CSO Center Initiative

CCC is the pre-eminent membership based organization of the non-government sector in Cambodia. Since 1990, CCC has taken a leading role in representing the voice of NGOs to the government and donor community.

CCC effectively represents the professional interests of NGOs across diverse sectors which make us unique. Our reputation for high quality information management, information sharing and capacity development is widely acclaimed and highly valued by many stakeholders throughout Cambodia.

CCC is facing with the issue of having no permanent and owned office and is depending on external funding for its continued operations. Thus, it embarks on a plan to acquire its own property thereby promoting solidarity and effectiveness in the use of its resources as well as promoting income generation via its facilities and resources. The plan is to move towards zero dependence from external funding and towards effectively setting up its trust fund.

Overall, CCC plans to implement the project CSO Center for Sustainable Development which aims to:

• construct a center with 3 buildings for 3 different functions (Offices, functions, services) on a 3-hectar of land with a USD 3.5million budget
• duplicate the centers in other regional places, and
• engage CCC’s 3 groups/committees (Monitoring & Evaluation, media, and purchasing/logistics) to offer professional services to its members.

Global development paradigm has shifted from business as usual to effective and sustainable development. Development is about the real impact it has on the well-being of all people, particularly poor and disadvantaged individuals, many of whom are women,” and “not just about providing more financial resources and technical know-how for poor countries. Indeed, [development cooperation] should aim to eliminate the structural bases of underdevelopment that foster dependency on foreign aid, foreign capital and technologies and external markets."

Development effectiveness requires all actors to manage and use their resources including financial, human resources and in kinds in efficient and effective manner. CSOs have been using their resources to maximize benefits for the poor Cambodian as their target beneficiaries. However, there is a need to look at a better way to manage and use their resources which truly contribute to effective use of aid and to sustainable development.

The report of the rapid assessment conducted among member NGOs indicated that these organizations have spent a relatively big amount per year for their operations cost in which a big percentage goes for office rentals, the rest goes for security, communications, meetings/workshops/conference facilities.

One of the approaches needs to compassionately and collectively invest is to cut operations costs within the NGO community. The operations cost here refer to office rental, administration cost, utility, security, communications, facilities for meetings/workshops/conferences, etc.

If NGOs working together in one compound, they will just use only one year total operations costs for building a center for their office renting and facilities for meeting/workshops/conferences. The center will be physically served not just for the building for office and meeting/workshops/conferences, but it can be expanded as a place for capacity development and learning, a library for research and development, a nursing/day care center for the earlier children of staff members, a catering with healthy food, a center for community sustainable development, and a place for promoting environmental friendly working. Most importantly, the center will be a symbol of solidarity, a symbol of peace and harmonization, and a symbol of sustainable growth and effective development which can be treated as a good legacy for young and next generations.

CSO Fund

Generally, Cambodia CSOs are more dependent on sources of funding from international community. Since 2015, funding for CSOs have been dradually deteriorated, whilst Official Development Assistant (ODA) has been decreased about 14 percent. Many donors and some international NGOs are shifting and prioritizing their support away from Cambodia since the country’s increased economic growth, decreasing poverty levels, and moving towards to low middle-income status.

CCC has designed its five-year Governance Hub Program (GHP) 2017-2021 in a way that civil society sector could be exposed to the fund raising and financial sustainability initiatives such as CSO Trust Fund, capacity development on resource mobilization, etc. Thus, the GHP actions do not only benefit CCC itself but the whole sector and the whole areas of development.

Currently, CCC is implementing a project on “Strengthening civil society for democratic and sustainable development in Cambodia” which is jointly financed by the European Union (EU) and the Bread for the World (BfdW) for the period of 42 months, starting from 01 April 2017.

This project will also provide opportunity for those who engaged in the actions, especially the provincial NGO networks, to get access to the sub-grant.

CCC expects that CSO sources of funding will be documented properly and developed into resources mapping for CSOs, have clear mechanism and system developed that can be used to generate and manage civil society fund (CSF) in response to development trend, SDGs in more effective and sustainable way, and the list of strategic recommendations for resource mobilization is suggested and mobilized for resource contribution.