CSO self-regulation: emerging

patterns and trends

Robert Lloyd
One World Trust
Issues to cover

• The benefits of CSO self-regulation

• Overview of the CSO self-regulation project
• Patterns of self-regulation worldwide
• Typology of CSO self-regulatory
• Approaches to ensuring compliance
• Weaknesses and challenges to CSO self-
regulation
What the benefits of CSOs self-
regulation?

• Builds public trust

– Identifies to stakeholders what the sector collectively standards for and provides a basis for
accountability
– Helps weed out rogue CSOs

• Signals quality and professionalism to donors

– Helps organisations stand out in an increasingly competitive and crowded field

• Protects the political space for CSOs to operate

– Allows the sector to define what it means by accountability rather than have others defined it for
them
– Increases the leverage of the sector vis-a-vis government by enabling it to speak with one voice
and indicate collective efforts

• Facilitates the sharing of good practice and learning on accountability and

quality
Aim and objectives of the CSO
self-regulation project

Aim: Strengthen and protect the credibility and legitimacy of

CSOs as actors in governance and public policy by encouraging
the development and implementation of sector level self-regulation

Objectives:
• Raise awareness of existing self-regulatory initiatives worldwide
• Facilitate the sharing of experiences and learning on self-regulation,
internationally
• Identify and increase understanding of best practice
• Increase understanding of complementarities, overlaps and tensions
between initiatives
Outputs from the CSO self-
regulation project

• Online database of CSO self-regulatory initiatives

• Interactive map indicating levels of CSO self-regulation

worldwide

• Thematic and issue specific briefing papers

• Future plans:
– Toolkit for CSOs on how to develop self-regulatory initiatives with examples
of best practice, compliance mechanisms, institutional structures etc
– Methodology for assessing the implementation / impact of self-regulation on
the sector and individual organisations
How the online database
works

http://www.oneworldtrust.org/c
A picture of CSO self-regulation
worldwide

Levels of CSO self-

regulation worldwide

CSO self-regulation is more widespread

than we previously thought
•Past studies only looked at particular
sectors or regions
343 initiatives identified worldwide
•309 at the national level
•34 at international and regional level
…..and we know there is more out there!

http://www.oneworldtrust.org/cso
CSO self-regulation in
Europe and Central Asia
144 initiatives identified within the
region

Austrian Seal of Quality for

Donations
Ethical Guidelines for North /
South Information in Norway
Le Comite de la Charte –
France
Trademark of Trust – Hungry
Guidestar Netherlands
NCO Coorinates – Russia
Social Actions Commitment to
Quality in the Third Sector –
Spain

http://www.oneworldtrust.org/csoproject/
 CSO self-regulation in
the Americas

85 initiatives identified within the

region, including:

Transparency Standards for NGOs -

Chile
NGOs for Transparency Network -
Colombia
Evaluation of Organisational
Development System - Paraguay
Interaction PVO Standards - USA
Governance & Transparency
Indicators - Mexican Center for
Philanthropy
Code of Ethics of CSOs - Honduras
Letter of Principles Brazilian NGO
Association
http://www.oneworldtrust.org/csoproject/
 CSO self-regulation in
Asia and the Pacific

37 initiatives identified within the region,

including:
NPO Certification - Pakistan
PCNC NGO certification
-Philippines
GuideStar Korea
10 Point Accountability Agenda –
Bangladesh
Credibility Alliance Norms and
Good Standards– India
ACFID Code of Conduct –
Australia
NGO Good Practice Project
Certification System – Cambodia

http://www.oneworldtrust.org/csoproject/
CSO self-regulation in the
Africa and the Middle East

43 initiatives identified within the

region, including:

Palestinian NGO Code of Conduct

NGO Quality Assurance Mechanism - Uganda
GuideStar Israel
NGO Code of Ethics Self-Assessment Program
- Tanzania
Greater Good South Africa
Code of Conduct for NGOs in Nigeria
Database of Malian CSOs
Ghana CSO/NGO Standards for Excellence
Project

http://www.oneworldtrust.org/csoproject/
 Types of CSO self-regulation
Formalised structure

Third party
certification
Codes of conduct /
ethics
Peer
certification
Information services
Working groups

Awards schemes
Self
certification
Light Heavy
compliance compliance

Informal structure
 Approaches to compliance

Monitoring mechanism Sanctioning mechanism

Proactive Self assessment •Desk Recommendations for corrective

assessment action (confidential)
Peer assessment •Field Recommendations for corrective

Strength
assessment action (made public)
•Both
Third party assessment Financial penalty
Reactive Complaints procedures Membership suspension /
Removal from initiative
Benefits and challenges of different monitoring mechanisms
Type Benefits Challenges
Self-assessment • Encourages ownership of the assessment • Ensuring that organisations are truthful
process about themselves
• Less costly than peer and third party • Integrity of assessment may be questioned
assessments. by external stakeholders

Peer-assessment • More independent process than self- • Members may be reluctant to criticise their
assessment peers
• Encourages organisations to share their • Assessing organisations need to be willing
experiences and learning with each other to commit the necessary time and
resources
• Requires strong foundation of trust
between organisations.
• Assessment is only meaningful between
similar organisations

Third-party assessment • Greater credibility from an independent
assessment
• External assessment can identify issues
that are difficult for those internal to an
organisation to see
• The process of assessment can be costly
• Being granted a certificate can lull an
organisation into a false sense of security

Complaints procedure • Relatively low cost to set up and run • Only reveals cases of non-compliance
when reported
• Public/stakeholders need to be aware of
complaints procedure
Benefits and challenges of different sanctioning mechanisms
Type Benefits Challenges
Confidential • Allows member to rectify • Members may ignore
recommendation mistakes, build on learning recommendations
s process
Recommendations • Encourages members to act on • May undermine public confidence
made and recommendations by creating in the sector
disclosed public pressure
publicly
Financial penalty • Acts as a strong deterrent to • Will only be effective if penalty
non-compliance cost exceeds benefits of free-
riding
Membership • Acts as a deterrent to free riding • Seen as too extreme by member
suspension / • Removes poor performing organisations
expulsion members from initiative

Expulsion publicised • Demonstrates stringency of the • May undermine public confidence

initiative to the public in the sector
Diagram 1: Key factors shaping a compliance system

Nature of state – civil society

relations

Level of Public Level of trust &

trust in the CSO CSO self-regulation collaboration between
sector CSOs

Resources available to the

sector
Have we missed an initiative in your country?
Let us know!

csosr@oneworldtrust.org