“Transparency Level of NGOs in Turkey is Low”

We talked to Associate Dr. Mehmet Fatih Güner from Alanya ALaaddin Keykubat University about his study titled "Financial Transparency Problem in the Third Sector: Investigation of Transparency Levels of Civil Society Organizations in Turkey". Based on the findings of his research, Güner says that the overall transparency levels of NGOs, especially the financial transparency levels are low in Turkey. Pointing out the necessity of realizing change and transformation among the civil society sector, Güner states that this will only be possible with an arrangement that obliges to provide transparency at a legal level.

In your research titled “Financial Transparency Problem in the Third Sector: Investigation of Transparency Levels of Civil Society Organizations in Turkey”, based on the websites of 280 NGOs in Turkey, you claimed as “the overall transparency level of NGOs in Turkey is low, and the area where transparency is the lowest in NGOs is financial transparency.” How did you make this determination? 

In the study, the scale used was the set of criteria which also were used in the previous studies. It is worth noting that transparency in NGOs is not a topic that is frequently researched in Turkish literature, so I fully utilized English literature while determining the scale. It is also possible to find the scale in the article…
Transparency was evaluated at three levels and in groups. With corporate transparency, it was evaluated whether NGOs shared introductory information and communication channels about senior management or about board members and key personnel. The level of sharing information about the transparency of the activity and the projects (including completed and executed) by NGOs was investigated. In the context of financial transparency, it was investigated how detailed they had shared the information about fund sources and where they had spent them.
A total of 280 NGOs’ websites were examined one by one, by taking criterias into account. NGOs, associations, foundations, associations operating in the public interest, foundations operating in the public interest, unions, professional organizations, and political parties were examined separately. As a result of the statistical analysis, the corporate transparency score was 70, the activity transparency score was 48, and the financial transparency score was 19. It would be better to interpret these as over 100 and over success grades.
As a result of the research, it was determined that NGOs easily share the necessary information (mostly promotional and advertising information) to find funds. However, it is seen that they are insufficient to share the necessary information in the context of accountability. It was observed that many NGOs do not share any information in the financial context.

Strong Demand and Expectation for NGOs to Be More Accountable and Transparent

You say, “Accountability and transparency are very important for NGOs”. Why are they so important?

While NGOs produce social benefits with various public services such as social aid, education and health services and infrastructure investments, they also contribute to the democratic development of countries with their work on political issues such as human rights and freedoms. NGOs to be developed, to be increased in number and their fund resources to be diversified are required for the growth and development countries. NGO economy, which has a growth amount of around 5% of the GNP in developed countries is less than the 2% of the GNP of Turkey.
NGOs are financed either directly or indirectly by the community and the public. Funds provided to NGOs from the state budget are considered as direct public finances. On the other hand, individual and corporal donations are deducted from taxable income provided that they meet the conditions in the legislation. In this case, this method is considered as indirect financing by NGOs because the state has given up the tax it can collect. Individual and corporal donations that are not subject to tax deductions should also be considered as financing by the society.
Due to the two main reasons explained above, there is a strong demand and expectation for NGOs to achieve a more accountable and transparent structure among the society. Citizens’ awareness as well as the irregularity and corruption news that NGOs and / or their managers are involved also have an impact on the formation of this demand, thanks to civil society research and examples of good practice in the world.

There are two main benefits as micro and micro levels responding to this strong demand in the context of accountability and transparency. With the formation and increase of trust in NGOs on a macro basis, the amount of donations will increase and NGOs will have access to finance. The growth in the NGO economy is expected to contribute to the state’s current services and democratic development. On a micro basis, it is expected to increase the institutionalization level of the NGO in question and to use the resources of the organization more efficiently and effectively with the applications of accountability and transparency.

Which factors affect the accountability and transparency levels of NGOs in Turkey?

In the research conducted, it was examined whether six main factors had an effect on transparency. These factors are institutional size, institutional age, using funds from international sources, NGO type, national or international activities and board of management’s size. Among these factors, only a significant statistical relationship was found between institutional size (asset size, total donation and number of members) and transparency. It will not be misleading to interpret that larger NGOs are more transparent. On the other hand, although no meaningful statistical relationship was found, the information shared by NGOs providing funds from international sources on their websites was above average. This shows that NGOs included in international networks have gained positive practices from their stakeholders abroad in the context of institutionalization.

There are researches of institutions such as TÜSEV in Turkey concerning that giving and philanthropy levels were low and that most of the citizens prefer to donate directly to people close to them. How effective are the transparency and accountability of NGOs on the motivation to donate?

In another study that has not been published yet, I tried to identify the factors affecting the donators’ decisions. In the literature, the factors which affect or do not affect the donators’ decisions are listed as follows: ages of the donators, their genders, income status, religiosity, levels of sensitivity to social issues, expectations regarding future financial situation, promotion activities of NGOs, trust in NGOs, transparency of NGOs, the perception of generosity of the donators about themselves and their experience of volunteering at the NGO.
It is possible to say that donators attach great importance to transparency and accountability in NGOs. I also observe that they are increasingly sensitive about this. I can say that transparency is not effective in making donations, but it is very effective in not making donations. This prevents NGOs from accessing finance and expanding their activities.

Step By Step platform has provided great resources to increase donation in Turkey. Would you consider Step By Step platform as a transparent and accountable system?

Step By Step Platform is a system that increases transparency in terms of showing where and how resources are obtained. In the financing of NGOs, the first stage is collecting donations, and the second stage is reporting where the donations are spent. Step By Step platform provides transparency in the first stage. The transparency chain will be completed if the NGO where donations are made also explains where and how the donations are spent.

Are NGOs obliged to make a legal commitment to donators in Turkey? What can donators legally request from NGOs in Turkey in terms of transparency and accountability?

Açık Açık Association is a platform that contributes to ensuring transparency, although with a limited number of NGOs and limited scope of information, however more comprehensive implementations are required in our country. There is no unity of practice in Turkey on transparency and accountability. There is no legal obligation to contract an engagement towards donators. Legal arrangements have been made in a framework that deems it sufficient for NGOs to notify regulatory agencies (such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Directorate of Civil Society Relations or General Directorate of Foundations). However, legal regulations that require NGOs to share more information on the internet should be put into practice, and NGOs should be made open to social control when taking the conditions of the necessities of the time into account.

The Need to Realize Change and Transformation in the Sector with Legal Regulations

Do you think ensuring transparency and accountability guarantees the reliability of an NGO? How can the reliability of an NGO be guaranteed in the eyes of donators? What kind of suggestions do you offer with your academic studies to increase donations in Turkey in a transparent and accountable way?

Transparency and accountability also support good corporate governance within NGOs. Of course, it may not be possible to reset or destroy irregularities among institutions that operate with human factor. But it is obvious that it will prevent or minimize the misuse of resources as well as abuse and irregularities. Awareness of donators and demanding transparency from NGOs will force NGOs to change in this sense. What’s even more important is to make the change and transformation in the sector by making legal arrangements in this regard.

What kind of changes should be made in the legal legislation in order to make NGOs transparent and accountable in Turkey? 

In my “Financial Transparency in NGOs: Comparative Analysis of Turkey and USA Applications” titled research (link located below), I have discussed the NGOs and Form 990 applications in USA in a detailed manner. With Form 990 in the USA, it is mandatory for NGOs to share very detailed information on financial matters (such as the salaries of senior managers, salaries of professional employees, the most donated resources, the suppliers with the most business, transactions with related parties), and to publish those information on the internet. I think that such an arrangement will make a significant contribution to transparency in NGOs.
An application similar to Form 990 will also be a very important data source for experts conducting research on civil society like myself. Currently, we have difficulty in obtaining data on civil society. 

Are there good examples of NGOs within the framework of your academic research that work in a transparent and accountable manner? Can you give an example?

The National Education Foundation, Darüşşafaka Society and the Istanbul Erkek Liseliler Foundation, which had received full points in my research, are NGOs that I can show as examples of good practice.

Could you share your personal observations about the transparency and accountability of civil society work in Turkey, and your personal experiences if any?

It is possible to say that there is generally a consensus on the importance and necessity of transparency and accountability… It should be evaluated as a positive situation. But we face problems while transferring this ideal situation into practice. It stands in front of us as a fact that Turkey has failed to realize good practices and methods with its internal corporal dynamics. Therefore, I believe that it is necessary to regulate the minimum criteria within the legal framework instead of leaving it to individuals or institutions. In my next research, I plan to address the causes of transparency resistance in NGOs. In this way, I think we will have an opportunity to understand why managers and professionals are resisting against transparency.