marginalized segment of the population begins to press for additional resources to expand the number of beneficiaries or engages decision-makers about the need to address the root causes of a given social malady rather than simply treating the symptoms. Such an evolution can give the group greater credibility and clout in part because it has an existing, well defined support base that grounds any advocacy work firmly in the body politic. In contrast, many democracy and human rights advocacy groups are not sufficiently embedded in the broader civil society, and do not have a large, well-defined constituency, reducing their overall advocacy capabilities. In practice, most donors, including USAID, provided funding to both types of groups. Where governments established a legal and regulatory framework favorable to the development of an influential Third Sector, the bulk of resources devoted to strengthening civil society tended to be channeled toward advocacy programming. In countries with leaderships apprehensive about or overtly hostile to reform and/or with less developed civil societies, funding was skewed toward social service delivery groups. Over time, a number of the NGOs that have made the most progress in achieving financial viability are hybrids that combine both advocacy and service delivery. Looking back, the NGO sector has come a long way from the early days of the political upheaval that swept Central and Eastern Europe and soon thereafter triggered the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Nationalist movements, at times infused with democracy themes and goals, brought down communist regimes across the region. This political mobilization was the crucible for the emerging civil society sector and advocacy-oriented NGOs, providing a proving ground for a cadre of men and women to develop a set of skills they would put to good use in the Third Sector as well as in government. Over the years, the advocacy skills and political impact of the NGO sector have increased considerably. This is not to say that the Third Sector is a major force in all or even most of the countries in the E&E region. The inability of democracy and human rights NGOs to prevent backsliding in Russia, to offer more resistance to the crackdown on progressive forces in Uzbekistan, or to shape more palpably the political evolution of E&E societies, attests to the immense work that still must be done. But these setbacks and shortcomings should not obscure the enormous progress that the NGO sector has registered over the past decade and a half. In virtually every component of advocacy enumerated in the NGO Sustainability Index and in companion categories such as the legal environment, organizational capacity, and infrastructure that are crucial to progress in the advocacy sphere, NGO sectors in the E&E region have been getting steadily stronger -allowing for year-to-year fluctuations over this time period. Professionalization of the NGO sector has continued apace as talented and dedicated individuals now have the possibility of making a career of such work. They have been the beneficiaries of a great deal of training and organizational capacity-building programs by top-flight assistance implementers, often involving extended stays in Western countries, and participation in transnational civil society networks that function as conduits for disseminating best practices and lessons learned. More specifically, NGOs have developed a deeper understanding of the political process and leverage points for well-designed attempts to influence policy decisions. In country after country, NGO leaders have forged ties with like-minded government officials, provided empirically-grounded policy advice, and been invited to help craft legislation owing to their substantive expertise. In addition to lobbying, another area of advocacy where NGOs have made big strides is in dealing with the media. An ever growing number of senior NGO representatives are adept at cultivating professional relationships with journalists, bringing to bear their expertise and becoming sources for stories and quoted commentators. By helping to frame how the press covers issues and to some degree influencing what issues get covered, NGOs are more actively engaged in shaping public awareness and attitudes. To the extent they have some visibility these groups also convey an important message about citizen involvement and the THE 2005 NGO SUSTAINABILITY INDEX
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