This page gathers the free reading for each lesson, optional readings that go further, the project template, and free data sources for the applied track of the project.
Every required reading is free to read online. Each lesson page tells you which pages to focus on.
1.1 Civil society. Domaradzka, A. (2025). Defining civil society in the turbulent times. Lessons from Poland. In A. Bassi, M. Aquino Alves, & C. Cordery (Eds.), The future of third sector research (pp. 81-94). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-67896-7_7
1.2 Defining the sector. Bassi, A. (2025). Third sector. The building of a research field. In A. Bassi, M. Aquino Alves, & C. Cordery (Eds.), The future of third sector research (pp. 35-47). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-67896-7_4
1.3 Economic explanations and 1.4 Social and political explanations. Brandsen, T., Mendonça, P., & Smith, S. (2025). Theory of the third sector. In A. Bassi, M. Aquino Alves, & C. Cordery (Eds.), The future of third sector research (pp. 11-25). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-67896-7_2
2.1 Giving and philanthropy. Jung, T. (2024, October 21). To unlock philanthropy's potential for Japan, we need to understand its meaning. Japan NPO Center. https://www.jnpoc.ne.jp/en/insights/to-unlock-philanthropys-potential-for-japan/
2.2 Civic engagement and volunteering. United Nations Volunteers. (2021). Volunteerism. Building equal and inclusive societies. In 2022 State of the world's volunteerism report (Chapter 1, pp. 13-28). UNV. https://knowledge.unv.org/system/files/2021-12/Chapter%201_web.pdf
2.3 Financing nonprofits. Foster, W., Kim, P., & Christiansen, B. (2009). Ten nonprofit funding models. Stanford Social Innovation Review. Republished by Bridgespan. https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/ten-nonprofit-funding-models
3.1 Accountability. Accountable Now. The Global Standard for CSO Accountability. The 12 commitments. https://accountablenow.org/the-global-standard-the-12-commitments-copy/
3.2 Strategy and success. Maier, F., Zheng, W., Brandtner, C., & Cornips, L. (2025). The many indicators of nonprofit success as seen by nonprofit leaders. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 35(4), 751-763. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21641
4.1 Nonprofits and the state. Carothers, T., & Brechenmacher, S. (2014). Closing space. Democracy and human rights support under fire. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2014/02/closing-space-democracy-and-human-rights-support-under-fire
4.2 Local organizations in a global system. Peace Direct. (2021). Time to decolonise aid. Insights and lessons from a global consultation. https://www.peacedirect.org/time-to-decolonise-aid
4.3 Civil society in Nepal. KC, D., & Bhandari, B. (2021). COVID-19 and Nepali civil society organizations. Impact, responses, and opportunities. NGO Federation of Nepal. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00XX8M.pdf
4.4 Civil society in Japan. Japan NPO Center. Size and scope of nonprofits in Japan. https://www.jnpoc.ne.jp/en/nonprofits-in-japan/size-and-scope/
These optional readings go deeper. Two are free online. Most of the others need access through a library, and the chapters marked forthcoming are not yet published.
Lesson 1.2. Bassi, A. (2025). The terminological debate. In A. Bassi, M. Aquino Alves, & C. Cordery (Eds.), The future of third sector research (pp. 49-66). Springer. Free online. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-67896-7_5
Lessons 1.3 and 1.4. Child, C. (2024). An overview of nonprofit sector theories, and LePere-Schloop, M., & Nesbit, R. (2024). The prevalence of traditional nonprofit sector theories in research. Both in C. Child & E. Witesman (Eds.), Reimagining nonprofits. Sector theory in the twenty-first century. Cambridge University Press. Library access.
Lesson 2.1. Reich, R. (2018). Just giving. Why philanthropy is failing democracy and how it can do better. Princeton University Press. Library access.
Lesson 2.2. Keeter, S., Zukin, C., Andolina, M., & Jenkins, K. (2002). The civic and political health of the nation. A generational portrait. CIRCLE. Free online. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED498892.pdf
Lesson 3.1. Ebrahim, A. (2016). The many faces of nonprofit accountability. In D. O. Renz & R. D. Herman (Eds.), The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management (pp. 102-123). Wiley. Library access.
Lesson 3.1. Lamothe, M., Ter-Mkrtchyan, A., Ruddle, T. B., & Kuyon, K. (2022). Examining the efficacy of accountability systems in preventing nonprofit misconduct. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Library access.
Lesson 3.1. KC, D. (2025). Balancing up, down, and in. NGO perspectives during Nepal's Covid-19 crisis. Nonprofit Policy Forum, 16(3), 395-428. Library access.
Lessons 4.2 and 4.3. Bloodgood, E., & Domaradzka, A. (Eds.). The local history of civil society. Global perspectives. Georgetown University Press, forthcoming. It includes KC, D., Civil society in Nepal. Evolution and contemporary issues.
Lesson 4.4. Okada, A. (2025). Have NPOs taken root in Japanese society? In S. A. Avenell & A. Ogawa (Eds.), Handbook of civil society in Japan. Japan Documents. Library access.
Lesson 4.4. Pekkanen, R. (2006). Japan's dual civil society. Members without advocates. Stanford University Press. Library access.
The project template is a Google Doc in eight parts that together build a profile of one organization. The button below makes your own copy in your Google Drive, which needs a free Google account. The Project page explains how to use the template.
These free sources help with the parts of the project on an organization's history and its country context.
Internet Archive Wayback Machine, to see how an organization's website and mission looked in earlier years (Part 1). https://web.archive.org/
ICNL country profiles, for the legal and regulatory environment (Part 7a). https://www.icnl.org/our-work/country-list
V-Dem Country Graph, for trends in civil society indicators (Part 7b). https://v-dem.net/data_analysis/CountryGraph/
CIVICUS Monitor, for civic space ratings (Part 7b). https://monitor.civicus.org/
Freedom House, Freedom in the World, for scores on freedom of association and for NGOs (Part 7b). https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores
World Bank Open Data, for social and economic indicators (Part 7c). https://data.worldbank.org/
UNDP Human Development Reports data center, for human development indicators (Part 7c). https://hdr.undp.org/data-center
Core public research commentary
Counting Nepal’s NGOs https://kcdipendra.substack.com/p/counting-nepals-ngos
Do NGOs go where they are needed? https://kcdipendra.substack.com/p/do-ngos-go-where-they-are-needed
The “Dollar Kheti” Myth https://kcdipendra.substack.com/p/the-dollar-kheti-myth
What is the size of Nepali NGOs? https://kcdipendra.substack.com/p/what-is-the-size-of-nepali-ngos
Peer-reviewed studies and policy analysis
Between Rhetoric and Action https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-018-0024-9
Spatial Differences in the Founding Pattern https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00345-7
Which Aid Targets Poor at the Sub-national Level? https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2020.100177
Balancing Up, Down, and In https://doi.org/10.1515/npf-2023-0088
COVID-19 and Non-governmental Organisations in Nepal https://doi.org/10.1332/204080521X16445716346083
Determinants of Perceived Innovation https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21589
Policy Brief on the Draft Association Act, 2025 of Nepal https://doi.org/10.1515/npf-2025-0054