Resources

ICNL provides up-to-date, freely accessible information about issues shaping the legal environment for civil society, philanthropy, and public participation. To facilitate knowledge sharing in this dynamic field, we maintain a large and diverse collection of resources. Our international staff and network of experts produce innovative research and legal analysis. Additionally, we curate collections of the best resources available on issues affecting civic space worldwide. We publish reports and data on topics relevant to civil society, from our U.S. Protest Law Tracker to our Civic Freedom Monitor. We invite you to explore our full collection of resources below.

All Resources

Enhancing Digital Civic Space Through the OGP Process

enhancing digital civic space through the OGP process: principles and recommendations for enabling reforms
In this guide, ICNL offers a checklist of principles to consult before embarking on digital ... Read More

Legislative Overview for Financial Sustainability for Civil Society in Central Asia

kazakhstan, photo credit Nozim Nurillaev via Unsplash
This Legislative Overview examines the regulation of civil society organizations’ key sources of income and ... Read More

The Regulation of Foreign Funding of Nonprofits in a Democracy

foreign funding restrictions
This ICNL Guide explains how states can comply with the FATF Recommendations relevant to the ... Read More

Positive Practices in Implementation of FATF Recommendation 8

Positive Practices in Implementation of FATF Recommendation 8
This ICNL Guide explains how states can comply with the FATF Recommendations relevant to the ... Read More

Myanmar’s 2022 Registration Law

Myanmar's 2022 Registration Law
This assessment looks at the challenges and threats that Civil Society Organizations will face with ... Read More

Recommendations on Uzbek Draft Foreign Funding Regulation

uzbekistan via Unsplash
At the request of local CSOs, ICNL prepared recommendations for further improvement of the Draft ... Read More

Resource Collections

Civic Freedom Monitor Cover Image

Civic Freedom Monitor

The Civic Freedom Monitor provides up-to-date information on civil society law in more than fifty countries and eight multilateral organizations. ICNL works alongside our global network of partners to monitor developments related to civic space.

ICNL's U.S. Protest Law Tracker - landing page button

U.S. Protest Law Tracker

Since November 2016, thirty-five states have considered one hundred bills that would restrict the right to protest. The U.S. Protest Law Tracker follows initiatives at state and federal levels that restrict the right to protest and freedom of assembly.

COVID-19 Civic Freedom Tracker

COVID-19 Civic Freedom Tracker

The coronavirus is a significant threat to public health but it does not need to be a significant threat to civic freedom. The ICNL-ECNL COVID-19 Civic Freedom Tracker monitors government responses to the pandemic that affects civic freedoms and human rights, focusing on emergency laws.

ICNL's Philanthropy Law Reports - landing page button

Philanthropy Law Reports

These reports provide in-depth information on nine countries, including China, Ethiopia, and India. They serve as practical guides for the philanthropic sector and larger nonprofit world. The reports were written by local experts and ICNL staff and were made possible by the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

ICNL's Digital Legal Library - landing page button

Digital Legal Library

This database of key materials includes domestic and international laws, reports, treaties, and court decisions affecting civil society. It houses nearly 4,000 documents from 200 countries and several autonomous territories, written in more than 60 languages.

Civic Space 2040 Cover Image

Civic Space 2040

How can we proactively shape the trends transforming our future? How can we protect and expand civic space in the process? The Civic Space 2040 initiative helps answer these questions by crafting a positive vision for the future and strategies to make it a reality.

ICNL's Global Grantmaking Country Notes: A guide produced for the Council on Foundations for U.S. international grantmakers.

Global Grantmaking Country Notes

In partnership with the Council on Foundations, ICNL maintains reports on thirty-four countries that help U.S grantmakers undertake equivalency determinations for foreign grantees. The reports in this series describe the legal frameworks for nonprofit organizations and provide translations of relevant legislative provisions.

Civil Society Sustainability Index

Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index

The index, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development for twenty years, documents the development of civil society in seventy-one countries of Asia, Europe, Eurasia, Africa, North Africa, and the Middle East. ICNL and FHI 360 work with local partners to produce the index annually.