CSD Radio station. Began in April 1991, rebroadcasting Voice of America programs. Received early U.S. government and other support for equipment and otherwise establishing the station. Once the transition began, the station tried a strong news format but soon discovered that this was not appealing. In response to lost market share, in 1993 the station shifted to a music format with news briefs, and expanded to three stations. Under this format, the station is profitable. Marketing surveys. Although CSD’s first survey was conducted in 1990, Vitosha Research (VR), which conducts marketing surveys and analysis for commercial clients, was not created until 1994. VR has a number of international clients and specializes in more demanding survey research tasks. IUE Credit rating agency. IUE created the Russian credit agency in 1997; initially the activity focused on rating bonds issued by municipalities and subjects of the Federation. In summer 1998, it was spun off as a wholly owned subsidiary (E-A Ratings Service) and signed a strategic affiliation agreement with Standard & Poor’s. In 2001, S&P purchased a 70 percent interest in E-A Ratings. Municipal economic development. Established in fall 1997, a team within IUE provides consultancy services to mid-sized cities in the creation of their economic development plans. CDFE Corporate training. The program provides development and management of customized education programs for senior staff of banks and enterprises. CASE Technical assistance to transitional countries. In 1992, a foundation invited CASE staff to provide technical assistance to Russia on its evolving macroeconomic policy. Further requests from donor organizations followed and activity expanded. In 1994–95, CASE more actively sought support for such work. Corporate sponsors. CASE recruited “corporate patrons” from among Poland’s 70 largest and most respected corporations and banks. Patrons make a fixed contribution and receive CASE’s publications, invitations to open seminars, and invitations to occasional “patrons only” events. Table A9.1.1 Number, Timing, and Importance of Initiatives Item CSD IUE CDFE CASE Timing Year institute founded 1989 1995 1991 1991 Year institute began thinking seriously about diversification 1994 1996 1996 1992 Motivation Reduce dependence on primary funding source No Yes Yes Yes
Necessary to engage in new type of work Yes Yes No Yes Number of initiatives Number allied to principal activity 1 2 1 2 Number separate from principal activity 1 0 0 2 Importance of all initiatives to revenue of the main company 30% 10% 20 to –30% 40 to 55% Size Number of professional staff equivalent) 28 36 6a 40 CSD = Center for the Study of Democracy IUE = Institute for Urban Economics CDFE = Center for Democracy and Free Enterprise CASE = Center for Social and Economic Research a Excludes parliamentary interns. Table A9.1.2 Origin, Development, and Rating of Each Initiative Firm and initiative Source of idea Type of analysis undertakena Promotion effortb (yes/no) Annual number of orders Financial success (yes/no) CSD: radio station USG rep.; CSD president 2 No NA Yes CSD: marketing surveys Staff 2, 4 No 25 to 30 Yes IUE: credit rating Staff 1, 3, 4 y2 3 to 5c Yes IUE: municipal economic development Staff 1 y2 2 Too early to tell CDFE: corporate training CDFE president 1 No varies Yes CASE: tech assist to transition economy Staff 1 y1 5 to 6 countries, 3 to 4 sponsorsd Yes CASE: corporate sponsors Staff 1 y2 8 sponsors Yes