KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography

to focus on donors’ priorities, which is not always conducive to finding effective solutions
to the country’s social problems.
The third trend is that, for many NGOs, the gradual winding down of foreign
donors’ involvement, obvious in recent years, has resulted in a reduction or a complete
termination of activities. Even financially successful organizations now face greater
demands on their human resources, which brings about various negative consequences
in human resource management.
The fourth trend is that many NGOs in Kyrgyzstan now accept the need to improve
their members’ professionalism and to build their capacities in the administrative,
programming, and financial spheres. This issue, among others, was widely discussed at
the National NGO Forum in July 2007.
One of the organizations that first advanced the idea of increasing NGO
professionalism and sustainability by meeting the standards of strong, professional
non-profits was the Association of Civil Society Support Centers. This was successful in
implementing an organizational audit project, demonstrating that, in Kyrgyzstan, many
NGOs not only consider the expansion of their organizational and leadership capacities,
but actively pursue this goal.
In the current stage in the development of Kyrgyzstan’s non-profit organizations,
requirements for the professionalism and competence of NGO staff members increase
as these organizations move from being funded solely by donors toward becoming
financially diversified, independent NGOs. Another clear change is the transition from
enthusiasm-based activities (informal groups of like-minded individuals) to the funding
of long-term projects that implement project monitoring and impact assessment.
Some NGOs in Kyrgyzstan seek to improve leadership quality through leadership
support initiatives.
• For example, for several years the ACSSC has worked closely with the Academy
of Management under the President of Kyrgyzstan, which focuses on improving
the professionalism of NGO leaders and providing them with academic training.
This is crucial to the emergence of a new generation of professional leaders in nonprofit
organizations. ACSSC members teach courses in non-profit management,
project and program management, fundraising and financial sustainability.
• The Interbilim International Center now implements a “School of Leadership”,
designed to shape a new generation of leaders in Kyrgyzstan. This generation
would be democracy-oriented and have such leadership qualities as political
decision-making skills, the ability to lobby the interests of one’s organization
and specific target groups, a proactive approach, and the ability to convince and
motivate others by appealing to the intellect and/or to emotions. One of the
project’s objectives is to offer leadership training to 65-70 professionals from
government institutions, businesses, civil society, and to young people who
show strong leadership potential.
However, the challenges of nurturing professional NGO leaders, and ensuring that
the turnover of leaders in Kyrgyzstan’s NGOs does not affect organizational efficiency,
remain high on the agenda. The future of the sector depends on how successfully this
challenge is met.
Recommendations
To create an environment conducive to the emergence of a new generation of NGO
leaders, it is necessary to do the following:
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