What is the project about?

The ReCiv project examines the resilience of diverse types of organisations in civil society, including non-governmental organisations, charities, business groups, labour unions, associations of professionals, as well as companies. Using surveys, interviews and focus group discussions with representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs), the project explores how these organisations adapt and survive various challenges across Europe. The study currently covers 6,000 organisations in 9 countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom), and for organisations active at the level of the European Union. In the future, the project will be expanded to 2-3 countries in Eastern Europe, as well.

How were the survey participants selected?

The cross-country survey examines the internal and external challenges CSOs have faced in recent years, targeting chief executives, organisational leaders, and public affairs specialists. The initial survey samples were drawn from existing overviews of the CSO community in each of the nine countries and at the EU level. From these lists, a stratified random sample was developed, with organisations randomly selected within organisational categories that were manually assigned to each interest organisation. The latest contact details for the responsible public affairs, advocacy specialist, relevant organisational leader, or equivalent were then identified in a web-search in late 2024.

How will the survey data be stored and used?

The data collected in this project will be used for research-purposes only. All information is treated as confidential and will be stored in pseudonymised form and in full compliance with EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as the data storage protocols of the involved Universities. 

Following open science practices, a fully anonymised version of the dataset will be made public in later stages of the project. Under no circumstances, will it be possible to trace the identity of participants or their organisations from the published data or results in project outputs.

What are the benefits of participating in the survey?

Participation in the survey will allow the research team to collect unprecedented cross-country data on how organisations adapt to external and internal challenges – and to what effect. The data will allow the team to advance existing knowledge of organisational coping mechanisms, which it will share widely, well beyond the academic community. In this way, CSOs can benefit substantially from the data and the study’s outputs, which will provide organisations with quantitative evidence of diverse threats to organisational continuity and forms of adaptation. In the short term, the data will hence help create best practices and guidelines for organisational maintenance, while in the long term, it could contribute to developing practices that increase stability of the CSO community. 

Concretely, project outputs will include an open access survey report, publications in academic journals, as well as the public dissemination of project results in op-eds, blog posts or podcasts.  Participants can sign up to receive the summary report of the findings, which will be also presented at a hybrid event, inviting dialogue between researchers and organisation representatives.

How can I contact the project team for more information?

You can follow all project updates here.

In case of any comments, questions or suggestions, please contact the Principal Investigator of the project Dr Michele Crepaz, m.crepaz@qub.ac.uk. You are also welcome to reach out to the relevant country contacts, listed in our survey invitation email.