Centre for Civil Society


Centre for Civil Society is a non-profit think tank based in New Delhi. The Centre was founded in 1997 by Dr Parth Shah, former Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan. It operates as an independent research and educational organisation.
According to the 2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, CCS is rated number 71 in the "Top Think Tanks Worldwide ", number 82 of "Top Think Tanks Worldwide " and number 16 in the "Top Think Tanks in China, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea".

Founder

Dr Parth Shah taught economics at the University of Michigan in Dearborn for seven years before returning to India to advocate for what he calls a ‘Second Freedom Movement’ for economic, social and political independence. He arrived at the conclusion that the statist model of governance was the reason for India's lack of development and decided to provide an alternative view through the Centre. According to T N Ninan, CCS is "devoted to what one might call market liberalism, and inspired by such think-tanks in the US as the libertarian Cato Institute".

History

CCS is an independent think tank focused on decentralisation, freedom and individual rights and policy reform for inclusive and sustainable development.

Mission

The organisation's self-stated mission is "to advance social change through public policy. Our work in education, livelihood, and policy training promotes choice and accountability across private and public sectors. To translate policy into practice, we engage with policy and opinion leaders through research, pilot projects and advocacy.”
CCS undertakes reviews and analyses of policies and on the basis of these, makes suggestions to the government on policy making. It has adopted five streams of work: research, advocacy, campaigns, pilots, and policy-making. It has worked in six sectors in the past, i.e. education, economic freedom, governance, institution of community property rights for environment conservation, and promotion of globalization and trade. It publishes policy reviews and legislative analyses on different issues, organizes public policy seminars for journalists, young leaders, development professionals and public officials, and hosts the annual Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival.

Organisation

CCS has about 30 full-time employees, and receives many interns and volunteers annually. The team includes researchers and campaign specialists from multi-disciplinary backgrounds. The employees are divided among the research, academy, finance and operations, and communication teams.

Funding

The Centre is funded through non-government sources, contributions from individuals, and grants and awards from Indian and international foundations.
Various institutional donors and individuals have supported the Centre's work, including the following:
The University of Pennsylvania Go-To-Think-Tank study ranked it amongst the top 100 think tanks in the world and one of the top think tanks in India.
Awards:
 2020: Think Tank Shark Tank, Asia,, Atlas Network
 2017: The Asia Liberty Award , Atlas Network
 2017: The Leveraging Indices for Free Enterprise Policy Reform Award,
Atlas Network
 2011: Templeton Freedom Award for Initiative in Public Relations for
Certificate Course in Public Policy for Journalists.
 2009: Templeton Freedom Award for Initiative in Public Relations for
School Choice Campaign.
 2005: Templeton Freedom Award for Free Market solutions for Jeevika
Campaign. 
 2004: Templeton Freedom Award Recipient for Student Outreach for
CCS Academy's Liberty & Society Seminars.
Institutional Recognition
 The Street Vendors Act, 2014 requires 10% of the members to be
from non-government and community-based organisations. As per
the notification issued by the Government of NCT of Delhi on 17th
September 2019, Centre for Civil Society has been nominated
as an NGO member for three TVCs in Delhi. 
 CCS is a member of FICCI's Committee on Elementary Education. 
 CCS has been included in the Inclusive Education Committee at CBSE. 
 Parth J Shah, founder and former President of CCS, is a member of the
Mont Pelerin Society, a group of individuals with the objective to
facilitate an exchange of ideas between like-minded scholars in the
hope of strengthening the principles and practice of a free society
and to study the workings, virtues, and defects of market-oriented
economic systems. 
 Parth J Shah has been nominated to the education task force in two
states, Karnataka and Delhi. He has also been a member of the
Karnataka Jnana Aayog and the Delhi Dialogue Commission 
 Parth J Shah also serves as a member of the Court at the Central
University of Tamil Nadu and the Central University of Himachal
Pradesh  
Market Regulations and the Ease of Doing Business  
 India's rankings on the World Bank indices demonstrate tangible
progress between 2015- 2018 in the course of CCS' work targeting
a reduction in the no. of procedures and days required to start a
business annulment of the minimum paid-up capital requirement
contract enforcement 
 The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has
incorporated three of CCS' policy recommendations in its Business Reform Action Plan, 2016. 
 CCS' recommendation for a single online registration system for
businesses has been implemented. The registration can now be
made through a single form on
the eBiz portal. 
 CCS made a presentation before Rajya Sabha's Committee on the
EoDB in September 2015. Of the reforms presented, several
significant recommendations were endorsed by the panel. CCS has
been duly acknowledged for its contribution. The report can be
accessed here 
 CCS Presented its judicial reform recommendations before the Law
Commission of India. The Law Commission of India accepted a
crucial recommendation with regard to the composition of Bar
Councils, now mandating that the bar council include non-elected
members along with elected ones
 The Maharashtra government revoked the requirement of a 'transit
pass' for the transportation of bamboo grown on private land in the
state. CCS had successfully campaigned for the annulment of the
transmit pass, having made a series of presentations to key
ministries and filed RTI appeals for information of due action. 
 In December 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind cleared an ordinance
amending the Indian Forest Act 1927. The amendment classifies
non-forest bamboo as 'grass', freeing up the regulatory regime in
bamboo trade and production and opening up markets for
communities directly dependent on bamboo-based livelihoods.
 Through its 'Bamboo is not a Tree' campaign; CCS advocated for a
change in the classification of bamboo from a 'tree' to a 'grass'. CCS
argued that recognising bamboo as a tree made the resource
inaccessible to the economically disadvantaged forest-dwelling and
rural communities, and thwarted bamboo-based livelihoods. 
 CCS had a remarkable win for street vendors in Rajasthan; the Hon'ble
Supreme Court upheld that the Street Vendors Act, 2014 would
apply to the state of Rajasthan. The ruling makes decentralised Town
Vending Committees central to arbitration on vending zones and the
eviction of street vendors. 
Education
 The Draft National Education Policy 2019 incorporates the CCS
philosophy of separation of functions to reform education governance
in India. On invitation from the Kasturirangan Committee, the apex
body headed by Dr K. Kasturirangan tasked with developing the New
Education Policy, CCS had presented policy reforms
recommendations on the separation of roles of the Government,
implementation of Direct Benefit Transfers in education, and
learning outcomes-based school recognition. The recommendations
can be accessed here.  
 Three key concerns unique to CCS' recommendations on the
implementation of the RTE Act are highlighted in the circular issued
by the Delhi Government on the admission of EWS category
students: Specification of the income limit for EWS at Rs. 1 lakh;
Definition of 'disadvantaged group; Relaxation of the neighbourhood
criteria. 
 School Vouchers: CCS piloted India's first School Voucher pilot through
the Delhi Voucher Project in 2007, and School Voucher for Girls
Project in 2009 with 400 students each
 Skill Vouchers: CCS' Vikalp Skill Voucher model adopted by NSDC's
STAR Scheme, and Modi government's recent launch of the skill card
scheme 
 Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely removed the cap on
licenses to open schools due to the advocacy efforts of the Centre
 The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation launched an online
registration portal for private primary schools affiliated to the
Maharashtra State Board, promoting the ease of opening schools 
 2700 Schools got a respite from arbitrary penalties by CBSE for not
furnishing 'confidential information' relating to day-to-day
operations due to CCS' efforts
 The Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshan Parishad has decided to
stop the practice of distributing free textbooks among students of
primary classes. Instead, the money required to buy the textbooks
will be transferred directly into the students' bank accounts. This
decision marks a significant shift towards introducing Direct Benefit
Transfers in education financing 
 Karnataka government hiked the reimbursement amount paid to
private schools for admitting students under the Right to Education
Act. NISA has consistently campaigned for
redressing the non-payment of reimbursement fees and for
reviewing their computation and had filed a plea in the Karnataka
High Court        
Flagship Programs 
 Jeevika, CCS' Law, Liberty and Livelihood Campaign sought to further
India's movement for economic freedom, promoting effective
reforms for the rights and recognition of small entrepreneurs -
hawkers, cycle-rickshaw pullers, small shop owners, farmers and
agriculturists and other marginal and small entrepreneurs to foster
inclusive growth. The program also incorporated research and
advocacy for promoting the ease of doing business in India. 
 The School Choice Campaign has been one of CCS' flagship initiatives
committed to the education of choice for all. It aims at reorienting
policy focus on learning outcomes, expanding parental choice in
education, and amplifying the voice of budget private schools in the
country. CCS also undertakes research and pilot projects aimed at
building evidence and models for innovation for improving the quality
of education. It has incubated NISA  - an alliance of over 55,000 schools catering to more than
22 million children across 23 states. 
 CCS Academy conducts policy trainings, certificate courses, research
internships and outreach programs for a diverse audience of students, journalists, development and business professionals,
academicians and government officials. CCS Academy also conducts
credit courses as a part of the formal curriculum in leading colleges
and universities in the country. CCS programs seek to encourage
critical thinking and dialogue on key policy issues to inspire future
leaders and change agents to champion a vision of a free society.  
 CCS also operates online platforms for taking market-liberal ideas to a
mass audience: 
o Spontaneous Order is an online commentary on contemporary
issues from the liberal perspective; 
o Indian Liberals serves a repository of Indian liberal writings from
the early 19th century to present times; and
o Azadi.me is CCS' Hindi portal of commentaries and dialogues,
reaching out to the Hindi speaking readership in India. 
 Over 8,500 individuals, including young leaders, development
professionals and journalists have graduated from CCS; 10 of them
have gone on to start their own policy research organisations 
 Incubated by CCS, the Indian School of Public Policy is India's first
management and design-thinking focused school of public policy.
With 56 policy scholars today, the school furthers the vision of
developing a cadre of policy leaders with the knowledge, skills,
wisdom and ethics to understand, design and implement local
solutions to India's enduring policy and governance challenges.
CCS has also received four international Templeton Freedom Awards for market-based solutions to poverty alleviation, initiatives in public relations, and institutional excellence.
A number of notable people have supported CCS’ work, including Gurcharan Das, Swaminathan Aiyar and Milton Friedman, who was the inspiration for the founding of the Centre as well as the School Choice Campaign. Friedman praised the Centre for "serving a vital role in facilitating India’s movement from a centralised economy to a free-market, private-enterprise economy."
Some of the accomplishments of the Centre's advocacy campaigns are:
Education:
Livelihoods:
Governance:

School Choice Campaign

The Centre works in the arena of education reforms, running an advocacy and research initiative, . The Campaign focuses on bringing about reforms in the system of school education in India through Education Vouchers, Regulatory Reforms, and Encouraging Edupreneurs

Education Vouchers

Through pilot projects, CCS has tested the applicability of school vouchers and other reform ideas and identified implementation strategies. They have worked with governments that have announced voucher schemes, like Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, to design, implement and evaluate these schemes.
Delhi Voucher Pilot
School Choice Campaign has test run philanthropically funded pilot projects in Delhi since 2007. They designed and ran India's first voucher pilot, Delhi Voucher Project.
School Vouchers for Girls
The School Vouchers for Girls pilot in North East Delhi is financing 400 girls from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend a school of their choice. The pilot is in its third year of implementation and has observed positive changes in learning outcomes among voucher children.
Over the years, School Choice has been supported by corporate leaders like Narayan Murthy, Anu Aga, Gurcharan Das and Nandan Nilekani and political leaders like Ajay Maken, Deepender Singh Hooda, Baijayant Panda, Sheila Dikshit, and Arvinder Singh Lovely. Civil society organisations like Deepalaya and Pratham also have voiced their support for School Choice.

Regulatory Reform

For regulatory reform, CCS is working towards increasing choice and competition in education through school vouchers and voucher-type tools that "fund students, not schools."
The School Choice Campaign's research and advocacy with respect to the Right to Education Act is focusing on:
The has built a coalition and portal that provides a space for the exchange of experiences, ideas, and grievance redressal. There is also a helpline, set up in collaboration with municipal corporations to provide parents of economically weak sections information about the Act.

Encouraging Edupreneurs

CCS has catalysed the creation of the , a platform the education service providers, school owners and associations who are advocating for the rights of budget private schools. These schools face closure in the face of the RTE that sets forward norms and standards for obtaining a certificate of recognition.

Jeevika Campaign

is a campaign to develop public policy measures that lead to deregulation of exit and entry barriers. Jeevika is currently active in Jaipur and Patna, working to get the Street Vendor Policy/Bill implemented. Their efforts have had success in both states. Rajasthan passed the Street Vendor Law and Bihar is continuing discussions on the Bill.

Documentary Festival

Under Jeevika, CCS organised the first Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival in August 2004. The objective was to create awareness about the livelihood space and to promote filmmakers who work on livelihood issues. The Centre concluded the 11th Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival in December 2014.
The festival has provided a platform to filmmakers, activists and artists from various fields from across South Asia and disseminated information about livelihood trials and tribulations. Students are also invited to participate and send in entries to the festival.
The Centre's ‘Bamboo is not a tree’ campaign had its beginnings in a documentary screened at the Jeevika festival in 2009. Bamboo was classified as a grass by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2011. This is expected to provide relief to those relying on bamboo-based products for their living.
The Jeevika festival is entering its 12th year. Guests in the past have included actors like Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, and Rahul Bose as well as dignitaries like the former Minister of Home Affairs, P. Chidambaram.

CCS Academy

The Centre runs public policy training programs through CCS Academy, an initiative to spread liberal philosophy through workshops, colloquia and student programmes such as internships.

''i''policy

Ìpolicy for Young Leaders is an introductory course in public policy. The course involves a variety of interactive learning methods, including dynamic games, talks, dialogues, and documentaries, designed to provide participants with opportunities to explore and share ideas about policy-based solutions to social problems from a liberal perspective.

''e''policy

epolicy for Young Leaders is an online certificate course introducing students and young professionals to public policy from a liberal perspective. While the basic framework of the program will be based on the ipolicy, it will be exclusively delivered through an online platform. It takes place on two consecutive Saturdays.

Baithaks/ e baithaks

Baithaks and eBaithak are the offline and online version of informal policy discussion sessions aimed towards serving as a platform for CCS alumni, young students, and professionals to engage in public policy discourse. Baithaks/eBaithaks are essentially free-flowing discussions on a specific topic and follow an open group discussion format where the speaker is also the moderator of the debate and the principal guide for all the participants.

Adhyay / eAdhyay

eAdhyay is the online version of CCS’s “Adhyay: Socratic Reading” sessions aimed towards serving as a platform for CCS alumni, young students and professionals to engage in themes and discussions around public policy. An eAdhyay is a collaborative, intellectual dialogue about a series of prescribed texts. The main purpose of the event is to arrive at a fuller understanding of the ideas in the text, and how they relate to the larger issue of discussion. An eAdhyay is based on the principles of the Socratic seminar.

Tweetchats

A Twitter chat or a Tweetchat is an organized discussion on Twitter. It usually follows a Q&A format and is led by a moderator or expert and has a designated hashtag, which is used to take the participants through a guided conversation. The hashtag categorizes and groups tweets, and searching for a specific hashtag will direct users to all of the tweets that include it.

Publications

Within the Academy, CCS publishes and markets liberal resources, such as primers, monographs and handbooks on various issues. Amongst its periodicals are CCS Impact, the organisation's quarterly newsletter and ‘Student First! News’, a weekly compilation of the developments in the education sector. It also publishes the Liberty & Society Series, a compilation of lectures from various talks and policy trainings.
CCS has also published and publicised Public Choice – A Primer by Eamonn Butler, The Morality of Capitalism by Gurcharan Das and State of Governance: Delhi Citizen Handbook 2009 amongst other titles.

Azadi.me

The Centre has created a portal in Hindi called Azadi.me which is a joint venture between Cato and CCS under the Atlas Foundation's Global initiative to set up a libertarian website in Hindi. This is a platform for providing content, launching new initiatives, and managing campaigns. The website serves as a medium for information distribution and insights into a range of liberal issues to people whose first language is Hindi.

ACE

In collaboration with the Atlas Foundation, CCS has set up the Asia Centre for Enterprise. ACE is a "mentor and angel investor", offering training and guidance to liberal intellectual entrepreneurs to build and scale their organizations. It is also a platform for these organisations to come together and share learnings and best practices.

20 Years, 20 Champions

20 years 20 champions campaign is bi-annual profiling of 20 select alumni to recognise and celebrate their contributions to creating a freer society.

Resources

The Centre maintains a library of over 5000 books on philosophy, economics, sociology, anthropology and politics. It also receives publications of think tanks from around the world.

Websites and Blogs

In addition to CCS websites like , , and , the Centre also manages the websites and groups listed below. The School Choice website has a blog that discusses the daily developments in the field of education in India.
Present:

Trustees