Standing on the First Page of the End of Despair

Transparency in Emerging Syrian Institutions

Hivos-Humanist Institute forCo-operation with DevelopingCountries

www.hivos.org

The Center for Civil Society and Democracy in Syria is an independent Syrian center that seeks to support and strengthen civil society and democracy and promote the values of freedom, justice and coexistence through the analysis of the current situation and developing and implementing solutions.

http://ccsdsyria.org

http://twitter.com/ccsdsyria

https://www.facebook.com/CCSDSYRIA

Principle researcher: Mohammed Aljssem

Field research team: Team of the Center for

Civil Society and Democracy

Translation into English: Walaa Bou Saad

Proofreading and Editing: Josephine Shagwert

Cover design: Sozdar Sido

©

Research supported by:

Copyright 2016, Center for Civil Society and Democracy. All rights reserved.

The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do

not necessarily reflect the position of the Center for Civil Society and Democracy

What would it mean to liveIn a city whose people were changing Each other’s despair into hope? –You yourself must change it. –What would it feel like to knowYour country was changing? –You yourself must change it. –Though life felt arduousNew and unmapped and strangeWhat would it mean to stand on the firstPage of the end of despair?

From “Dreams Before Waking”,by Adrienne Rich, 1983

Table of Contents

Case study: Al-Atareb City under opposition control .....................................27

Third-Field research methodology ..................................................................

Research objectives ....................................................................................... 29

Target group ...............................................................................................30

Research tools ................................................................................................30

Second- The role of CSOs in fighting corruption and promoting

transparency ...................................................................................................22

Preface ...........................................................................................................10

Introduction ...................................................................................................15

Executive Summary ........................................................................................12

First-The reality of corruption in Syria ............................................................18

Fourth-Features of the sample institutions ...................................................

Fifth- Research results .................................................................................. 39

Sixth-Conclusions and Recommendations ...........................................53

33

CCSD and Transparency Program Background ............................................. 7

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CCSD and Transparency Program Background

The Center for Civil Society and Democracy is an independent Syrian NGO whose

mission is to support and strengthen civil society and democracy and promote the

values of freedom, justice and coexistence. The organization was founded in 2011

by a group of Syrian civil society activists with a vision of a long term movement

for peace and democracy in Syria. CCSD now supports a network of over 1,500

individual human rights defenders, peace builders, and democracy activists in Syria

and refugee communities who represent more than 150 civil society groups. Our

trainings and campaigns have reached more than 5,000 Syrians.

CCSD’s work to fight corruption and promote transparency in Syria is rooted in

our theory of change. This theory states, ”Deep peace in Syria, which provides

economic, political and social stability for all members of society requires institutions

that apply good governance with full capabilities. This in turn requires a strong

civil society led by organizations that are aware of the role of public advocacy and

monitoring of institutions.”

CCSD’s theory of change is based on a grassroots approach, and thus this is the

applied strategy of the Transparency Program regarding governmental institutions,

civil society organizations (CSO) and the public, with the belief that the latter plays a

crucial role working on different levels to promote transparency within communities.

CCSD’s Transparency Program was initiated in February 2013 and implemented

the following four tools in order to promote the concepts of transparency and

accountability in Syria:

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Research: Conducting studies of the current reality of transparency in Syrian

institutions, as well as research exploring the reality of public accountability

among Syrians. In addition, conducting case studies about the efficiency of

the program’s interventions with the targeted institutions. The purpose of the

research is to prepare effective interventions and use the conclusions as an

advocacy tool to promote transparency.

Training: Workshops targeting the public and CSOs as well as governmental

institutions in order to introduce them to the concepts of corruption, its

manifestations, methods of fighting it, the importance of transparency and its role

in building good governance as well as the significance of public accountability

and how to practice it.

Awareness raising: Campaigns that mainly target the public, with the

participation of local organizations, in order to activate their role in pursuing

public accountably that will consequently lead to reducing corruption.

Evaluation: Field visits for the purpose of tracking the progress in targeted

institutions and working with them to apply transparency criteria in accordance

to their capacities.

CCSD’s Transparency Program has been working in 10 Syrian provinces. The

third and most recent project worked to complete 90 training workshops for

local councils or governmental institutions as well as 30 CSOs and 30 groups

of individuals through the end of 2015. In 2016, the program is planning to build

a network people who will act as a core body to bring institutions interested in

transparency together and to increase the focus on building institutional structures

that will enhance transparency.

1-Local councils function as the civil administration in areas of Syria that are neither under the control of the Syrian government nor of armed extremist groups. They vary widely in terms of size, capacity and level of transparency.

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This research is one of the activities that the Center for Civil Society and Democracy

is carrying out to promote transparency within Syrian institutions. It aims to

understand the situation of transparency in nascent Syrian institutions, and to know

the strengths and the challenges they come up against in applying transparency

within their own institutions. This will be useful in designing interventions that aim

to promote the level of transparency within emerging Syrian institutions.

Transparency Project Manager,

Omar Al-Rawy

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There is more to Syria than military forces and battles, though this is not

immediately apparent to much of the international community, which currently

seems to be focused on ISIS and the flow of refugees to Europe. Five years of

conflict have seen the growth of vibrant civil society in both regime and opposition

controlled areas. More than ever before in Syrian history, civilians have taken

charge of their own lives, desperately trying to bring order, security, sustenance,

services and shelter to their families, friends and communities. Civic associations,

local councils, human rights and other legal advocates, relief organizations, food,

water and service providers, media outlets, professional societies, and economic

development incubators have grown like topsy in the ruins of the Assad regime,

which was among the most opaque, autocratic and corrupt in the world in 2011

when the uprising in Syria began.

This growth of civil society in wartime Syria is one of the country’s saving graces.

As the authors of this fascinating and path-breaking report put it, despite the

humanitarian disaster Syria is standing on the first page of the end of despair,

because it has generated one of the key elements of a more open and democratic

society. Syrians have been ingenious in inventing the institutions that fill the

vacuum collapse of the dictatorship left behind.

But it is fitting that the Center for Civil Society and Democracy (CCSD), itself a civil

society organization, takes nothing for granted. It wants to know how transparent

nongovernmental organizations in Syria are, both in their internal processes and in

their interactions with their beneficiaries and other institutions. This extensive and

perceptive report based on a survey of 280 civil society organizations—including

local councils that provide de facto governance in many areas—is the result. It is

intended to lay the basis for improvements in the future.

Preface

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Considering the extraordinarily difficult conditions in which they operate, the

results are what I would describe as good, even extremely good. The vast majority

of the organizations surveyed have clear internal structures, bylaws, and boards

of directors. They report on and publicize their work and conduct monitoring and

evaluation. Most document their expenses and consult with stakeholders, though

a bit more consultation with beneficiaries would be a good idea. This performance

would be remarkable and praiseworthy even in more stable environments. With

civilians facing daily bombardment, Syrians have reason to hope that the civil

society they have created will serve them well in the future.

That is, if it survives. The first page of the end of despair could also be the last

page, if the dictatorship wins the war and re-imposes the kind of draconian

and opaque rule it enjoyed before 2011. Military defeat could spell the end of

the burgeoning of Syrian civil society that Americans and Europeans should be

anxious and determined to preserve and nurture. Whatever the military outcome,

people of good will everywhere should be thinking about how to preserve, fertilize

and enhance the extraordinary array of institutions that Syrians have generated.

And international governments and donors in particular will do well to pay attention

to this issue amidst the cacophony of the Syrian people’s very important needs. If

they hope to see a stable and secure Syria in the future, one of the building blocks

will be this nascent web of interconnected civil society groups, whose legitimacy

and sustainability depend upon their transparency and accountability to their

communities.

Professor Daniel Serwer directs the Conflict Management Program at the Johns Hopkins

School of Advanced International Studies. He is also a Scholar at the Middle East Institute.

He tweets @DanielSerwer and blogs at www.peacefare.net

Let’s try to make sure that despair leads to hope, not more despair.

Daniel Serwer

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Transparency is one of the most important tools for stability in communities in

general. The higher the level of transparency, the more the wheel of development

can turn at an accelerated pace, since this involves public monitoring and

accountability, two factors that determine growth and development.

The decline of transparency and the spread of corruption in Syria are two of

the main factors that resulted in a social movement that began by demanding

reform and ended by demanding the overthrow of the ruling power. This makes it

necessary to discuss the issues of transparency and accountability as a culture, as

well as a practice, in order to increase the level of transparency within the Syrian

community.

This research aims to identify the reality of transparency within emerging Syrian

non-governmental institutions, and to draw an image of the related strengths

and weaknesses in order to produce suggestions and recommendations that will

increase the level of transparency within the Syrian institutions that emerged after

the protests in 2011.

This research can be considered exploratory. It collected data on 280 institutions,

23% of which were located outside Syria and 77% of which were in Syria. The

institutions were dealt with in the research regardless of their type, form, geographic

location or focus area(s).

The research employed a short questionnaire as the main data collection tool. The

questions fell into three main categories:

The institutional structures that ensure transparency within the institution.

The relationship between the institution and their beneficiaries.

The relationship between the institution and other institutions.

Executive Summary

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Of the most significant challenges that the field research team came up against

was the precarious security situation, including shelling of civilian areas by the

Syrian government, check points controlled by different armed factions, and

intense clashes on the ground. In addition, the displacement of surveyed groups,

or even field team members, during the questionnaire distribution limited the

team’s ability to access all of the targeted areas, and halted implementation of the

questionnaires in some areas.

The main conclusion of the research is that the level of availability of the institutional

structures that ensure transparency was good overall, with the exception of some

elements. For example, the use of financial reports among the sample group

did not exceed 25%, while the existence of bylaws did not exceed 15% of the

surveyed institutions.

It was found that understanding of the need for a board of directors within the

institutions was weak, as well as the mechanisms of formıng one or its duties

and responsibilities. There was also a weakness in terms of institutions’ internal

transparency in relation to their members and their knowledge of the basic

elements of the institution including the members’ involvement in planning and

decision-making.

As for the relationship with the target audience, there was found to be a weakness

in publicizing the work of the institutions to the public, as well as in understanding

why institutions should publicize their work. The research came up with a set of

recommendations to donor organizations which can play a strong role in promoting

the transparency of their partners, making the criteria of transparency one of the

most important criteria they build into their partnerships.

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Recommendations to the nascent Syrian institutions themselves include the

necessity of focusing on building the institutional structures that contribute to

promoting transparency, and focusing on having and complying with clear internal

policies and procedures. Another recommendation to Syrian institutions is to

include the target audience and partners in the planning process and in evaluating

the work of the organization. Finally, it was recommended that organizations

periodically publicize their projects, activities and financial reports in a clear and

understandable way for everyone.

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Transparency is one of the key tools that helps to ensure the correct course of

development within societies. When transparency is realized at a high level within

the various sectors of a society, it opens the path to opportunities for personal

growth for individuals. It also limits the loss caused by the waste of resources as a

result of corruption and poor planning, which is caused in the first place by a lack

of transparency and accountability. Transparency is the opposite of corruption, and

the higher the level of transparency in a society, the lower the level of corruption,

and thus public indignation, will be.

Corruption is one of the phenomena that occurs in human societies as a whole,

and its spread in societies is one of the most important factors that threaten the

existence of ruling political systems. It puts the social structure under threat of a

state of social instability, as it increases the discontent of individuals toward the

ruling power. One of the main ways it triggers this discontent is by bringing benefits

and gains to influential people at the expense of other members of society.

Corruption is, in its simplest meaning and as defined by Transparency International,

”All actions that involve the misuse of public office for private interest”.

This results in a waste of economic resources, and intensifies social polarization

through the deterioration of equity in income and wealth distribution. This, in turn,

reduces societal efficiency, disrupts development opportunities, and strengthens

the foundations of bad governance through the malignant marriage between

power and wealth. In this situation the goal of governance becomes guaranteeing

the interests of the minority that controls the reins of power and wealth rather

than the public interest. A majority of the society’s members feel marginalized or

excluded, which is a denial of freedom in its broader sense.

2- Transparency International; www.transparency.org.3- The Palestinian Initiative to Deepen International Dialogue and Democracy, Fighting Corruption Is a Basic Demand for Human Development, Jerusalem, 2007, Page 2.

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Introduction

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Corruption is classified in three main categories, namely:

Political corruption: The misuse of political power for personal gain in order to

keep, enhance or enrich either oneself, one’s position or both. The most important

forms of this type of corruption are totalitarian rule; the absence of participation;

lack of accountability; lack of judicial independence; and favoritism in gaining

political positions.

Administrative corruption: The misuse of a public office or power in order to obtain

personal gains illegally. This appears in different forms such as, for example, using

public property for personal purposes, nepotism and favoritism in the employment

process, benefiting from power to gain private interests, etc.

Financial corruption: Overall deviations and violations from the financial rules

and laws of the society. Additionally, violations of the guidelines put in place by the

institutions responsible for financial monitoring. This kind of corruption manifests

in bribery, embezzlement, tax evasion, the allocation of land and the spread of

favoritism and nepotism .

Other types of corruption can be added which appear on the level of governmental

and non-governmental institutions as well as the level of individuals, such as

judicial corruption, economic corruption, social corruption and so on.

The prevalence of corruption is inevitably connected with the nature of the ruling

political system which governs the society. It spreads within authoritarian systems

more than others because of the characteristics embedded in these systems that

protect the ruling parties and those connected with them. These mechanisms

4- UN Development Program, Corruption and Development, New York, 2008, Page 8.5- Administrative corruption, http://www.moqatel.com6- Abduljawad, Fatma, Administrative and Financial Corruption and its Negative Effects on the Iraqi State, General Committee of Tasks, Iraq, http://tax.mof.gov.iq/7- Al-Waelee, Yaser, Administrative Corruption, its Concepts, Reasons, Types, Al-Nabaa Magazine, edition 18, http://annabaa.org/

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6

5

4

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8-Atwan Khodr, The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Fighting Against Corruption, Al-Nahreen University, Baghdad, Page 1.

also protect the ruling parties from being held publicly accountable. Furthermore,

authoritarian systems include and give legitimacy to all the practices that involve

violations against individuals such as the suppression of personal freedom and

independent media, and restricting the flow of information. Under these systems

community issues become connected with national security, and any member

of society who asks for the disclosure of information or for leaders to be held

accountable may be accused of threatening national security.

Democratic systems do not necessarily better prevent corruption, insofar

as “Democracy is not a political system, as much as it is a mechanism and

methodology that involves participation and continuous monitoring in order to

reform the politics and hold it accountable.”

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First-The reality of corruption in Syria

In order to know the current reality of transparency in emerging Syrian civil society

institutions, we have to first begin by describing the general political environment.

This is considered the petri dish for corruption in any society, since we can to

some degree predict the scope and level of corruption within institutions and the

community from the type of ruling political system.

The Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party in Syria came to power on March 8, 1963. From

the beginning it enacted laws and regulations that ensured its continual presence

in power. For example, it passed legislative articles that ensured its status as the

leading party at both the state and the local levels. In addition, it created legal

provisions giving immunity to those in power, including politicians and military

personnel, from any crimes or violations they committed.

“Pursuit of any state security department officers for crimes they commit during their duties assigned to them is not allowed without a formal order issued by their Director.”

Article 16 of the Development of State Security, which was issued by Legislative

Decree Administration Act No. 14, dated January 15, 1969.

The Ba’ath Party in Syria also confiscated and suppressed individual freedoms by

continuing to impose a state of emergency, which has been in effect since 1963.

Under the state of emergency all other political parties and forums were closed,

including all the magazines and newspapers that did not hold the same views as

the Ba’ath Party. In addition, all members of the political opposition were excluded

either by imprisonment, deportation or assassination, beginning with those who

held opposing viewpoints from those held by the Secretary-General of the Ba’ath

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Party. This censure extended to the civil activists associated with opposition

political parties as well as independent civil activists.

In parallel to these suppressive policies, The Syrian Ba’ath Party formed what

was called the National Progressive Front, which included affiliated parties

working under the control of the Ba’ath Party. It also worked to have control over

non-governmental entities, using them to its own advantage and shaping them

in the mold of the government. These included worker, farmer and craftsmen’s

unions. These institutions, who were in favor of the ruling power, took it upon

themselves to mold the thinking of those whose interests they were supposed to

represent, enforcing the thinking of the ruling power. They often played the role of

security officers preventing any movements that may have occurred beyond the

frameworks set in advance by the authority.

The totality of these policies and practices of the Syrian Ba’ath Party strengthened

its power and created a dictatorship deeply rooted in all aspects of society

as well as in the state and its institutions. This generated a pattern of political

corruption, with an authority that held absolute rule without any possibility of

holding it accountable. It was protected by a legal framework, which also resulted

in administrative, financial, legislative and judicial corruption in all of the state

institutions. The corruption also developed a social culture that forced almost all

members of society to adopt a number of coping mechanisms.

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Article IV: The Martial Law Governor or his deputy may issue written orders to impose all or some of the following restrictions and measures, and refer violators to the military courts.

-Restriction of the freedom of people in meeting and accommodation,

mobility or going to specific places or times, and to arrest, as a kind of

precaution, the individual suspected of being dangerous to security and

public order and to allow the investigation of people and places at any time,

and to assign anyone to perform any of the acts.

-Control of messages and intelligence of any kind, and monitoring of

newspapers, publications, files, graphics, radio stations and all means of

expression and advertisement prior to publication, and seizure, confiscation

and/or revocation of their permits and closure of their printing houses.

- Scheduling the opening and closing of public places.

- Withdrawal of weapons, ammunition and explosive materials of different

types, and to order that they be delivered, seized and that weapons stores

be closed.

- Evacuation or isolation of some areas and organization of transportation,

limiting it between different regions.

- Seizure of any property, and imposition of temporary custody of companies

and institutions, and postponement of debt and accrued liabilities, which

are worth what is being seized.

- Identification of penalties for violation of these commands that does not

exceed three years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to three thousand Syrian

pounds, or either of those. If penalties for violation of these provisions are

not identified, they should be punished by imprisonment for no more than

six months and a fine not exceeding five hundred Syrian pounds, or either

of them.

A

B

CD

E

F

G

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Syria is internationally classified as a “non-free country” according to the civil

liberties scale . Its score on the “right of expression and accountability” index is

-1.63.

The table below shows the six indicators of good governance as provided by the

World Bank in 2009. It compares Syria’s actual score in 2009 with the standard

number Syria should achieve in order to be considered a state of good governance.

Table number (1) The indicators of good governance according to the index provided by the World Bank in 2009

Standard Variables Actual

Regulatory quality

Rule of law

Government effectiveness

Voice & Accountability

Political stability

Control of corruption

0.89

3.97

3.08

0.55

2.6

1.51

-1.07

-0.47

-0.61

-1.63

-0.68

-0.96

The image painted above

of the political environment

generated by the ruling

power in Syria explains

the amount of corruption

prevalent in the country.

The lack of accountability,

the protection of violators

by law, the confiscation

of press freedom, and the

restricting of civil liberties

inevitably resulted in high levels of corruption. This was confirmed by Transparency

International, which ranked Syria 127th in the world out of 180 countries for level of

corruption in 2011. They also ranked Syria 15th of all Arabic-speaking countries on

the list of global corruption. The corruption index in Syria rose between 2004 and

2009 from 3.4 to 2.1 degrees (out of 10 degrees).

9- The index from 1 to 7 is used to measure the civil liberties index. 1 is the highest mark and 7 is the lowest mark of liberty. The countries who scored between 1 and 3 as a total average are classified as “free countries”, those who scored between 3 and 5 are classified as “partially free”, and those with scores between 5.5 and 7 are classified as “non-free countries”. Freedom House http://www.arabstats.org

10- Self indicator of governance administration, its elements have been compiled from various sources. It measures the perceptions of the following concepts: free and fair elections, freedom of the press, civil liberties, political rights, the role of the military in politics, change in government, transparency in laws and policies. Estimates range between -2.5 and +2.5 and the higher the value the better. http://www.arabstats.org11- 10 is the highest mark which means the least corrupt. And (1) is lowest mark which means the most corrupt in a system of ten points.

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9 10

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The non-violent protests that started in March 2011 were a public denial of the

authoritarian practices against the people. However, the specific impetus for the

protests were demands for accountability for those who committed violations

against children who were tortured in Dara’a city in one of the state security

branches. The spread of those protests throughout all of Syria’s provinces and

the involvement of a multiplicity of different social categories in them reflects the

common suffering of the Syrian people from corruption.

The Syrian people found themselves in a social revolution not only against the

political dictatorship but also against corruption, which clearly demonstrates the

high level of corruption in the country preceding the uprising, as well as its negative

effects on all members of Syrian society during the reign of the Ba’ath Party.

Second- The role of CSOs in fighting corruption and promoting transparency

According to the World Bank, the definition of civil society is “…the wide array of non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations that have a presence in public life, expressing the interests and values of their members or others, based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, religious or philanthropic considerations…”. Civil society organizations play the role of

defending the rights of individuals, organizing and unifying individual efforts into

collective action in order to achieve their interests. Those organizations carry out

many tasks, some of which are, “…working to achieve democracy within society,

social and political socialization, defending the interests of individuals, mediation

and conciliation, conflict resolution, deepening the affiliation of individuals to their

communities through the maintenance of freedom of expression and achieving the

12- World Bank website, January 20, 2016, http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/CSO/0,,contentMDK:20101499~menuPK:244752~pagePK:220503~piPK:220476~theSitePK:228717,00.html

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13- Shahada, Husam, The Civil Society, Civil Education Series 6. Citizen House, Beirut, pages 27- 28.

goals that they dream to achieve, filling in the gap in the absence of the state and

its withdrawal, and good governance.” In addition, CSOs express the will of the

people, and protect and achieve most of their interests and aspirations.

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The “Damascus Spring” is the name given to the period of intense opposition activism and tentative political liberalization that followed the death of Hafez al-Assad in the year 2000. It was characterized by the establishment of informal political forums whose demands were formally announced first in the “Statement of 99” in September 2000 and then in the “Statement of 1,000” the following January. The former was a petition signed by 99 prominent intellectuals demanding “political and intellectual pluralism” under “rule of law,” The latter statement, signed by 1,000 of Syria’s intelligentsia, was a more insistent demand for a multiparty democracy and the lifting of the 1963 State of Emergency. The movement never called for regime change nor challenged the legitimacy of Bashar al-Assad’s succession to the presidency. Although these declarations were not officially recognized by the regime, the authorities announced a series of reformist measures in the months following Bashar al-Assad’s succession. Several amnesties were declared, marked most notably by the release of hundreds of political prisoners after the closing of Mezze prison in November 2000. Several human rights organizations reemerged or were established in order to urge the regime to continue its cautious steps toward reform, and the authorities did not counter or prevent the rapid proliferation of civil society organizations as they had previously done. Al-Assad also took some steps toward diversifying authoritarian control in the autumn of 2000 by allowing the six constituent parties of the governing National Progressive Front to open provincial offices and to produce their own newspapers. However, these minor reforms were soon withdrawn and the opposition movement was crushed in the name of national unity and stability. Carnegie Middle East Center http://carnegie-mec.org

Regarding the promotion of transparency and fighting against corruption, civil

society institutions play their role on three levels:

First: Promoting integrity and fighting against corruption within civil society

institutions themselves, since the spread of corruption within these institutions

effects their legitimacy.

14- The Coalition for Accountability and Integrity (AMAN), the civil society in the Arab Countries and its role in fighting corruption. Page 10.

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Second: Tackling corruption within society through their activities and the

watchdog role they play in monitoring the government and other institutions.

Third: Building public awareness for all members of society.

As outlined above, it was very difficult to develop NGOs in Syria before 2011

independent of the ruling authority. What existed was a group of organizations that

were structurally related to the authority in addition to some charities that provided

aid for people in need. However, even these activities were conducted under the

supervision of the authority. In addition, there were other civil society associations

such as cultural forums that formed after the Damascus Spring in 2000 which were

threatened with being banned. Many of the political and civil activists associated

with this nascent movement were detained afterwards.

However, along with the beginning of the peaceful Syrian uprising against

authoritarian rule in 2011, many civil society organizations came to life independently

from the political authority. Many of these carried the burden of organizing protests

and demonstrations against the Assad government. In addition, they initiated work

in nearly every field promoting the civil movement.

The gradual absence of the governmental institutions from all of the protesting

areas and the enforcement of partial or total blockade on those areas led to a

vacuum in public service sectors. This, in turn led to a more effective role for

emerging civil society institutions as well as Local Councils as they took on the

management of the areas no longer under government control.

As the blockade and siege of the protesting areas grew tighter and more widespread,

the newly established organizations increasingly found it difficult to fulfill basic

needs due to lack of funds, and also as a result of their lack of institutional capacity

as fledgling groups. Accordingly, there was weak awareness about transparency

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in theory and practice within the newly established organizations. Subsequently

there was public outrage among individuals because of the widespread corruption

among these institutions- see the case study from Al-Atareb City. In particular,

this was due to the absence of a legal authority to mediate conflicts, monitoring

committees, and a general lack of public accountability. One of the main sources

of this lack of accountability was the weak culture of participation, which was

enforced under Ba’ath Party authority and has remained rooted in Syrian society.

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Case study: Al-Atareb City under opposition control

In Al-Atareb City, located in the countryside surrounding the city of Aleppo in northern

Syria, there has been ongoing tension between local relief organizations and the Local

Council on the one hand and members of the local public on the other hand. The conflict

developed to the point where there were accusations of corruption from each side about

the other. After an intervention by Aman Network*, the conflicting parties were brought

together and the main problems facing the area were defined. The problems were

identified as follows:

. The absence of a judicial/legal authority for arbitrating local conflicts.

. The absence of a unified executive authority on the ground led to the inability to

separate civilian affairs from the control of armed groups.

. Continual accusations of betrayal toward the relief organizations because of the

lack of transparency and their failure to distribute food baskets among people.

. The lack of trust between the Local Council and their constituency because of the

insufficient services that were provided.

. Service problems such as power outages and water shortages, leading to

continuous conflicts and clashes among people.

The most important outputs and agreements of the meeting that was held included:

Establishing a Union of CSOs in Al-Atareb and its rural surrounding areas.

• Establishing a committee to monitor local relief work as well as setting criteria

• Taking steps to establish a civil court consisting of Syrian civilians and key

*Aman Network is a Syrian network of volunteers consisting of active figures and grassroots leaders. In Arabic “aman” means “safety”, and the network manages and resolves local conflicts, or works to avoid them, in order to achieve social stability and security and to enhance a culture of co-existence.

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•

to distribute humanitarian aid in the area.

religious figures, and ensuring the legitimacy of such a court by backing up

its decisions with the military.

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As mentioned above, in the Syrian situation the role of emerging CSOs evolved

from that of a mediator organizing and defending public efforts into filling the gap

resulting from the absence of governmental institutions.

Accordingly, this role led to a shift in the position of emerging CSOs in terms of their

dealings with individuals. Thus, this research was built on the assumption that the

emerging CSOs appeared in response to the need for alternatives to governmental

institutions. However, the lack of a history of institutional work and the lack of

transparency in culture, theory and practice produced a weakness in those areas.

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Third-Field research methodologyResearch objectives:

- Capture the current reality of transparency within non-governmental Syrian

institutions.

- Create a baseline to show strengths and weaknesses in terms of transparency

within institutions.

- Offer recommendations and suggestions that can increase the level of

transparency in emerging Syrian institutions.

- Contribute in supporting the strategic plan of CCSD’s Transparency Program

in order to promote the capacity of nascent Syrian institutions in the field of

transparency and fighting corruption.

Exploratory research was considered the best methodology in order to study the

Syrian case due to current changes in response to the crisis. These may include

radical changes in daily customs and practices. Additionally, the fact that different

areas of the country are controlled by conflicting armed forces creates immense

difficulties in accessing and moving between to certain areas. Consequently, it

was impossible to acquire the needed information to conduct a methodologically

precise study representative of the original communities, particularly because of

15- The term “crisis” is employed in this research to describe the situation in Syria for the past five years. The research team discussed whether the best terminology would be “revolution”, “war”, or other terms. The term “war”, for example, does not encompass the entire context and history of the current situation, which was initiated as a widespread popular movement with non-violent demands for political change. The team agreed that what is happening in Syria is a political and social crisis. In addition, this term is used by the UN and its agencies in describing the Syrian case.

15

the continual displacements due to the crisis. This research grew out of the main

question: what is the current level of transparency within emerging Syrian institutions following the social protest movement initiated in 2011?

1

2

3

4

30

Target group

The group targeted in this survey is Syrian civil society organizations (CSOs),

regardless of their type, structure or field of work. The lack of a clear, unified form

for Syrian CSOs after the crisis causes difficulty in classifying these institutions,

which has forced the research team to adopt a general, indefinite term to express

any institutional body that provides services for people in different areas, whether

under government control or under the control of other armed groups. For the

purpose of this research, the term CSO encompasses local councils (LCs) as

well as formal and informal groups in the fields of development, medicine, relief,

education, human rights, etc. This research is based mainly on the survey that

CCSD team conducted inside Syria and in the neighboring countries.

Research tools

The case study is the best research tool to approach the topic of transparency

in institutions. However, due to the conditions of the current crisis and some

considerations related to the research period, resources and the inability to

physically reach most of the institutions due to restricted movement within the

country, a short interview questionnaire was used as the main tool to collect

the data from the target group. The tool was designed to take into account the

security situation and the psychological state of the individuals who live within this

situation of crisis.

16- Due to the nature of their emergence and the conditions of the Syrian crisis, LCs are classified here as Syrian CSOs, whereas normally LCs would be considered governmental institutions because they are engaged in administrating their areas.

16

31

The design of the questionnaire directed at CSOs was based on the seven transp-

arency indicators adopted by the Aman Coalition for Integrity and Accountability,

and they are as follows:

Providing clear documents about the objectives of the work, approach and

programs, and making this information available to the constituency or target

group.

Providing the constituency or target group with information about the main

internal systems, organizational structure and budget.

Allowing access to the organizations plans and engaging the constituency or

target group in developing and commenting on the plans.

Coordinating the institution‘s activities and programs with the local partners or

targeted audience.

Introducing the constituency or target group to the institution‘s activities and

programs as well as to the ways they can access its services.

Publishing periodic reports about the institution‘s activities, funds and

partnerships.

Having a general policy for the disclosure of information to the public.

In designing the research there was a focus on the aspect of internal administrative/

institutional capacity based on the assumption that most Syrian CSOs are newly

established, with no more than three years of existence. This is in addition to

the fact that groups in the Syrian context suffered from an environment of low

transparency even before the crisis as well as a lack of awareness in general on this

topic. Thus, the research focused on the administrative and institutional structures

that ensure transparency as well as the positive relationship between institutions

and other stakeholders such as donors, beneficiaries, partners, and non-partner

institutions. The questions were designed in three main categories:

17- Aman Coalition for Integrity and Accountability is a civil society movement that seeks to fight against corruption and promote transparency, accountability and integrity within the Palestinian community. http://www.aman-palestine.org/

17

32

The second one measured the relationship between the institution and their

beneficiaries.

The third one measured the relationship between the institution and other

institutions.

Challenges faced by the field research team

The unstable security situation, for example the increase in the fighting and

displacement during the questionnaire distribution, restricted the field team’s

movement and hindered their ability to reach all the target areas. For this reason,

the questionnaire could not be distributed at all in some areas.

Some organizations did not trust the questionnaire for fear that it may be related

to government intelligence services. Additionally, some feared that the level of

corruption in their institutions might be exposed.

The first one measured the existence of institutional structures that ensure

transparency within the institution.

33

Fourth-Features of the sample institutionsGeographic distribution of the institutionsThe total number of the institutions targeted by the questionnaire was 280. Twenty-

three percent of respondents were located outside of Syria in Turkey, Lebanon,

and Iraqi Kurdistan. The majority, at 77%, were located inside Syria in nine of the

country’s fourteen provinces as shown in Figure (2). The percentage of responses

varied in relation to the possibility of movement of the research field team to

conduct the interviews.

Figure (2): Distribution of institutions according to province

ALHASAKA

ALEPPO

IDLIB

HAMA

DARAA

DAMASCUS

DAMASCUS COUNTRYSID

E

ALRAQQA

DEIRALZOR

TURKEY

KURDSTANIR

AQ

LEBANON

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

46

62

42

32

119

4 27

40

4

21

Focus areas of the sample institutions:In response to the questions related to their focus areas, more than half of the

respondents, or roughly 56%, indicated that their institutions are working in more

than one field. For example, one institution may simultaneously work in relief,

development, media, documentation and/or law. Due to the almost complete

absence of governmental institutions resulting from the current crisis, it is clear that

many Syrian CSOs have taken on a broad spectrum of activities in order to meet

the urgent and increasing needs of the population in many different life sectors.

The following table clarifies the distribution of the sample institutions according to

their focus area based on the respondents’ answers:

34

Table (2): Distribution of the sample according to focus area

Focus Area %Frequency of Response

Media

ReliefDevelopmentLegal

Medical

Civic

No answer

Total

More than one focus area

12 4.27 %7.47 %

9.61 %

2.14 %

4.63 %

9.25 %

6.76 %

55.87 %

100 %

2127

6

13

2619

156

280

Due to this mix in the focus areas

of the majority of the respondents,

we attempted to design another

categorization of the institutions

according to the general trend of

their programs and activities. The

following Figure (3) illustrates the

division of institutions according

to their work in six broad areas.

However, despite this categorization,

it is still an insufficient description for

many institutions given their work in

more than one area.

Defining the institutionsMedia institutions: Specialized

in covering news and delivering it,

and shedding light on issues that

concern the Syrian public. Includes

newspapers, magazines, radio

stations and programs, etc.

Development institutions: Concerned with economic empowerment and

economic development projects in order to create jobs/livelihoods, as well as job

training for individuals to provide them with marketable skills.

Civic institutions: Concerned with individuals‘ capacity building and their

intellectual and cognitive skill development, as well as raising the educational level

within civil society and conducting advocacy and lobbying campaigns for change.

Relief institutions: Concerned with providing basic humanitarian assistance

such as food baskets, money and other basic materials.

Legal institutions: Concerned with documentation of violations, defending the

rights of detainees, and constitutional and legal accountability in Syria.

1.8 2.9 3.9 4.34.6

13.9

25.4

43.2

Figure Number (3): Division of Sampled Institutions According to Focus Area

Medical Development Legal Media Educational Service Relief Civic

35

Service institutions: Concerned with rebuilding infrastructure and supervising

the provision of the main services such as water, electricity, bakeries and medical

centers. Most of these institutions are local councils.

In comparing the survey responses to the framework of categories developed in

the research, we find that civil organizations’ members were not able to identify

their exact field of work. This seems to be because many CSOs are still ignorant

of their specific roles, which may be due to the lack of knowledge in the civil work

culture that preceded 2011.

As for the institution’s goals and their consistency and harmony with the programs

and projects, which illustrate the degree of development of newly established

NGOs, we find that:

78% of the CSOs have relatively defined goals while 17% do not have defined

goals. Instead they have general goals that more closely resemble a vision

statement. Two percent do not have any goals; neither defined nor general.

As mentioned above, this is to be expected because the majority of Syrian CSOs

are newly formed. However, it is important to measure the level of clarity of groups’

goals because this is an indicator of their ability to be accountable for the work

they do. If goals are not clearly defined, or if activities are not directly linked with

stated goals, there will not be a strong way to measure the work of each group.

36

Table (3) illustrates the types of goals mentioned by the respondents to the

questionnaire, classified by level of clarity of goals.

Table (3): What are the goals your institutions seeks to achieve?

Do not have Goals General goals Definite Goals

A center that works to build the capacities of young people and strengthen their talents, providing them with academic education.Diagnose the psychological states that children suffer from, such as PTSD, referring them to a specialist.

As a magazine, we seek to develop the magazine in order to be able to compete with other magazines.

Provide job opportunities for medical staff (written by a medical center)

Continuity and expansion

To gain the people’s trust To provide services to the largest number of people.

--

Building an aware and educated society

To provide services for the public.

Alleviate the suffering of our people.

Spreading awareness and education, and encouraging the publishing of newspapers and magazines that match with a media code of conduct. Training and qualifying journalists in coordination with civil organizations.

We seek to deliver the voice of the truth, cover all field events transparently, and to deliver the suffering of the Syrian people to Tv channels and newspapers - either local, Arabic or international.

The institution seeks to improve education, especially in the professional sector and to provide individuals with jobs in order to make a living.

To bring the people together by word of truth, resolve conflict resolution before they worsen, supervise the local council and monitor the fairness in aid distribution, supervise the available resources and how they are

37

Seventy percent of the projects included in this research demonstrated coherence

between their projects and their goals, meaning that 70% of the institutions

with definite goals have harmony between their goals and the projects they are

implementing. The following table (4) illustrates some examples of projects that

are not linked with their goals:

Table (4) Examples from survey responses about the projects and goals

Goals

Activating civil society’s role in the area

Kurdish heritage preservation

- Organizing the work of the CSOs in Hama - Transferring the work of CSOs from individual work into institutional work. - Forming a body that includes all the existing CSOs in Hama.

Projects not directly related to the goals

Many projects in relief and development (distributing flour to the bakeries, medical and preventive programs, food materials and other supplies) and building capacities.

The majority of the programs are related to direct service provision and humanitarian aid, rather than activating civil society’s role.

Projects in the field of nursing, music and courses for students.

While music and some courses are related to the goals, other projects are not; the projects do not seem to be chosen based on their direct relation to the goal.

Consumer foundation project, vegetable company, bridge project, clothes and baskets projects.

The majority of the programs are related to direct service provision and humanitarian aid, rather than the stated goals.

1

2

3

38

Lack of clear goals is considered to be a problem that Syrian institutions still

suffer from, as is lack of direct relationship between goals and projects, though

progress has been made in the previous four years. The environment in which

these institutions were established encouraged a lack of specialization in the

roles that each institution played. At the same time, the main sources of funding

for emerging Syrian institutions have for the most part been allocated to specific

focus areas, contributing to a dynamic in which these institutions choose to work

in many different fields in order to access restricted funding sources. After four

years of the crisis this research found that most of the surveyed Syrian institutions

have begun to more clearly specify their goals, which is demonstrated through the

activities and projects they are implementing on the ground.

39

Fifth- Research resultsBasic institutional structuresFigure number (4) reflects the main institutional structures that, when in place,

guarantee more transparency in institutions. These include: financial reports for the

institutions as a whole, financial reports for activities, documentation of expenses,

documentation of activities, evaluation of activities and overall work, work plans,

Board of Directors, bylaws and internal controls documents, and organizational

structure.

91% of the sample institutions had an organizational structure.

82% of the institutions had bylaws and internal controls documents.

Board of Directors 84% of the institutions had a Board of Directors, while 16% did not have one.

Interestingly, 40% of the institutions working in the human rights field and 33%

of media institutions did not have a board.

As a method to form a Board of Directors, 42% of the surveyed institutions

used elections, 12% selected based on candidates’ previous experience, and

11% used recommendations, followed by appointment and selection.

25

83

91

92

91

70

84

82

91

75

15

7

7

9

28

15

16

7

0

2

1

0

0

3

1

2

1

financial reports for institutions

financial reports for activities

documenting expenses

documenting activities

activities and work assessment

work plan

board of directors

bylaws

organizational structure

Figure Number (4): Presence of Institutional Structures

YES NO I don’t know

40

» Our bylaws made the team’s founders members in the Board of Directors that

meets weekly. They share 80% of their meeting minutes. This is because some

details cannot be announced for several reasons. However, this does not affect

the transparency much»

One response from a questionnaire participant

Regarding the efficacy of the Board of Directors, 77% of participants responded

that the Board meets on a frequent basis, with 57% responding that the Board

meets more than twice annually. However, 5% responded that the Board does not

meet, and 2% responded that they do not know whether the Board meets or not.

Work plans

70% of the surveyed institutions responded that they have work plans, including

time frames. Twenty-eight percent did not have work plans, and 3% did not

know whether there were work plans in their institutions or not.

40% of the institutions working in the human rights field did not have work

plans, as well as 38% of relief institutions and 36% of service institutions. Such

institutions do not have a work plan probably due to the increasing and changing

needs in different areas as a result to the ongoing crisis which makes it difficult

to predict. Twenty-one percent of civic institutions did not have work plans.

41

51% of the sample

institutions depend on

consultations with staff

and volunteers to build a

work plan, while 19% of

institutions consult with

members the public.

Seventeen percent use

consultations with other organizations, and 12% depend on surveys (48% use

one method to build plans, 22% use two, 30% use three methods).

The idea of analyzing

the methods of work

plan creation is that this

partially reflects levels

of participation, which

in turn expresses the

level of transparency in

institutions. Participatory

design of work plans,

which was measured at

roughly 31%, represents how much people are consulted and the degree to which

their opinions are taken into account. On the other hand, the fact that half of the

surveyed institutions depend on a single method to build a work plan reflects

weak planning. For optimal transparency and accountability they would ideally

use every available method when designing work plans, in order to ensure an

inclusive process that reflects real needs in their communities. This saves time,

effort and money by gathering more information and better reflecting the needs

and knowledge of a larger number of people.

60

62

64

79

40

38

36

21

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Law

Relief

Service

Civil

Figure Number (5): Presence of a work plan in Syrian institutions according to focus area

Has a plan No Plan

0102030405060

Consultationswith staff

Consultationswith

beneficiaries

Consultationswith otherinstitutions

Investigativestudies

51

191712

Figure Number (6): Institutions’ work plans are built upon:

42

249 out of 280 institutions possessed their own media outlets – e.g., means

through which to publicly share information with their constituencies/

communities. The most used media outlet amongst the sample group was

social media. Forty-six percent of the surveyed institutions used Facebook

while 21% used websites. Information display boards and printed materials

were used by 11%. Seven percent use a YouTube channel. Two percent use

radio and these were all media institutions.

The results showed that

42% of the institutions

employ only one media

outlet, 31% use two, and

19% use three.

Seven percent have

publicly shared their

administrative structure,

6% their Bylaws, 3% their

financial reports and 3% their employment advertisements.

We found that the most commonly used media tools were Facebook and

YouTube. If there was a total dependence on those communication tools it is

possible that there would be less access to target audiences, especially local

targets, as there are difficulties in internet access in many areas. This, in turn,

would increase the gap between institutions providing services and their target

groups.

Given that over 80% of the institutions that currently share information publicly

almost exclusively use digital means (e.g., Facebook, YouTube, etc.), it is likely

that they do not reach their local targets perfectly.

01020304050

46

2111 11 9

2

Figure Number (7): Do you have your own media outlet?

Public information sharing

43

Figure(8): What have you shared information about

Vacancies FinancialReports

Regulations AdministrativeStructure

Projects YouImplement

Activities

50 50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

31

7633

50% of the total sample

group have publicly

shared information about

their specific activities

and 31% have publicly

shared information about

their projects in general.

In other words, over 80%

of the surveyed groups publicly share information about their projects and activities,

which are the two topics most relevant to their constituencies/beneficiaries.

Concerning the number of items that Syrian institutions publicly share information

about, we found that 44% share two of the items above, 10% share three and

7% share four. Thirty-nine percent share only one item.

In addition, an important finding is that no more than 3% of the surveyed groups

have publicly shared their financial reports. Not publishing financial reports that

clarify incomes and expenses effects the mutual trust between the institution

and the targeted individuals. This will increase the potential for public outrage

due to lack of information, because it creates ambiguity about the institution’s

mechanisms of work.

Monitoring and Evaluation 91% of the surveyed institutions evaluate their activities and work, while 9%

do not. Fourteen percent of the service institutions indicated that they do

not evaluate their work, as well as 11% of human rights institutions, 9% of

development institutions and 8% of civic and relief institutions.

44

91% of the surveyed institutions document their activities in reports. The majority

of these, or 41% of the total, were described as reports about the performance

of activities. Thirty-two percent of the reports were described as media reports,

and 25% were financial reports that display the activity expenses.

Figure(9): Most common reports in Syrianinstitutions

Activity Reports Media Reports Financial Reports

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

42

32

26

We observed that 42% of the institutions used two types of reports, 32% use

one type, and 24% of institutions use three types (financial, media and activity

reports).Figure(10): Number of report types used by

Syrian instituions

One type Two types Three types

45

43

32

25

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

From the results above, we see that the participation of local people in the activities

that the institutions conduct is high. This is positive evidence of community

participation. However, when institutions were asked if they have received any

complaints, we observed that 46% have not receivted complaints. This statistic

Documenting Activities

45

brings into question the level of participation, given that the ongoing crisis creates

infinite needs, foremost of which are basic needs. When there is a crisis in meeting

basic needs, it is normal for there to be complaints on a large scale. The most

common method to receive complaints was found to be through direct interaction

with people (e.g., direct meetings or complaint boxes), not though virtual

interaction. This indicates the need for more direct local interaction with targets

groups rather than through virtual media, in spite of that fact that the latter is

important for sharing the goals and views of institution on a large scale. Regarding

the responses about not publishing reports, this reflects obvious weakness in

transparency culture in emerging Syrian institutions.

Figure(11): Who reads the reports?

Manager Partners Donors Beneficiaries

35

28

16

21

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

82% of institutions write

financial reports about the

projects that they conduct,

15% do not write financial

reports and 2% do not know

if there are reports.

70% percent of institutions

document their Board of

Directors’ meetings with

Relationship with other institutions 84% of the surveyed institutions partner in some activities with other institutions,

while 16% do not enter into partnerships.

56% expressed dissatisfaction in some way (e.g., complaints on Facebook,

etc.) about the activities of other institutions in their areas, whereas 41% did not.

The reasons for the dissatisfaction varied: 32% of the surveyed institutions

publicly complained about the alleged corruption and negligence of other

institutions; 31% asked for clarification of the policy in service distribution; 17%

asked to hold periodic meetings to discuss problems; 9% asked for disclosure

of the criteria of employment; 6% asked for the disclosure of the budgets and

how they were spent and 6% asked about the donors.

46

minutes, 10% do not document, 5% do not know whether there are meeting

minutes. The remaining 15% did not respond.

58% of the surveyed institutions indicated that the Board meeting minutes are

read by the members of the group, while 35% of them responded that they are

not. Six percent did not know if minutes are read by members.

Figure(12): Do staff read the Board meetingminutes?

Yes No Ido not know

59

35

6

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Documentation in general is considered good for newly established institutions.

Documentation not only preserves the institution’s history, it also increases the

trust and confidence of donors and/or partner institution. Documentation for

donors and partners reflects some extent of transparency to those stakeholders,

but it is possible that there could still be a low level of internal transparency in the

institution. This, in turn, reflects some kind of weakness in institutional culture in

the people in charge of these institutions. It also threats the legitimacy of institution

within its local community in front of their constituencies.

Relationship with constituencies/beneficiaries75% of the surveyed institutions conducted activities with the participationof local people in their areas.

47

46% received complaints from local people about the services they provide,

while 46% did not receive any complaints. 7% did not know if their institutions

received any complaints.

44% receive complaints through listening to local people, 10% through a

complaints box, 11% through feedback on Facebook and 9% through the

institution’s emails.

38% of the institutions reported that they deal with complaints by holding

meetings for staff and volunteers to discuss the complaint. 23% deal with the

received complaints at once, and 12% through inviting local people to discuss

the problem.

77% of institutions do not publicly share information with people, while 20%

do. When they were asked about the reason for not sharing information they

cited security concerns, concerns about people›s reactions/rumors. Some

responded that some information is private and should not be shared, that

people are not interested in reading the reports, or they do not understand the

information when it is shared.

48

Table (5) Some of the reasons cited for not publicly sharing information

Security concerns, demanding support [unclear meaning], fear from some militias.

Financial reports are private documents and only internal parties involved in the projects should read them.

Financial reports are private documents and only internal parties involved in the projects should read them.

Only donors and the staff of the institution would be interested in such topics, so there is no need to share things with the public.

Because accusations of betrayal is a culture.

To avoid mistakes that the irresponsible may commit..

Not to give a space for rumors.

For work confidentiality.

It is not possible for the time being because of instability, if the situation becomes more stable we don’t mind publishing anything concerning financial or other topics

Publishing them may cause problems.

It is an internal issue, it is not a commercial project, it is a project to provide services with operating systems.

We see no need to publish things and no one demanded it except for donors.

The donor sometimes does not like us to tell about the money sometimes.

Because our financial support is obvious and nothing is hidden.

This will create conflicts among people and false accusations. Whoever wants to read it, s/he has the right to do that.

Because it is voluntary and non-governmental and there is no finance.

We were not asked to do that.

Because people are not interested in that and we show [financial reports] to the donors about projects and members.

Lack of people›s awareness about transparency.

So there won›t be accusations of betrayal.

It is necessary for people to see it, even if they see, they will not understand the details.

We see no need to publish because we, as a board, take our legitimacy from people›s trust. However, we do not mind when they ask about it so there will be no doubt about the board members› integrity.

49

60% of institutions depend on evaluation questionnaires in consulting people,

20% depend on discussion sessions , 12% depend on consultation sessions ,

7% depend on forums.

19- Discussion sessions are defined as sessions held with beneficiaries in order to discuss topics and problems that concern them. 20- Consultation sessions are defined as sessions with people experienced in the relevant field.

2019

From the results above, we see that the participation of local people in the activities

that the institutions conduct is high. This is positive evidence of community

participation. However, when institutions were asked if they have received any

complaints, we observed that 46% have not received complaints. This statistic

brings into question the level of participation, given that the ongoing crisis creates

infinite needs, foremost of which are basic needs. When there is a crisis in meeting

basic needs, it is normal for there to be complaints on a large scale.

The most common method to receive complaints was found to be through direct

interaction with people (e.g., direct meetings or complaint boxes), not though

virtual interaction. This indicates the need for more direct local interaction with

targets groups rather than through virtual media, in spite of that fact that the latter

is important for sharing the goals and views of institution on a large scale.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

AssessmentQuestionnaires

DiscussionSessions

ConsultationSessions

Seminars None of theAbove

60

2012

71

Figure (13): Consultation occurs through:

50

Regarding the responses about not publishing reports, this reflects obvious

weakness in transparency culture in emerging Syrian institutions.

84% of the surveyed institutions partner in some activities with other institutions,

while 16% do not enter into partnerships.

56% expressed dissatisfaction in some way (e.g., complaints on Facebook,

etc.) about the activities of other institutions in their areas, whereas 41% did not.

The reasons for the dissatisfaction varied: 32% of the surveyed institutions

publicly complained about the alleged corruption and negligence of other

institutions; 31% asked for clarification of the policy in service distribution; 17%

asked to hold periodic meetings to discuss problems; 9% asked for disclosure

of the criteria of employment; 6% asked for the disclosure of the budgets and

how they were spent and 6% asked about the donors.

Figure(14): What is the main reason for your dissatisfactionwith the institutions in your area?

6 6

9

17

31 3235

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Lack ofdisclosure of

funders

Lack ofdisclosure ofbudgets and

spending

Lack ofdisclosure ofthe criteria

foremployment

Lack ofperiodic

meetings todiscuss

problems

Lack of clarityabout

distribution ofservices

Corruption ornegligence

Relationship with other institutions

51

As noted above, the percentage of partnership with other institutions was very

good considering the Syrian context in which individualism mostly prevails due

to the previous experience under the dictatorship of the Syrian government. Fifty

percent of the surveyed institutions expressed dissatisfaction with the practices of

other institutions in their areas. This can be considered a positive result because

the negative experience under the Syrian government, in which corruption was not

addressed.

52

Table (6) Other reasons for dissatisfaction mentioned in responses to the questionnaire

Ethnic reasons.

Utilizing of the name of our organization by some organization.

The answer to this question is sensitive and there are other reasons I cannot mention due to their sensitivity.

Misbehavior with the public.

Inefficiency in management, the lack of expertise and the presence of some kind of nepotism.

Weakness of performance and organization.

Lack of protecting the historical sites by the competent bodies.

Lack of supervision and monitoring.

Lack of support.

False promises.

We have protested against the work of some relief institutions because of their misbehavior with the citizens and to demand for the people’s rights.

No need to protest because our work is private and voluntary with no funds.

To demand for the local council to put a plan for electricity through a questionnaire that was distributed by the organization.

A local protocol should be signed by the donors and CSOs in order to put pressure on them and to change the work mechanisms completely.

Aligned to a certain party..

Slow movement at work because of work pressure.

Discrimination and prejudice.

Wrong policies in administration.

The relationship with the factions.

Asking for salaries.

Violations against civilians by some military factions.

Delaying the meetings because the staff are busy since most of them are volunteers.

Some organizations get funds from donors and give it to the military instead of civilians, protests against the policies of some organizations.

Identifying the problems and responsibilities.

There have been protests against the local council and its methods of work.

53

Sixth-Conclusions and RecommendationsFrom the previous results, we conclude that emerging Syrian institutions need

programs for empowerment and capacity building. These are the most important

elements to ensure a higher level of transparency within these institutions.

Recommendations for donors and international organizations: - Support a long-term program to train emerging Syrian institutions on strategic

planning, participatory planning, the effective management of programs,

transparency and accountability, and include monitoring & evaluation as an

essential element of training.

- Leverage existing relationships and partnerships with Syrian institutions to

improve the governance of these institutions, as an integral part of donors’

work with their Syrian partners.

- Support deep and long-term research that sheds light on the progress

of transparency in emerging Syrian institutions, and which highlight the

weaknesses in order to overcome them. Share the outcomes of such research

with the donor organizations.

- Introduce Syrian organizations to the governance systems of international

institutions through learning sessions. Arrange short or intermediate exchange

visits in order to get acquainted closely with the mechanisms of those

institutions.

- Support Syrian institutions who are working in the transparency field or trying

to apply transparency in their work to gather in a conference that focuses on

how to reach the highest levels of transparency, taking into account the factors

that are unique to Syrian institutions and their context.

1

2

3

4

5

54

Recommendations for emerging Syrian institutions:

- Adopt the values of transparency and accountability in theory and practice

- Direct focus to building institutional structures that make up the foundation of

a high level of transparency.

-Work on experience-sharing in the field of governance and applying

transparency and accountability within the institution’s administrative systems.

- Focus on having specific policies and measures within Syrian organizations

and adhere to those policies.

- Include the targeted groups and partners in the planning process and in the

evaluation of the organization’s work.

- Publicly share information periodically all of the organization’s projects,

activities and financial reports in a clear way for the audience.

1

2

3

4

5

6

within the organization’s policies and its practical measures.

55

The references used in this research:

Aman Coalition for Integrity and Accountability, Civil Society in the Arab

Countries and its Role in Fighting against Corruption.

The United Nations Development Program, Corruption and Development, New

York, 2008.

The Palestinian Initiative to Deepen International Dialogue and Democracy

http://www.aman-palestine.org/

Shahade, Hosam, Civil Society, Civic Education Series 6, Bait AL-Mouaten,

Beirut.

Abduljawad, Fatma. Administrative and Financial Corruption and its Negative

Effects on the Iraqi State, General Committee of Tasks, Iraq,

http://tax.mof.gov.iq/

Atwan Khodr. The Role of the Civil Society Organizations in Fighting Against

Corruption, Al-Nahreen University, Baghdad.

Administrative corruption, http://www.moqatel.com

Al-Waelee, Yaser. Administrative Corruption, its Concepts, Reasons, Types, Al-

Nabaa Magazine, Edition 18, http://annabaa.org/

56

Table Title Page

1 Governance indicators in Syria, according to the World Bank 21

2 Distribution of the sample according to focus area 34

3 What are the goals your institution seeks to achieve? 36

4 Examples from survey responses about the projects and goals 37

5 Some of the reasons cited for not publicly sharing information 48

6Other reasons for dissatisfaction mentioned in responses to the

questionnairee 52

Table No.

Index of Tables

Figure No. Figure Title Page

1 Map clarifying the roles of civil society 23

2 Distribution of institutions by province 33

3 Division of sampled institutions by focus area 34

4 Presence of institutional structures 39

5 Presence of a work plan 41

6 Work plans are built upon 41

7 Do you have your own media outlet 42

8 What have you shared information about 43

9 Most common reports in Syrian institutions 44

10 Number of report types used by Syrian institutions 44

11 Who reads the reports 45

12 Do staff read the Board meeting minutes 46

13 Consultation occurs through 49

14 What is the reason for your dissatisfaction with the institutions in your area 50