This article summarizes findings on the status of Azeri Policy Research Organizations (PROs), both the demand by policymakers for their analyses and on their structure and capacity for conducting policy research. The findings are based primarily on a series of semi-structured interviews conducted during the November 2005 – February 2006 period. The broad picture that emerges on the sources of policy analysis used by government officials and members of Parliament is one where those interviewed turn most often to their own ministries and other government organizations, followed by international organizations and search the internet. There is little overt hostility to PROs and NGOs; indeed there appears to be significant informal interaction between decision makers and these organizations. However, the PROs are seen more as presenting policy views and not as sources of hard information or analysis. Four PROs were identified, and they exhibit a wide variance in the volume of analytic work they undertake, the extent of their involvement in the policy process, and the “policy clients.”

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Members of the Ninjin-net Association, a NPO involved in community informatization activities participated in this study. Comparison between the sense of community of Ninjin-net members and non-member residents’ revealed that Ninjin-net members did not have a particularly proactive sense of community in terms of participating in local activities. However, both members and non-member residents had a moderately high proactive sense of community. Examining the relationship between the sense of community in members and the motivation to participate in NPO activities indicated that the motivation to participate in Ninjin-net activities was higher among the members who had a strong desire to actively cooperate with others in local activities, those who believed it was important for residents to have the right to decide how to better their community, and those who did not believe that it was acceptable to leave local issues to the government or to dedicated others. These results suggest that encouraging Ninjin-net members who are highly motivated to participate in Ninjin-net activities may also lead them to participate in more general local activities.

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This paper follows on previous work focusing on the media representation of volunteerism by examining the local newspaper representation of volunteerism and the nonprofit sector-related articles and columns over a period from 2002 to 2006. The research notes the historical development of volunteerism and the nonprofit sector and contrasting opinions regarding the influence of media on public consciousness of volunteerism and the nonprofit sector, particularly in the case of Japanese media. Use of the ‘Issue-Attention Cycle’ allows for identification and analysis of two trends in the representation of volunteerism and the nonprofit sector in the newspaper media: one an increase-decrease trend, the other a transition from reports on activities to content that is more informational and motivational. As these two trends occur in association with representation that is either in the form of newspaper articles or in the form of newspaper columns, the research concludes that the potential for agenda-setting through newspaper representation of volunteerism and the nonprofit sector can be found in newspaper columns.

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This paper concerns NPO and government partnerships, focusing on the increasing number of contracts between them that are occurring in Japan. It is said that some NPOs are becoming cheap subcontractors for the government, on the basis of the extremely low contract fees provided by the government. In England, where NPO and government partnerships are promoted, the notion of full cost recovery is applied to NPOs, with recommendations regarding recovering both direct and overhead costs. The aim of this paper is to examine the scope of full cost to be recovered by NPOs and to estimate the full cost amount for three contracts executed in Aichi Prefecture, based on the model case from England and the proposal as prepared by a “Working-level Committee of NPO and Government Partnership in Aichi”. The paper concludes that the contract fees from the government cover only 50–70% of the full cost, as wage rates are not considered appropriate for the service, some project costs are not covered and overhead costs which are necessary to maintain the organization are not included by the government estimates. However, NPOs should also prove a rational basis regarding wage level and overhead costs needed to maintain their activities.

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In order to consider the mechanism of continuous innovation of organizations, research on Learning Organization in adult education is examined in this paper. Learning Organization theory is first outlined from the standpoints of organizational cultures and external ideological factors that inhibit Learning Organization practices in corporate society. Learning Organization is regarded as a popular organizational strategy in knowledge society, reflecting a dominant ideology (rational myth). Meanwhile, the notion of critical reflection and empowerment in Learning Organization is limited not only by organizational cultures, but also by external ideological factors. To resolve this circumstance, “a tradition-focused dialogical approach” is adopted, producing “creative tension,” which transforms into the energy of learning and action in order to change organizational traditions. The “creative tension” that occurs between organizational traditions and a plurality of local interpretative practices gives birth to radical learning and new action. Consequently, “protected civic space” and “civil liberties,” which generate a foundation for trust in Learning Organization, are necessary in organizations. Here, such effort is called “open governance”. Finally, the possibility that a nonprofit organization may become a representative Learning Organization is considered from the viewpoint of organizational features and “open governance”.

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This paper is based on a bibliographical note of an article in which the word “shimin katsudo (citizen activities)” appeared for the first time in a written work in Japan. In order to search for the first appearance of the word, multiple document retrievals, including the National Diet Library OPAC, were used. The identified article was an investigation report of a US tour by Japanese women published by the Women and Minors Bureau, the Ministry of Labour in 1951. In the booklet, seven features of “shimin katsudo” based on an understanding of “shimin katsudo” as a form of political participation were shown. These were civil sense-of-responsibility, voluntary service, independency, neutrality, publicity, organization management technology, and grass-roots activities. It can be said that these points of argument are still relevant to understanding citizen activities today, demonstrating the value of this particular article in contemporary Japan “shimin katsudo” research.

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