THE SASAKAWA PEACE FOUNDATION

Civil Society Legitimacy, Transparency and Accountability

16,200,000 yen [Grant Project]
The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University (HCNO) (USA)

NPOs specializing in policy proposal activities have been playing active roles in policy making processes, but the legitimacy of NPOs has also been becoming an issue. The results of a past project, ”Toward a Normative Theory of Accountability for Civil Society Organizations” show that the raisons d'etre and activities of NPOs will be accepted by society if the NPOs ensure transparency and accountability. This project aims to identify effective methods for improving accountability and public acceptance by utilizing the results of past projects.

Activities for the third year are as follows.

Guidance
HCNO will organize sessions at NPO-related world conferences, such as the World Social Forum, to discuss legitimacy and related subjects. Follow-up meetings will also held at the 6th CIVICUs World Assembly in Glasgow in June, 2006.
Preparation and dissemination of a final report
A final report will be prepared and shared among researchers and practitioners by release on the websites of CIVICUS and the Hauser Center.

(Final year of a 3-year project)