Centre for Civil Society
| Abbreviation | CCS |
|---|---|
| Motto | Social change through public policy |
| Established | 1997 |
| Founder | Parth J Shah |
| Type | Libertarian think tank |
| Location | |
|
Staff
|
30 |
| Website | Official website |
Centre for Civil Society (CCS) is a non-profit think tank based in New Delhi. The Centre was founded in 1997 by Parth Shah, former Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan. It operates as an independent research and educational organisation.
According to the 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report (Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, University of Pennsylvania), CCS is rated number 5 (of 100) in the "Top Think Tanks Worldwide (non-U.S.)", number 50 (of 150) of "Top Think Tanks Worldwide (U.S. and non-U.S.) and number 14 (of 50) in the "Top Think Tanks in China, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea".
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”.
CCS is an independent think tank focused on decentralisation, freedom and individual rights and policy reform for inclusive and sustainable development.
The organisation’s self-stated mission is “to promote choice, competition and community based policy reforms. Through research, advocacy and outreach, the Centre is reinvigorating civil society and rightsizing political society”.
CCS undertakes reviews and analyses of policies and on the basis of these, makes suggestions to the government on policymaking. It has adopted five streams of work: research, advocacy, campaigns, pilots, and policymaking. 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 globalisation and trade. Today, the Centre runs two main issue-specific campaigns, the School Choice Campaign and Jeevika Livelihoods Campaign. It publishes policy reviews and legislative analyses on different issues, organises public policy seminars for journalists, young leaders, development professionals and public officials, and hosts the annual Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival.
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