian CSOs in facilitating and enhancing the impact of CSR practices in the business community. The study hypothesizes that examples of socially responsible corporate behavior by large companies in Armenia are rare and that for profit-civil society relations are not used to their full potential in implementation of CSR initiatives in Armenia

CSI Country Reports in Armenia

Keep updated about the on-going projects and activities of Counterpart Armenia on their YouTube channel.