Appendix 1
Mail Questionnaire

A Questionnaire for Environmental Nongovernmental Organizations

To whom is this Questionnaire addressed?

---

Invitation to cooperate

Another purpose of the study is to develop recommendations about how to adjust the services of the REC to better meet the demands of the NGO community in the CEE region and to more successfully facilitate a dialogue among different sectors of society.

Your honest answers will greatly assist us and all environmental NGOs in CEE.

---

How to fill in the Questionnaire?

However, each organization, or its particular branch/subdivision, should fill in only one Questionnaire.

While filling in the Questionnaire, please follow carefully the instructions provided for each question.

Thank you for your attention to these details and for your cooperation.

---

First of all, we would like to have some general background information about your organization

Q1: Please indicate what country your organization is from.

• Albania
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Estonia
• Hungary
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• FYR Macedonia
• Poland
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• FR Yugoslavia
• other (specify)

Q2: Where is your organization located?

• in capital city
• in other large city (300,000 inhabitants and/or more)
• in small town / countryside / village

Q3: While completing this Questionnaire, do you represent a whole organization or one of its particular subdivisions?

• an organization as a whole
• a specialized branch of a bigger organization
• a local or regional branch of an umbrella organization

Q4: How important is environmental work for your organization?

• environmental work is the only type of activity our organization conducts (100% of all activities)
• environmental work constitutes the main portion of the organization's activities (50% to 100% of the whole scope of work the organization does)
• environmental work is a supplementary field of activity of the organization (less than 50% of the whole scope of work)

Q5: How many active individual members are in your organization?

• up to 10 persons
• 11 to 25 persons
• 26 to 50 persons
• 51 to 100 persons
• 101 to 500 persons
• 501 to 1,000 persons
• more than 1,000 persons

Q6: How many collective / associated members (i.e. other groups) does your organization have?

Q7: When was your organization originally created, regardless of its official registration?

Q8: Is your organization officially registered?

• yes
• no

Q9: When was your organization officially registered?

Q10: Please indicate which of the following categories best describes the official legal status of your organization? [Circle only one option!]

• local environmental citizens' organization (i.e. grass-roots group)
• group of environmental professionals
• branch of regional or nationwide (environmental) organization
• branch of an international environmental organization
• national or regional umbrella organization
• international umbrella organization
• not-for-profit foundation
• political club
• information / analytical agency
• other; please specify (if none of the above)

Q11: Do the activities of your organization comply with the organization's officially registered status?

• basically, they comply
• we act broader than prescribed by our official status
• we act narrower than prescribed by our official status
• difficult to say (don't know)

Q12: At which level does your organization mainly operate? [Circle only one option]:

• mainly at local level
• mainly at regional level (part of your country)
• mainly nationwide
• mainly international
• don't know

Thank you for this background data.

---

Now let's turn to the more interesting issues.

In what areas of environmental work is your organization active?

Q22: How would you evaluate the effectiveness of your organization's performance in its main areas of activity during the last year, regardless of the reasons for success or failure? [Circle only one option!]

• unsuccessful performance ("Unfortunately, we mostly failed to achieve the goals that we have proclaimed for last year.")
• partially unsuccessful performance ("Some of the goals we have identified were partly achieved, but most have failed")
• intermediate performance ("Some of the goals were achieved, while some others mostly failed")
• partially successful performance ("Most of the goals for last year were achieved, but we are still not satisfied with the results.")
• fully successful performance ("We have achieved all the goals that were identified for last year.")
• difficult to say ("Don't know.")

---

We understand that obtaining consistent and adequate funding is among the highest priorities for most organizations. Therefore, we have a few questions regarding the financial status of your organization.

Q23: How would you evaluate the financial status of your organization? [Circle only ONE option!]

• very good ("We do not have any serious financial problems.")
• good enough ("Basically, we have enough funding to support our main activities, but some of our current and/or prospective programs are lacking in financing.")
• unstable ("Most of our projects are experiencing financial difficulties.")
• poor ("We can hardly maintain our basic activities/projects because of insufficient funding.")
• very poor ("We do not receive any funding.")
• difficult to say ("Don't know.")

Q24: What is the current annual budget of your organization? Please provide a US Dollars equivalent of the funds that were available for your organization last year? [Circle only one option!]

• up to $500
• $501 to $1,000
• $1,001 to $5,000
• $5,001 to $10,000
• $10,001 to $50,000
• $50,001 to $100,000
• above $100,000
• don't know

What is the composition of the financial resources of your organization? Using the scale provided, please circle the one option that applies for each possible source. [Hint: Try to estimate the composition so that the total adds up to 100%.]

---

Many environmental problems require cooperation between environmental groups, governments, business and the general public to develop the most suitable solutions. Next, we would like to ask you a few questions about the extent of cooperative relationships your organization is involved in.

Does your organization maintain any working relationships with other environmental organizations? Please choose the appropriate box for each type of your possible partners.

How would you evaluate your relationships with central and local authorities in your country? Please mark the appropriate box in each row.

What do you believe is critically important for more effective environmental work where your organization is active?

What are the biggest problems your organization is facing now?

---

One of the main purposes of this study is to determine the impact of REC programs and services on environmental ngos in Central and Eastern Europe.

Please indicate to what extent you are familiar with the activities of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, both its Head Office in Budapest and the Local Office in your country?

Has your organization ever received REC grant (Earmarked Grant, Local Grant, Danube Grant, or Pilot Grant, etc.)? Please place a mark in each cell that applies to each type of grant.

Q66: Have members of your organization ever taken part in the Junior Fellowship Program or the Senior Fellowship Program?

• never participated
• yes, once
• yes, on several occasions

Q67: Does your organization have any REC publications in the library or book collection? [For instance, the REC is publishing "The Bulletin" (guarterly) and its "Monthly Supplement" in local languages, various environmental directories, manuals, reports and reference books, information brochures, etc.]

• no, we do not have one single item published by the REC
• yes, we've got some REC publications (less then 10 titles)
• yes, we've got a significant collection of the REC's printed materials (more then 10 titles)

Q68: Have you ever participated in other programs, arrangements, assemblies, meetings, etc. organized by the REC or used REC's facilities? [please specify]

• never participated
• participated occasionally
• participate regularly

The REC conducts a variety of different programs. Which of the following would you be interested in undertaking in the near future (this year)?

---

Now, we have a few questions concerning your organization's needs for various kinds of support.

Q77: To what extent do you believe that external support is crucial for the effective work of your organization? Please choose one of the following statements below that most applies to your organization:

• there is no critical need for external support, because our organization is currently strong enough by itself
• external support and facilitation is somewhat important for some of our organization's activities and/or projects
• external support is of critical importance for the very existence of our organization
• don't know

If you were given an opportunity to apply for a grant or other kind of support (not necessarily from the REC), which of the following would be most useful to your organization?

Consider you're being offered some training courses for the next year. Which of the following would be most useful to your organization?

---

There are several international or Western environmental organizations and foundations, including the REC itself, that are providing substantial support and a variety of services to environmental groups in CEE.

Please provide us with the names of such organizations that are, to your opinion, very, somewhat or not helpful in the following particular types of support or services:

---

To conclude, we would like to ask a few questions about the general organizational structure and capacities of your organization.

Q118: What kind of membership does your organization offer?

• fixed membership with necessary dues
• fixed membership without necessary dues
• no formal membership
• combined model

Q119: Which of the following options describes your organization's accommodations in the best way?

• our organization owns its own head office
• we rent office space we need for our work on a regular basis
• sometimes we rent rooms or another space for our work
• we work informally or in the working places of our members
• we do not need any room for our work

How many paid personnel or specialists (both part-time and full-time) are employed in your organization

Does you organization have access to modern means of communication and information?

• Q123: typewriter
• Q124: telephone
• Q125: telefax
• Q126: personal computer
• Q127: electronic mail service
• Q128: TV set
• Q129: video recorder player
• Q130: other (specify)

Are members or representatives of your group able to communicate in English and/or any other international language? Please, mark all that apply.

• Q131: English
• Q132: Russian
• Q133: German
• Q134: French
• Q135: Italian
• Q136: Spanish

Q137: How did you receive this Questionnaire?

• from REC's Local Office in your country
• at a conference or workshop
• from your colleagues in another NGO
• other source (specify)