Karla Simon's blog posts on philanthropy and civil society in China

Fashioning new self-regulatory charity policies for accountability and transparency
Posted on 13 February 2012

As mentioned in an earlier blog, China's 'private' foundations have endeavoured to establish self-regulatory guidelines, which were adopted at the second annual private foundation forum. The principles are based on previously developed self-regulation guidelines of the China NPO Network and … Continue reading

A look back at developments affecting civil society in China in 2011 (and a sneak peek at 2012/2013)
Posted on 9 January 2012

As I said recently during a workshop in Beijing, 2011 was really a remarkable year with respect to developments affecting civil society. The year began with the propaganda department of the government saying in January that ‘civil society' was a … Continue reading

Relaxing the registration rules for civil society organizations in China
Posted on 30 November 2011

Instead of blogging this month on self-regulation (a topic to which I will return in 2012), it is important at this juncture to discuss a very significant development. At a party working conference held at the end of November in … Continue reading

Fashioning new government-mandated charity policies for accountability and transparency
Posted on 9 November 2011

At the present time the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs (MoCA) has a very robust web portal for civil society, both nationally and for the local bureaus. The national web portal www.chinanpo.gov.cn has online application and filing mechanisms for acquiring … Continue reading

Developing foundation management in China
Posted on 4 October 2011

As I suggested in last month’s blog, major concerns for the new foundations in China include good fund management, human resources and board development – how foundations are seeking to make their giving more effective by enhancing each of these … Continue reading

Finding resources for social development in China
Posted on 1 September 2011

The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) ‘Five Year Plan for Charity Development’, mentioned in my first blog post, raises the matter of resource development for China’s operating charities. This post looks more closely at the question of how CSOs are … Continue reading

What impact will China’s Five Year Plan have on philanthropy?
Posted on 1 August 2011

Although I’m an American, I will be blogging on developments in China regarding civil society and philanthropy. I am in the process of finishing a book on civil society in China, which is due to be published in 2012. Thus, … Continue reading