The Civil Society Initiative (CSI), established in 2017, enriches development thinking by bringing to the foreground the importance of associational life in the well-being of communities and society and civil society organizations as drivers of efforts to give people a voice on policy and governance. CSI aims to foster a more enabling policy and administrative environment for civil society's development, including measures that unlock the potential of philanthropy and private giving to support activities for public benefit. It also focuses on building the organizational capacity of a wide range of civil society groups and broader public awareness of their essential contribution to society.
The University of Central Asia’s (UCA) Civil Society Initiative (CSI), with extensive outreach across the region – both rural and urban, aims to facilitate learning networks around key themes of good governance, health, education, rule of law and the environment. CSI is a first step towards the possible establishment of an Institute for Civil Society at UCA, whose mission would be to foster a more enabling policy and administrative environment for civil society in Central Asia and assist the development of a broad spectrum of civil society actors. CSI is currently working on the following projects:
