Following the successful research project “THALES I” (2012-2015), the Department of Political Science and International Relations of the University of the Peloponnese, in collaboration with HIGGS, is implementing the “THALES II” programme with a two-year duration (2018-2020) and funding from the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the TIMA Charitable Foundation, the A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation and the Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation.

The main objective of the Programme is to study the ecosystem of NGOs in Greece – at a more practical level – as well as map and evaluate them, thereby creating a reliable record of the NGOs categorised per sector of activity. At the same time, other objectives of the programme are the establishment of evaluation of Greek NGOs on the basis of their effectiveness, organisation and transparency; the investigation of possibilities for the improvement of their credibility; the promotion of volunteering in conjunction with the encouragement of organised initiatives of solidarity.

• During the first year of implementation of the programme, more than 700 active organisations were mapped which were approached by the Research Team in order to participate in the Programme.
• In total, 107 organisations completed the procedure and took part in the evaluation, while 225 organisations requested and received information for their registration on the online system and stated their intention to participate in the second phase of the evaluation (Nov. 2019 - Apr. 2020).

“The John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation was one of the main supporters of the THALES II programme. Its support was crucial for the implementation of a project aiming to map the ecosystem of Greek NGOs and, more importantly, evaluate the hundreds of active organisations in the sector. The donation made it possible to upgrade the evaluation methodology and invite, from the first year of implementation of the project, more than 200 organisations to the THALES II platform in order to evaluate their performance in the areas of organisation, effectiveness and transparency. Moreover, the project accomplishes the diffusion of a positive dimension of practical evaluation, as well as the establishment of a range of best practices in organisational, administration and communication matters, thus reinforcing Greek NGOs effectively”.

Sotiris Petropoulos

Associate Professor, University of the Peloponnese,

Director HIGGS, Member of the Project’s Scientific Committee