GuideStar International.

Interviews

GSI has had the opportunity to interview several key players in the charitable and nonprofit sector, some of whom are working to develop GuideStar in their country. Please find some of the interviews conducted below.

• Pushpa Aman Singh, CEO, GuideStar India
  
• Benoit Fontaine, Advisor, King Baudoin Foundation
• David Brocklebank, Chief Executive, GuideStar Data Services
• Jalal Abdel Latif, Chief of Section, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA)
• Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and GSI Board Member
• Michael Hall, Vice President, Imagine Canada
• Charlotte Buttkus, Research Analyst & Martin Vogelsang, Project Manager, GuideStar Germany
• Zsófia Makadi, Project Manager, GuideStar Hungary Feasibility Project
• Conrad Jardine, former Director of Inkanyezi GuideStar (iGuideStar)

Benoit Fontaine, Advisor, King Baudouin Foundation

This month GSI interviewed Benoît Fontaine who is working on developing GuideStar in Belgium. He talks about:

• The civil society sector in Belgium 
• The reason for GuideStar interest in Belgium 
• The main partners for the initiative 
• Where the data for GuideStar Belgium will come from 

Interview with Benoit Fontaine - Advisor KBF

David Brocklebank, Chief Executive, GuideStar Data Services

GDS CEO Mr. David Brocklebank recently answered questions about the newly formed Community Interest Company such as:

• What is the GDS Vision? 
• Why was GDS set up as a separate organisation? 
• What was the first thing GDS did to attract clients? 
• What products have GDS developed to analyse the charitable sector? 
• What institutions have used GDS data so far 
• How does GuideStar data help increase understanding of the charitable sector? 
• What type of social impact does GDS seek through its work? 

Read the Interview with David Brocklebank, (CEO, GDS)

Jalal Abdel Latif, Chief of Section, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA)

GSI interviewed Jalal Abdel Latif, Chief of Section, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA)

Mr. Latif spoke to us about plans for GuideStar Africa and UN-ECA’s role in the initiative.In the interview we talked about:

• Why UN-ECA decided to work towards building a GuideStar system 
• How information could help achieve the goal of aid effectiveness of the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action 
• The opportunities that exist and constraints that will be faced in developing a GuideStar for Africa 
• The ways in which the challenge of limited internet access could possibly be overcome 
• The primary source of the data 
• The way in which African civil society as a whole can benefit from the system 

Read the interview with Jalal Abdel Latif

• Why the Office for the Third Sector should be changed to Office for Civil Society 
• The role GuideStar is playing in the development of the charitable sector in the UK and overseas 
• The way in which UK civil society compares with the rest of the world 
• How NCVO values the information available on GuideStar UK 
• How he thinks GuideStar can help ease the burden of reporting on charities. 
• Possible opportunities for the charitable sector with the 2012 Olympics 
• The new opportunities and challenges which charities must confront in the future 

Read the interview with Stuart Etherington

• The present and historical importance of the nonprofit sector in Canada with regard to delivering services to communities. 
• The reason why a GuideStar system was identified as the most suitable for online reporting of Canadian nonprofits. 
• The value a GuideStar system would bring to the country’s nonprofit sector, and 
• The need to have a tangible system online to encourage stakeholder participation. 

Read the Interview with Michael Hall

Germany

• The developing acceptance of the need for and the value of transparency in the German third sector, despite lack of a transparency culture.
• The benefits of being part of a European consortium, where each member is examining the possibilities of a GuideStar system for their country.
• The importance of partnerships and support from national civil society leaders in Germany while developing the GuideStar in Germany.
• What they aim to achieve in the future. 

Read the Interview with Project leaders for GuideStar Germany

Hungary

• The recent development of the sector following the socialist era in Hungary 
• The type of civil society organisations that exist in Hungary 
• The type of data available in the country 
• The planned legislation change in the country which will aid the development of civil society reporting in the future, and 
• The opportunities & challenges that exist when trying to set up a GuideStar system in Hungary 

“The strength of Inkanyezi GuideStar will only be as strong as the smallest organisation participating in it…”

Participation of all CSOs is only one of the issues Conrad Jardine the former Director of Inkanyezi GuideStar (iGuideStar) in South Africa discussed when GSI had a chat with him GuideStar developments there. During the interview we spoke about;

• the opportunities and challenges of implementing a South African GuideStar 
• the potential for convergence technology and mobile phones with iGuideStar 
• the use of iGuideStar to bridge the digital divide in South Africa 
• the potential for developing the system in other African countries and 
• the importance of using of iGuideStar to promote the development and work of the smallest community groups in the country. 

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