Abstract
This chapter will examine the changing landscape of policy analysis conducted by NGOs. It will focus particularly on NGOs which seek to influence policy processes and/or public discourses and for which access to and use of expertise is of crucial importance.
Czech NGOs generally do not have a broad membership base; hence their legitimacy does not result from active membership but rather from epistemic sources, their scientific knowledge, expertise etc. The importance of an evidence-based approach is further strengthened by the relatively high degree of confidence Czech society has in science and expert knowledge.
In this chapter we will explore the sources and methods (producing, co-producing, re-using, etc.) NGOs use to identify, formulate and advocate their positions to public policies. We will discuss the differences between the character of policy analysis employed in formal and informal processes of influencing public policies and the differences between methods used by institutionalized NGOs and informal activist groups.