In August and September, the Civic Alliance - Latvia (CAL) carried out a survey of organisations' views on various crises (Covid-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, energy crisis, etc.) in order to identify the current situation and the sector's views on the necessary solutions. 

The organisations surveyed are concerned about their future and the potential of activities in autumn and winter. As the vast majority of organisations do not have any financial reserves to cover the expected increase in costs, for many this could prove critical and operations would have to be frozen or discontinued.

Reflecting on how the crises of the last two years have affected the work of organisations, their representatives point to various challenges. Some organisations had to scale down their activities due to the unavailability of face-to-face events and volunteers. The organisations also point to the increased use and implementation of digital technologies in the organisation and implementation of their work. At the same time, the introduction of digital technologies has also had negative consequences: those target groups of organizations who do not use modern technologies were no longer reachable and included in activities during the crisis years (e.g. seniors or young people living in difficult financial conditions). With regard to digital technologies, organisations also stress that after two years of active use, both representatives of organisations and their target groups are tired of them and do not want to be so active in the digital environment. 

Overall, about half of the organisations estimate that their work has increased in the last two years. Only about one in five organisations experienced a reduction in the volume of work, while the rest remained the same. While the volume of work has increased, a large number of organisations claim that their working conditions have worsened. This applies to aspects such as working hours, workload, pay, social security, tax, working environment, etc. Only one in ten organisations recognises improvements in working conditions. This shows that the overall operating conditions in the non-governmental sector have deteriorated.

A total of 43 organisations gave their views, half of them working in the field of civil society development and half in other areas (culture, charity, education, environment, etc.).