Transparent resources donated to civil associations, advises the OECD

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) suggested Mexico to consider the collection and proactive dissemination of open and reusable data related to the performance of civil society organizations (OSC), also known as civil associations (AC).

In the document Strengthening civic space in Latin America and the Caribbeanthe agency stated that governments can develop a more strategic approach to support civil society, for example, improving data collection on government funds assigned to AC.

In addition, governments can collaborate with foreign financiers to guarantee the transparency of the work carried out with these financial support.

Ideally, these data include the financing of different ministries and state institutions, broken down by OSC receiving, the financing modalities, the type of support and the focus areais mentioned in the text.

The OECD added that digital tools can help improve transparency and accountability, allowing better funds and project results through open data, display tools and predefined portals.

In general, the digital transformation empowers both governments and OSCs to collaborate more effectively towards common goalsthe organism commented.

He stressed that the collection of consolidated data on the modalities and the duration of government financing of OSC remains a challenge for many countries.

Missing exhaustive data on government financing, including the deadlines to which it is granted, in part because public resources for OSC come from a wide range of sources, which involve various ministries, budgetary sources and both local and regional governmentshe detailed.

He stated that the absence of an overview in many countries, including those that generously contribute to the OSC sector, hinders the monitoring of financing trends.

The OECD suggested to Mexico to collect and disseminate the performance of the OSC, although in 2018 the country created the Commission for the Promotion of Civil Society Organizations, with the purpose of facilitating coordination in design, implementation, monitoring and promotion of OSCs.

The agency commented that at the site of that commission on the Internet – which is currently in maintenance – citizens can have access to information about the OSC and their activities.