Bangladesh’s CSO sustainability index drops for 5th year in a row
Covid-19 pandemic heavily impacted funding and service delivery, despite online operations
BRAC Urban Development Programme (UDP) distributes essential food package on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 Courtesy
Tribune Desk
Publish : 17 Dec 2021, 07:27 PMUpdate : 05 Jan 2022, 10:19 AM
The Sustainability Index of Civil Society Organizations (CSOSI) in Bangladesh dropped slightly for the fifth consecutive year in 2020, reaching a score of 4.0.
The country had registered a CSOSI of 3.5 in 2015, with lower numbers indicating more robust CSO sustainability.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) developed the index and has been producing the reports since 1997. The CSOSI measures civil society sectors' strength and overall viability based on seven dimensions: legal environment, organizational capacity, financial viability, advocacy, service provision, infrastructure, and public image.
Each of the indicators are given a score from 1-7. Scores from 1.0-3.0 are categorized as Sustainability Enhanced, 3.1-5.0 as Sustainability Evolving, and 3.1 to 5.0 as Sustainability Impeded.
An expert panel suggests the scores for each country based on publicly available information and data. A US-based editorial committee finalizes the score and produces the report.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and other elements led to negative growth in six out of the seven dimensions in Bangladesh in 2020, according to the report summary for the country.
Bangladesh CSO legal environment declined slightly to 4.9 in 2020, from 4.8 in 2019. In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic, the decline was attributed to lengthy registration and renewal processes, bureaucratic hassles, government surveillance, the Digital Security Act (DSA) which criminalizes expressions, attempts to monitor TV channels, and a lack of clear guidelines in the Foreign Donations Regulations Act (FDRA) law.
The organizational capacity dimension of CSOs remained unchanged in 2020 and stayed at 3.3. Despite the closure of offices and activities for the pandemic, large CSOs continued to operate online and through the use of sophisticated information technology.
However, small and new CSOs continued to struggle in implementing their regular activities.
Financial viability reduced from 4.5 to 4.6 in 2020. Funding declined as many government and foreign allocations shifted from traditional sectors to Covid-19 response, relief, and the Rohingya crisis.
Advocacy declined to 3.9 in 2020 from 3.8 the previous year due to Covid-19 restrictions. Opportunities for participation and advocacy in the government’s decision-making process have also been reduced, the report said.
CSOs and activists continued to demand the repeal of the vague sections of the DSA in 2020 through protests, virtual events, and social media, despite restrictions on movement and gatherings, it added.
Service provision score also declined from 3.3 to 3.4 as CSO’s activities were curtailed in 2020 due to the shifting of funds to the Covid-19 response and the Rohingya crisis.
The sectoral infrastructure score declined from 3.6 to 3.7, due to pandemic related closures of spaces for training, workshops, and conferences.
The public image of CSOs in the country dropped from 3.9 to 4.0 in 2020, as CSOs could not immediately respond to emergency needs, the report said.
Bangladesh was first included in the index in 2014. In 2020, the index included 73 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
The other Asian countries included in the 2020 report were Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. The index of all of the countries worsened from 2019, with the exception of Indonesia, Nepal and Timor-Leste, where it remained constant.
Bangladesh’s CSO sustainability index drops for 5th year in a row
The Sustainability Index of Civil Society Organizations (CSOSI) in Bangladesh dropped slightly for the fifth consecutive year in 2020, reaching a score of 4.0.
The country had registered a CSOSI of 3.5 in 2015, with lower numbers indicating more robust CSO sustainability.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) developed the index and has been producing the reports since 1997. The CSOSI measures civil society sectors' strength and overall viability based on seven dimensions: legal environment, organizational capacity, financial viability, advocacy, service provision, infrastructure, and public image.
Each of the indicators are given a score from 1-7. Scores from 1.0-3.0 are categorized as Sustainability Enhanced, 3.1-5.0 as Sustainability Evolving, and 3.1 to 5.0 as Sustainability Impeded.
An expert panel suggests the scores for each country based on publicly available information and data. A US-based editorial committee finalizes the score and produces the report.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and other elements led to negative growth in six out of the seven dimensions in Bangladesh in 2020, according to the report summary for the country.
Bangladesh CSO legal environment declined slightly to 4.9 in 2020, from 4.8 in 2019. In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic, the decline was attributed to lengthy registration and renewal processes, bureaucratic hassles, government surveillance, the Digital Security Act (DSA) which criminalizes expressions, attempts to monitor TV channels, and a lack of clear guidelines in the Foreign Donations Regulations Act (FDRA) law.
The organizational capacity dimension of CSOs remained unchanged in 2020 and stayed at 3.3. Despite the closure of offices and activities for the pandemic, large CSOs continued to operate online and through the use of sophisticated information technology.
However, small and new CSOs continued to struggle in implementing their regular activities.
Financial viability reduced from 4.5 to 4.6 in 2020. Funding declined as many government and foreign allocations shifted from traditional sectors to Covid-19 response, relief, and the Rohingya crisis.
Advocacy declined to 3.9 in 2020 from 3.8 the previous year due to Covid-19 restrictions. Opportunities for participation and advocacy in the government’s decision-making process have also been reduced, the report said.
CSOs and activists continued to demand the repeal of the vague sections of the DSA in 2020 through protests, virtual events, and social media, despite restrictions on movement and gatherings, it added.
Service provision score also declined from 3.3 to 3.4 as CSO’s activities were curtailed in 2020 due to the shifting of funds to the Covid-19 response and the Rohingya crisis.
The sectoral infrastructure score declined from 3.6 to 3.7, due to pandemic related closures of spaces for training, workshops, and conferences.
The public image of CSOs in the country dropped from 3.9 to 4.0 in 2020, as CSOs could not immediately respond to emergency needs, the report said.
Bangladesh was first included in the index in 2014. In 2020, the index included 73 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
The other Asian countries included in the 2020 report were Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. The index of all of the countries worsened from 2019, with the exception of Indonesia, Nepal and Timor-Leste, where it remained constant.
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