At its creation CECI’s mission was geared to:
· Support the building of a society in Israel that is acutely aware of its civic and sovereign duties, conscious of its democratic rights, cognizant of the power of the “vote” and capable of impacting priorities and policies at the national, regional and community level.
· Implement educational initiatives that will empower the Israeli public, and transform her citizens into proactive participants in their complex, multi-cultural, politically fragmented society.
· Seek ways, through research, to strengthen the communication between voters and their represent atives and promote a culture of accountability toward constituents.
· Suggest alternatives, through research, to the current electoral system and the structure of the government & examine the implications of the different options presented.
The hope was that with increased knowledge and commitment to civic involvement, an empowered Israeli citizenry would seek to find an improved path toward a more effective, stable and accountable government.
From the get-go, CECI created numerous leadership projects and many educational projects in collaboration with Israel’s Ministry of Education. These programs were aimed at reinforcing civic studies at schools while promoting literacy and civil capabilities among students and youths.
Over the years, CECI as a nonpartisan organization, has promoted legislation and policy reform proposals in a range of legislative topics, while taking part in central steps to revise the Israeli electoral system, being instrumental for the legislation of 4 “Governance Laws” in 2014. (The process began on January 21, 2012 when Minister Israel Katz presented to the Knesset, 4 of CECI’s recommendations as “law proposals”: (1.) Increase the majority required to overthrow a government, (2.) Raise the electoral threshold, (3.) Add regional elections to the current system, (4.) Limit maximum number of Ministers in the government to 23.
*As of 2016, minor changes have occurred to the Governance Laws.
Following changes in the political and social arena in recent years, CECI’s logo evolved and the organization expanded its scope of activities to include projects which enhance the effectiveness and implementation capabilities of governmental agencies. In other words, CECI increased momentum in its mission to promote the topic of a well-functioning government boasting optimum performance.
Via different channels, CECI routinely conducts research studies to produce new, relevant tools to be used by governmental agencies and the public. This motivates change processes in favor of increasing the effectiveness and stability of the governmental system. CECI interacts with government agencies in a constructive manner, which helps integrate collaboration and voice public opinion when needed. CECI’s strength is in its ability to develop an available infrastructure for collaborative work with decision-makers, while serving as an ambassador to represent the “voice of civilians” who demand that the government successfully implement and execute decisions.
Currently, CECI also serves as a “watch dog” helping to diagnose systemic failures in the government system and initiate methods of “follow-up” to monitor progress toward social and political change. CECI utilizes various means to accomplish this task. Additionally, the organization proposes solutions and activities that will assist in improving governmental work. These activities support the establishment of a wide, empirical and integrative knowledge-base for understanding governance processes in Israel and how to improve them.
The goal is to improve the quality of life of Israeli citizens.
To summarize, within its current framework, CECI operates on numerous channels:
· Methodological follow-up of the implementation of government decisions and Knesset laws
· Development of advanced indexes to examine the government’s performance and functioning
· Installment of technological tools to make governmental performance accessible to the general public
· Dissemination of academic knowledge towards diagnosing and identifying main implementation barriers and system-wide malfunctions in governmental work
· Leadership of a public, media and political discourse focused on the government’s short-comings and the promotion of answers and solutions
CECI’s ultimate objective is, and always has been, to ensure all citizens, present and future, to benefit from a well-functioning, effective and stable government.