Methodology

Methodology

Ultimately, the Index serves to inform the development of philanthropic environments across economies by providing rigorous, comparative international data that can raise awareness and understanding of the best strategies to create a more enabling environment for philanthropy globally.

To achieve these objectives, a standard questionnaire completed by country-based experts assesses the environment for philanthropy in a given economy. One or more experts for each of the 91 economies included in the study responded to the questionnaire. The expert questionnaire contains 11 indicator questions to measure the environment on the basis of six factors, as listed below. For each indicator question, country experts provided a narrative and a score on the scale of 1 (indicating the least favorable environment) to 5 (indicating the most favorable environment) for philanthropy.

The 2022 GPEI assessed the following six factors:

• Ease of operating philanthropic organizations;
• Tax incentives;
• Cross-border philanthropic flows;
• Political environment;
• Economic environment; and
• Socio-cultural environment.

Additionally, the country-level reports capture information in the following areas:

• Legal forms of philanthropic organizations;
• Important social causes supported by philanthropic organizations;
• Average time for registration, and average registration costs;
• Current state of the philanthropic sector;
• Major recent events affecting the philanthropic landscape;
• Future observable trends;
• Recommendations for improvement; and
• Philanthropic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following this country-level data collection, 14 regional reviewers discussed scores and narratives with the country experts and identified more detailed information about the regional trends of philanthropy. For the first time, 14 regional meetings were organized in which country and regional experts discussed key trends and the development of philanthropy in each region.

The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy research team then calculated the average scores for each indicator and factor at the country-, regional, and global levels and identified the key trends that emerged across regions since 2018. The highlights of the narratives collected are included in the global report.

Score Validation and Review Process

After country-level contributing experts completed the questionnaire, the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy research team first reviewed scores and narratives, conducted supplementary research, and collected additional information from country experts as needed. Then all data were sent to regional reviewers for score validation at the regional level. Regional reviewers assessed the scores from all participating economies included in the region, reviewed the narratives provided by country experts, and developed a concise report summarizing regional developments and trends.

As part of the 2022 GPEI regional review process, the research team hosted 14 online meetings with experts from each of the 14 regions. They shared updates on the development of the philanthropic environment in each economy during the 2018–2020 period and discussed scores for the 11 indicator questions at the country and regional levels.

Lastly, the Global Advisory Council reviewed and discussed the scores and country reports from a global perspective and suggested adjustments for some economies as needed. After this careful and thorough score validation and review process at the country-, regional, and global levels, the research team calculated the final average values for each factor as well as each economy and region, and developed the 2022 GPEI.

Each report presents an overview of the region and key findings about the current state of philanthropy in the region across the five key factors measured.