powered by the Center for the Study of Democracy
The Research Center for Civil Society is a flagship program of the Center for the Study of Democracy – an accredited center for excellence of Babes-Bolyai University – funded by our strategic funding partner, the Romanian-American Foundation (RAF).
Our mission is to empower civil society organizations (CSOs) to use reliable data to inform their strategies and programs to tackle pressing societal challenges. Developed in response to the sector’s needs, the Center aims to serve civil society and to provide organizations with the skills and tools necessary to collect and use relevant, reliable data in their everyday practice and enhance their impact.
To achieve this, we support civil society organizations in building their capacity to collect, analyze, and interpret data and increasing their ability to measure and manage their impact.
INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
We develop interdisciplinary research, combining perspectives to build stronger, more comprehensive insights to address pressing societal challenges.
More specifically, we conduct applied and fundamental research to map and better understand the Romanian CSO sector and support the CSOs in understanding their intervention areas and their beneficiaries.
STRENGTHENING CSO CAPACITY
We support CSOs in enhancing their data literacy, strengthening their impact measurement capabilities, improving management practices, increasing organizational capacity in data collection, analysis, and interpretation, and boosting overall effectiveness through tailored training and consultancy.
More specifically, we develop courses and expert training to boost impact measurement and management (IMM) skills and overall data/research literacy in the civil society sector.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
We bridge the gap between academia and civil society, bringing research-based knowledge closer to practice and providing specialized research services and consultancy tailored to the needs and budgets of CSOs and other key stakeholders.
More specifically, we bring evidence-based knowledge into the practice of civil society and philanthropy to enhance effectiveness and impact while working with CSOs to gather data and build localized knowledge. Our community engagement efforts bring academia closer to practice to support the sector in tackling systemic challenges but also bring CSOs closer to academia to put to good use the expertise of academics and universities.
Each year, we offer two competitive research fellowships ($1500), to early-career researchers who are considering an academic career in the field of civil society to contribute to the Center’s research projects.
The aim of the program is to:
- expand the pool of scholars working on the research projects that benefit civil society,
- increase the visibility of civil society:
a. within academia (to amplify the interest of scholars toward research topics relevant to the Center and the Sector)
b. among undergraduate and graduate students (to boost the image of the sector, and to establish the civil society sector as an attractive career path
c. the general public (to boost the image and the trust in the sector).
Address
Str. Haiducului. nr. 6, 400040, Cluj-Napoca