In 2024, the overall Civil Society Sustainability Index (CSOSI) score in Ukraine was at 3.0 points - the same as the previous year.
These results were presented by the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR) team during a public presentation of the annual report prepared with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.
During the opening of the event, Oleksiy Orlovskyi, director of the Democracy and Good Governance program initiative of the International Renaissance Foundation, emphasized the importance of regularly assessing the state of CSO development in Ukraine.
"It is important for civil society to assess how the state of CSO development is changing, to conduct self-assessment, to see how civil society can influence the authorities... For the International Renaissance Foundation, which has been supporting the development of civil society for 35 years, this is in fact the mission of our activity," Orlovskyi said.
Maria Sole Delle Donne, representative of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood, emphasised the resilience and adaptability of Ukrainian organisations, which, after the start of the full-scale invasion, changed their areas of work in order to provide vital services, support residents and fill the gaps between the authorities and society.
Valeriia Skvortsova, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research, presented the results of the study. She spoke about the main trends of 2024. Compared to 2023, the legal environment indicator for CSOs improved by 0.1 points.
The organizational capacity indicator in 2024 was 2.9 points, an improvement of 0.1 points compared to 2023. At the same time, financial sustainability was at 3.7 points, an improvement of 0.1 points over the year.
"Civil society organizations had the opportunity to receive funds for the development of their own projects from donors in the form of grants from traditional aid providers such as the United States, the European Union, and large local donor organizations such as the International Renaissance Foundation and ISAR Ednannia,” said the executive director of the UCIPR.
At the same time, CSO advocacy in Ukraine was rated at 2.1 points, improving by 0.1 points overall compared to 2023.
"The Russian Federation caused the most damage with its aggressive actions on the territory of Ukraine. There were also certain isolated cases of oppression, such as at Bihus.info. Unfortunately, these negative trends continued in 2025, when anti-corruption is now literally being defended at street rallies," Skvortsova noted.
During the event, Iryna Yakovenko, communications manager for the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research dashboard of the CSO Sustainability Index covering the period 2014–2024.
"The purpose of the dashboard is to provide interested parties, in particular CSO representatives, government authorities, experts, researchers, and journalists, with a convenient tool for tracking the dynamics of civil society development in Ukraine, identifying trends, and making informed decisions in the field of CSO support. The information for the interactive dashboard was collected from UCIPR research for 2018-2024, as well as based on data from the CSO Sustainability Index Explorer for 2014-2017," she added.
The event concluded with a panel discussion entitled "2024 in the life of civil society — achievements and lessons learned," moderated by Yuliia Panura, an expert on CSO taxation and charitable activities at the UCIPR.
During the discussion, participants focused on current challenges, achievements, and trends in the development of civil society. Maksym Latsyba, head of the civil society development program at the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research, outlined the main challenges facing civil society organizations. Nataliia Klimova, deputy executive director of ISAR Ednannia, highlighted the key trends of the past year.
Oleksandr Ravchev, communications and advocacy consultant, spoke about successful communication campaigns. Olha Lymar, executive director of the RPR Coalition, explained what are the problems with the Law on Public Consultations. Halyna Skipalska, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Public Health Foundation, spoke about the role of civil society organizations in the field of public health.
The event was organized by the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research within the framework of the project "Index of Sustainability of Civil Society Organizations in Ukraine" with the support of the International Reneissance Foundation. The information presented in the study does not necessarily reflect the position of the International Renaissance Foundation.
It should be noted that Valeriia Skvortsova, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research, and Yaryna Pokhoday, consultant on legislation monitoring, worked on the Civil Society Organizations Sustainability Index (CSOSI) study. The focus groups were conducted by members of the UCIP team: Yuliia Panura, Anna Dzyuba, Dmytro Yaprakh, and Yaryna Pokhoday.
You can watch the broadcast of the event here, and read the full text of the Index and interactive dashboard here.