Interest in collaboration between state and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) has grown dramatically in recent years in Kazakhstan. This article explores the history of NGOs, and NGO–state cooperation in Kazakhstan, in terms of the mechanisms and forms, the benefits and achievements, and the constraints and success factors. It highlights the positive dimensions in the NGO–state relationship in terms of the legal environment, in the different forms of public participation, and in the financial support provided by government. At the same time, there is a need to provide a real collaboration of NGOs with government. The NGO–state relationship in Kazakhstan is, still, in the early stage of development and is neither confrontational nor complementary. Currently, state social contracts are the most significant source of NGO funding. There is, however, a need to improve mechanisms for state contracting, in order to reflect the needs and priorities of NGOs’ constituents, to provide transparency of social contracts, to build institutional capacity of public sector agencies, and to strengthen long-term collaboration between NGOs and the state.
Keywords: Collaboration, Kazakhstan, Non-Governmental Organizations, State
