Quality Criteria for Civil Society

This blog was posted by Guy Janssen

These are the 12 quality criteria for a member based organisation developed on the basis of consultations. Do you have any suggestions for improvement?

1. The CSO is a rules based organisations and rules are the same for all. 
2. Rules are made in the interest of the members by (the representatives of) the members. 
3. The CSO represents the needs or interests of its members.
4. If programs of the CSO are likely to benefit some members more than others, then there are mechanisms to ensure that access to these benefits is distributed fairly and that the costs are borne by those who benefit.
5. The CSO is self-sustaining. 
6. Conditions for membership are generic and logical. 
7. There is neither government involvement nor elite capture.
8. The leadership is selected by the members through a competitive system.
9. The leadership can bind the organisation even after the leadership has changed. 
10. The CSO has channels for members to express and discuss their needs.
11. The CSO has channels for individual members to complain about rule violations to an independent entity that can investigate and punish.
12. The CSO has channels for members to provide feedback on quality of services delivered to the membership.