The EEI measures conditions that affect the capacity of citizens (whether individually or collectively) to participate and engage in civil society. CIVICUS includes non-organised forms of civil society as well as civil society organisations in the EEI. The EEI uses the capability approach, which emphasises the underlying conditions that make individuals 'capable' of fulfilling their own goals. Therefore, the EEI does not only measure the governance and policy factors that directly affect civil society, but it also looks at the socio-economic and socio-cultural conditions.
The Enabling Environment Index is the first index that attempts to measure the long-term conditions that affect the potential of citizens to participate in civil society. We hope that the EEI will be used as tool that will generate debate on the space for civil society and raise awareness about the importance of enabling conditions for civil society.
The EEI is made up of 71 secondary statistical data sources. Over 70% of the sources are from the years 2010 and 2011. All the data in the socio-economic and governance dimensions are from 2010 onwards. Data from 2005 to 2011 are used in the socio-cultural dimension because social-cultural trends tend to evolve slowly over time.
The EEI is a global composite index developed using secondary data that seeks to understand the propensity of citizens to participate in civil society. The 71 data points are clustered into 53 indicators. The indicators that are part of the EEI have different units and scales. In order to be incorporated into the EEI, they are re-weighted on a scale of 0-1. These 53 indicators are clustered into 17 sub-dimensions, which are then averaged and sorted into 3 dimensions. The governance dimension is 50% of the final EEI score, while the socio-economic and the socio-cultural dimensions are each 25% of the EEI score.
The EEI covers 109 countries. The number of countries included in the EEI is determined by data availability. Only countries that have scores in at least 14 out of 17 sub-dimensions have been included in the ranking.
No. A key limitation of the EEI is that there is a lack of statistical data on the legal environment for civil society. One lesson we have learned in the course of developing the EEI is the need for gathering in-depth primary data at the country level. CIVICUS acknowledges that there is a significant shortage of research and reporting on civil society and its environment that, on the one hand, is detailed enough to monitor country-specific events and changes in a systematic manner and that, on the other hand, is comprehensive enough to highlight emerging global trends. CIVICUS will be working with partners over the coming years to build such a comparative knowledge base, drawing on a variety of methods that have been used to assess civil society. Please send ideas and suggestions on how we might go about assembling this more comprehensive database to research@civicus.org.