The 2021Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index for Lithuania draws attention to the polarization of the public image of non-governmental organizations in Lithuania.
USAID and partners FHI 360 and the International Center for Nonprofit Law (ICNL) present the 2021 Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index.
This, the 25th, index, as every year, discusses changes in the non-governmental sector: the legal basis for the activities of organizations, the ability of NGOs to represent the interests of society and its groups and provide services, the organizational capacity of NGOs, financial sustainability, the infrastructure of the sector and public image.
Developments in individual countries are evaluated by national teams of experts, and benchmarking is done by an international commission that analyzes trends in the region and around the world. Index references can be found: https://www.fhi360.org/resource/civil-society-organization-sustainability-index-reports and visual information is available: https://csosi.org/.
In the report of the Eastern and Central European and Eurasian region, Lithuania remains among the countries with the most sustainable NGO sector, and leads in the advocacy dimension. The sustainability of the country’s CSOs remained stable in 2021. A small positive change occurred in the service sector: municipalities showed more interest in transferring services to NGOs, and NGOs expanded the range of services they offer.
In 2021, Lithuanian NGOs continued to work to eliminate the consequences of the pandemic and organized a response to the wave of illegal migration from Belarus. In the same year, there were the Marches of Families that disrupted public order, and NGOs, like society as a whole, became polarized on the issues of vaccination and human rights.
You can read the full Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index for Lithuania 2021 here.