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Recommendations: 1) The Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs and MPs should revise the definition of explicitly political organizations (for example, wings of political parties or lobbying firms) that would be excluded under the Non-Profit Bill. 2) CSOs should present a revised version of the Non-Profit Bill and pursue legal remedies if the revised provision is not adopted or is improperly implemented. Finding 2.2. The Proposed Anti-Corruption Law only provides for disclosure of the total sum of assets and income for senior officials, undermining CSO capacity to track corruption. Recommendations: 1) The MoJHA and MPs should revise the wording of the bill to stipulate that individual officials disclose asset and income declarations to strengthen the mechanisms for tracking corruption. 2) As proposed in the GoM document, To Intensity: The Implementation of the National Program to Combat Corruption, implementation of the law should include a provision for media training. Media-related CSOs could offer technical support, along with INGOs and donor agencies, which could also provide initial financial support. Finding 2.3. Mongolian CSOs have limited and precarious access to financial resources owing to several factors. These include the lack of GoM tenders, limited philanthropic donations, and the creation of CSOs specifically to attract donor funding. Recommendations: 1) Public officials and CSOs should seek technical support from the international community to reform the tax code affecting CSOs, particularly the absence of tax breaks for philanthropic donations. 2) The GoM should expand the number and amount of tenders available to CSOs and other private enterprises, based on a competitive system, to increase the capacity and efficiency of service delivery 3) CSOs should eschew “mission creep,” to lure donor funding. This detracts from their core mission and may undermine their reputation and that of civil society in general. Instead, their energies should be directed toward lobbying for greater access to GoM tenders, competitive donor funding, and the development of autonomous resources (membership fees or donations), as pursued by the Ongi River Movement (see annex 3). 4) Donors should consider longer term commitments and the need to finance institutional and administrative costs, while bearing in mind the origins, purpose, and sustainability of the CSOs they fund. Finding 2.4. The capacity and effectiveness of CSO involvement in social accountability is adversely affected by CSO concentration in UB, the lack of CSO umbrella organizations, and the existence of de facto nongovernmental individuals. Recommendation: Donors should provide technical and financial support to expand current CSO efforts at institutionalization while targeting programs that assist in the creation and development of communitybased organizations (CBOs) and CSO branches outside of UB. They should also promote CSO umbrella organizations that may be more efficient and effective at social accountability. Finding 2.5. Two of the greatest obstacles to effective civic engagement/social accountability are a dearth of CSOs explicitly working in this area and a lack of public understanding of the importance of their accountability initiatives 17
Recommendations: Stakeholders should strive to inform and educate Mongolians about their rights to and opportunities for civic engagement with public officials, the importance of civic engagement, and the role of CSOs in promoting social accountability. The range of possibilities is broad. Some options include: 1) Public officials, monitored by CSOs and the media, should implement laws that promote direct citizen engagement. Focus should be on key sectors such as education, given its important role in economic and social development. The GoM, for example, should ensure that citizens are fully aware of their right to participate in school councils. GoM should ensure that citizens are informed about elections, meetings, and agendas as well as the importance of active civic participation (see annex 4, Finding 2). Moreover, training and awareness-raising activities should be promoted, such as seminars for parents who are newly appointed to a school council. 2) Stakeholders should collaborate to develop civic education programs to inform citizens of their rights to civic engagement and the key role of CSOs in social accountability initiatives. Activities may include: public service announcements and community theater projects for adults as well as innovative educational initiatives for youth (see related recommendation under Finding 3.2.1). 3) Given the importance of CSO-media relations, CSOs should redouble their efforts to develop strong relations with various media outlets and individual journalists. Sound media relations would ensure publicity of civic engagement/social accountability activities, as suggested by the example of the Ongi River Movement (see Finding ORM 5). CSOs should also enhance both outreach and accountability to instruct their constituents about their important roles and activities in social accountability. 4) The donor community should provide greater support to better publicize the CSO mandate and agenda. Donors should help CSOs and GoM build capacity and expertise in civic engagement and social accountability. For example, they may target activities that provide public officials and community leaders with a comparative perspective on the role of school boards in other democratic countries.
Page 2 and 3: Report No. 32584-MN The Enabling En
Page 4 and 5: Table of Contents Acronyms ........
Page 6 and 7: Boxes: Box 2.1.1 Proposed Changes t
Page 8 and 9: Preface This study on “The Enabli
Page 10 and 11: of civic engagement, namely, the ab
Page 12 and 13: Part I. Introduction 1.1 DEFINITION
Page 14 and 15: further and recognizes other types
Page 16 and 17: as resources. 13 The quantitative c
Page 18 and 19: parliamentary elections demonstrate
Page 20 and 21: As figure 2.1.2 clearly illustrates
Page 22 and 23: The Constitution also guarantees th
Page 24 and 25: ise of mass pro-democracy movements
Page 26 and 27: preferences of funders. This has le
Page 30 and 31: PART III - Assessment of the Enabli
Page 32 and 33: and operations, or demand elections
Page 34 and 35: conferences and workshops, to more
Page 36 and 37: Capacity Building Program,” indep
Page 38 and 39: Efforts to transform the state broa
Page 40 and 41: 2) Given the culture and norms that
Page 42 and 43: Figure 3.3.1 Frequency of CSO Reque
Page 44 and 45: Box 3.3.1 Women for Social Progress
Page 46 and 47: These bureaucratic delays highlight
Page 48 and 49: Other ways for CSOs to generate alt
Page 50 and 51: development initiatives become more
Page 52 and 53: Box 3.4.1 The Community Scorecard:
Page 54 and 55: Negotiation also ensures that legis
Page 56 and 57: Although the Environmental Impact A
Page 58 and 59: Part IV—Conclusion This study on
Page 60 and 61: 4.2 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMME
Page 72 and 73: Currently, the NCAV works in six se
Page 74 and 75: Mongolian Federation of Senior Citi
Page 76 and 77: are reluctant to assume full respon
Page 78 and 79:
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: NATIO
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WSP-UV’s coordinator remains in c
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program officer, the methodology us
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critical role in promoting social a
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Annex 3: Social Accountability and
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khural chairs who served on the ORM
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is inadequate. Part of the problem
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plans, but there was no follow-up a
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Recommendation: Effective CSO colla
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wide mandate to manage and monitor
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Ulaanbaatar, asking them to identif
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Moreover, after a World Bank Superv
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Annex 5. Mongolian Media: Overview
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they would be unlikely to do so. CR
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discussion below), the director of
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Social and cultural considerations
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Findings and Recommendations: Mongo
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Annex 6. Survey of Civil Society Or
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How frequently has your organizatio
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Computer 95% up to 40 computers, 21
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No response 1% BB1. If you have req
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KK. Over the last year, how frequen
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C. What are the most important soci
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L. How much influence do citizens h
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U. Are most civil society organizat
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Annex 8. Stakeholders’ Map CSO NA
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CSO NAME Gandan Monastery Gandantse
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CSO NAME Liberal Women’s Brain Po
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CSO NAME Mongolian Information Netw
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CSO NAME Ongi River Movement (ORM)
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CSO NAME Press Institute Red Cross
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CSO NAME Women For Social Progress,
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AFFILIATION State Great Khural (Par
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AFFILIATION Mineral Resource and Pe
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AFFILIATION National Legal Center (
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AFFILIATION Mongolian Radio and TV
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AFFILIATION UNDP UNICEF CONTACT ANN
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AFFILIATION Mercy Corps CONTACT ANN
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Bibliography Ackerman, John M. 2004
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Finch, Christopher. 2002. “Mongol
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---. 2004. Rural Government Procure
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National University of Mongolia. 20
Page 162 and 163:
UNDP. 2001. A Strategy for Poverty
Page 164:
Zorig Foundation. 2004. “Monitori
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