Civil society organisations and community development: reflections on the Georgian experience

This paper draws on the experience of the Centre for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) to explore the current situation of the 'civil sector' in post-Soviet Georgia. More specifically, it addresses the emergence of community development in the country and the challenges it faces now and in the future. The paper begins with a brief account of the development of a third sector in Georgia before reviewing the work of the CSRDG and highlighting its impact and the constraints on further development. It concludes by calling for a strategic partnership between civic organisations, international agencies and the state to create the conditions in which community development and the third sector could thrive.