Understanding the Power of Ratings in the Third Sector – An Analysis of the Creation of an NGO Credibility Index in Greece

During the past decades the wide expansion of the NGO sector across the world has created a rather intense donors' selection problem. Once the “white knights” providing invaluable services to the less privileged, NGOs today are not instantly acknowledged as governments' effective partners. Within this less positive environment the sector has witnessed the reinforcement of an “assessment culture” which is favored by donors’ requirements. NGOs are now consistently undertaking resource-consuming impact evaluations and effectiveness assessments while the formulation of sector-wide ratings and rankings has become in-fashion. The latter seem to be widely used for escaping donors’ selection-problem while they also reinforce an evaluation culture within the NGO sector. This paper presents the outcomes of the formulation of an NGO Credibility Index in Greece while also providing useful insights of the driving forces behind its overall success.