Russia to Introduce  Registry of Government-Funded CSOs

Russia to Introduce  Registry of Government-Funded CSOs

The register will also include information on any misuses of these funds.

 

05.06.23

 

All socially oriented civil society organizations (CSOs or SONGOs) that have ever received funding from federal, regional, or local government budgets — alongside any violations in the use of these funds — are planned to be included in the special register, as reported by Izvestia.

 

The Ministry of Economic Development has developed a draft law to “increase transparency” in the sector. They expect the register to be ready by 2025, compiling data from 1,500 data sources.

 

The unified database “will allow government authorities, citizens, and organisations to have real-time access to exhaustive information about the support provided,” according to Svyatoslav Sorokin, director of the Department of Social Sphere Development and the NGO Sector at the Ministry of Economic Development.

 

“We will be able to see where CSOs received funding, how they managed the projects, and how trustworthy they are. This means that we can assess the organisation’s credibility, their capacity to design and implement projects, as well as their accountability,” said Elena Topoleva, head of the Commission for Non-Profit Sector Development and Support of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation.

 

These amendments will also combat corruption, according to Irinia Mersiyanova, director of the Centre for Civil Society and Non-Profit Sector Studies at the Higher School of Economics. For example, citizens will be able to see which CSOs receive support from government budgets on a non-competitive basis.

 

As a result, Mersiyanova expects that CSOs will have to take a more responsible approach to their obligations. “In addition, the register will prevent fundraisers from maintaining an image of “poor orphans.” It will be visible that in reality, for example, they have received a grant for 10 million roubles and another for 15 million.”

 

Link: https://www.asi.org.ru/news/2023/06/05/v-rossii-poyavitsya-reestr-nko-poluchavshih-finansirovanie-ot-gosudarstva/

 

Translated by: Spencer Michaels

 

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