GRANT APPLICATION

Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs -

NGO Co-operation Division
and
Project Advice and Training Center

Promoting Civil Society’s Rights and

Responsibilities
Period: January 2009 – December 2011

Submitted by
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

Date: November 2008

CIVICUS Grant Application November 2008

Proposal Summary:

The Danish government, the Project Advice and Training Center and CIVICUS: World Alliance for
Citizen Participation share many values and interests, including a commitment to strengthening civil
society, promoting good governance, democracy and respect for human rights in order to contribute to
poverty elimination and address inequality. CIVICUS is approaching the Danish Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (DANIDA) and the Project Advice and Training Center (PATC) with a request to establish an
organisational partnership through a three year grant.

The aim of the grant is to promote civil society as a key actor in good governance and credible partner
in decision making. The project seeks to achieve this aim through two complementary schemes of
work:
- one looking at the rights of civil society organisations and actors to form associations, express
their views and engage with other stakeholders (particularly government);
- the other looking at the responsibilities of civil society to operate in a legitimate, transparent
and accountable way.

CIVICUS sees both the freedom to operate and the ability to do so in a responsible manner as critical
in ensuring that civil society actors can effectively represent their constituencies and support
democratic decision making.

CIVICUS is keen to develop this project in partnership with DANIDA and with the involvement of PATC
and other Danish civil society organisations. The grant request is 3,000,000 DKK for the period 1
January 2009 to 31 December 2011, i.e. 1,000,000 DKK per year. A three-year grant is requested to
enhance organisational stability and facilitate planning.

Contact details:

Tel +27 (0) 11 833 5959

24 Gwigwi Mrwebi Street
Corner of Quinn Street, Fax +27 (0) 11 833 7997
Address Newtown 2001,
Johannesburg, Website www.civicus.org
South Africa
Office hours 09:00 – 17:00
Resource Mobilisation
Contact Liz Robson Position Manager

Email liz.robson@civicus.org Tel (direct line) +27 (0) 11 833 5959 (#135)

Acronyms:
CSO Civil Society Organisation
CSW Civil Society Watch
EWS Early Warning System
LTA Legitimacy, Transparency and Accountability
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

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CIVICUS Grant Application November 2008

1. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

CIVICUS is an international alliance of civil society organisations drawn from over 100 countries
around the world.

Vision: A worldwide community of informed, inspired, committed citizens engaged in

confronting the challenges facing humanity.

CIVICUS seeks to amplify the voices and opinions of ordinary people. For effective and
sustainable civic participation to occur, citizens must enjoy rights of free association
and be able to engage all sectors of society.

Mission: CIVICUS is an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil
society throughout the world, particularly in cases where participatory democracy and
freedom of association are threatened.

Values: The Board, staff and members of CIVICUS all believe that they serve the cause of
citizen participation most effectively when they live up to the demands of:

• Justice, Human Rights and Equality: CIVICUS believes in the equality and dignity of
every person, and that all people should be free to exercise their rights as citizens
as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Reciprocity: CIVICUS exists to ensure that people treat one another with the
respect with which they themselves wish to be treated. Civil society cannot thrive
without mutual respect.
• Knowledge: CIVICUS realises that to increase its global awareness of civil society
and before it can assist or take action it needs to form alliances with other
concerned bodies to increase its knowledge.
• Transparency: CIVICUS is accountable to its stakeholders and to civil society at
large. It will voluntarily make its work and records as open to the scrutiny of those
affected by its actions, and to the public, as is consistent with a proper regard for
the confidentiality of private information.
• Vision: CIVICUS is realistic about conflict in today’s world, but remains optimistic
that most people, organisations, governments and businesses can work together for
the benefit of all.
• Principled Courage: CIVICUS will always promote social justice and pledges to act
in a manner that honours the principles of democratic civil society.

Three major Strategic Directions guide CIVICUS’ work:

1. Protecting the rights of civil society actors

2. Strengthening good practice within civil society
3. Strengthening civil society’s ability to influence the policies and practices of
governments, international institutions and the private sector

CIVICUS’ overall programme is closely aligned to principles of human rights, democratisation and
good governance and promotes civil society’s role in supporting achievement of human development
goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

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CIVICUS Grant Application November 2008

2. Achievements to Date

Formally established in 1993, CIVICUS was formed to help meet new challenges presented by the
period of transition of the late 80s and early 90s; when there was a resurgence of citizen action and
participation. Many organisations were seeking a framework within which they could engage with state
structures and work collectively for the public good. CIVICUS provided them with that opportunity.
Since then CIVICUS has witnessed a ‘global association revolution’, with a dramatic growth in the
number of citizen groups, their capacity, scope, reach, public profile and influence.

CIVICUS has always helped civil society organisations (CSOs) to reach out across their interests and
specialisations to network with each other and discover their complementary or common strengths.
Today, CIVICUS occupies a unique position as perhaps the most broadly recognised cross-sectoral
civil society alliance in the world. CIVICUS’ membership currently includes members from over 100
countries. The members and partners constitute a broad and influential network of organisations at the
local, national, regional and international levels, and span the spectrum of civil society including: local,
national, regional and international civil society networks and organisations; trade unions; faith-based
networks; professional associations; NGO capacity development organisations; philanthropic
foundations and other funding bodies; businesses; and, social responsibility programmes. Partners at
a global level include UNDP and other UN agencies, academic institutions and many of the larger
international development NGOs. CIVICUS also has consultative status with a range of global bodies,
including the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, the World Bank, the Council of
Europe, and others. For the past three years, the CIVICUS Secretary General has been an invited
participant in the World Economic Forum.

A key element within this network are national associations, platforms and umbrella groups, such as
the Project Advice and Training Center, which play a crucial role in implementation of civil society
strengthening and capacity building at national and local levels through their own memberships, as
well as being key contacts for international networking and learning.

CIVICUS has carried out its mission through a range of programmes, many of which have involved
the development of innovative methodologies or new tools for use by other organisations. Programme
achievements over the past three years have included:
• Implementing the Civil Society Index (CSI), a systematic action-research programme to investigate
the state of civil society, in more than 50 countries. Beyond directly engaging over 7,000
stakeholders in the last phase, the programme also developed national level capacity and policy
recommendations, as well as generating a momentum of exchange and learning for civil society at
a cross-national level.
• Hosting of the INGO Accountability Charter Secretariat.
• Production and dissemination of a range of popular, quality resources including a weekly electronic
newsletter (e-CIVICUS) with over 80,000 subscribers, and the two volume Global Survey of the
State of Civil Society (country profiles and comparative perspectives).
• The annual CIVICUS World Assembly, bringing together between 750 and 900 civil society
practitioners and activists from around the globe each year from 2006 to 2008 to share ideas and
lessons, re-energise, and to liaise with representatives of government and business who share a
concern to pursue a more just world and eradicate poverty.
• Hosting the global secretariat of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) - the world’s
largest-ever anti-poverty mobilisation.
• Supporting civil society to engage with global leaders, e.g. facilitating meetings with state leaders
on repressive or concerning practices.
• Development and piloting of innovative methodologies for an Early Warning System on threats to
civil society space.

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CIVICUS Grant Application November 2008

Many of CIVICUS’ programmes explicitly reach out to traditionally marginalised groups, including
women, youth, poor people and indigenous groups, to promote their empowerment and participation.
Self-reflection and action-planning tools (such as the CSI) provide an opportunity for civil society to
collectively address weaknesses, together with the involvement of other stakeholders where
appropriate.

However, it must be noted that CIVICUS’ programmes are in many cases concerned with structural
change which occurs very slowly and, when achieved, is usually due to the actions of a variety of
actors. Defining distinct causal relationships between CIVICUS’ work and the impacts seen is often
difficult. CIVICUS is currently developing a framework to assist in establishing the impact of our work.

3. Context

Traditional systems of representative democracy are in crisis. Citizens are expressing growing
disillusionment with their governments, citing problems of lack of transparency, responsiveness and
accountability, especially vis-à-vis disadvantaged social groups. Human rights are not fully
acknowledged or respected in many countries and, as a result, ordinary citizens are largely excluded
from decision-making that directly affects their lives. This seriously compromises the quality and
effectiveness of public policy-making, planning and service delivery processes.

There is now growing consensus that civil society has a key role to play in addressing these
weaknesses and in ensuring democratic, accountable governance and peaceful, sustainable societies.
However, for a variety of reasons, many civil society organisations struggle in their efforts to advocate
for citizen rights. This may be due to challenges from the external environment, as a result of weak
internal capacity, or on account of difficulties in accessing the necessary resources and support.

There continue to be attacks on civil society’s rights in many countries, particularly in the context of the
global ‘war on terror’. Many states have introduced new security legislation and taken new law
enforcement measures to ‘protect’ their populations. Sadly, in some cases this legislation has been
used to facilitate infringements of human rights. In a number of instances, governments have taken
advantage of this to intensify their own crackdowns on political opponents, advocacy groups and civic
activists. This curtailment of civic initiatives has negative implications for crucial goals such as
democratic progress, basic freedoms and people-driven development.

Global civil society is also gradually changing, with new forms and expressions of struggle emerging
against prevalent injustices, problems and discontent with national and local governance. As civil
society evolves, we are seeing a number of challenges around the need for democratic governance
within civil society, self-accountability, accommodating diversity, moving from being oppositional to
propositional, taking informed decisions based on facts and empirical evidence, evolving policies and
managing debates and, most importantly, creating a safe, enabling environment for the dialogue and
deliberation that leads to greater unity and cohesion in civil society organisations’ efforts, within the
diversity that is global civil society.

Within this context, CIVICUS’ programmes remain highly relevant and there is an ever increasing
demand for our work. Over the coming years, CIVICUS’ programmes will be implemented around the
world, in partnership with other organisations. CIVICUS partner organisations are drawn from across
the spectrum of civil society and many are themselves networks of organisations. It is this diversity
and reach that lends a particular strength to CIVICUS’ work. It enables the organisation to convene
and learn from a wide range of organisations that may not ordinarily interact. It is this outreach
capacity and global focus, together with CIVICUS’ previous experience in engaging and contributing to
discussions on civil society issues, that is valued by members, partners and other stakeholders and
which supports the successful implementation of CIVICUS’ programmes.

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CIVICUS Grant Application November 2008

4. CIVICUS’ Programmes

The framework of rights and responsibilities originally emerged during discussions on active
citizenship and the roles that people play in their societies. However, this framework can also be
applied to the associations that citizens form and very directly addresses the challenges that civil
society organisations (CSOs) face in the current context to both their legitimacy and freedom to
operate. While rights are not, and never should be seen as, conditional; through acting irresponsibly,
organisations and individuals can undermine the rights of others. CIVICUS therefore sees both the
freedom to operate and the ability to do so in a responsible manner as critical in ensuring that civil
society actors can effectively represent their constituencies and support democratic decision making.

CIVICUS’ Strategic Directions for the period to 2012 place emphasis on both these areas (Directions
1 and 2), which are closely aligned to two key growth areas in CIVICUS’ programming – the Civil
Society Watch and Legitimacy, Transparency and Accountability programmes.

The Civil Society Watch (CSW) programme builds on CIVICUS’ long-standing role as a global voice in
defence of the space for civil society and citizen participation. CSW aims to better understand and
track threats to citizens’ fundamental rights to collectively express, associate and organise throughout
the world. In the current context, this is a growing area of activity for CIVICUS and in 2007 the
programme highlighted threats to civil society in around 80 countries: producing research, newsletters
and media alerts; co-ordinating solidarity activities; conducting high level meetings and supporting
local partners. CSW receives direction from an Advisory Group comprised of the International Council
on Human Rights Policy, International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law, Commonwealth Human Rights
Initiative, CONECTAS Human Rights and Amnesty International.

The Legitimacy, Transparency and Accountability (LTA) programme seeks to build the capacity for
CSOs to respond to challenges to their roots, authority and right to speak on behalf of constituencies.
It builds on past CIVICUS commitments to promote ethical practice and agreed codes of conduct for
CSOs, including functional and effective CSO boards and other formal oversight and accountability
mechanisms. Since 2002, CIVICUS has been partnering with the Hauser Centre for Non-Profit
Organisations at Harvard University, to convene leading practitioners and researchers on this issue,
consolidate existing knowledge in a scoping paper and develop a comprehensive website. CIVICUS
also hosts the secretariat of the International Advocacy Non-Governmental Organisation (IANGO)
group, which brings together key international advocacy NGOs for peer learning and the promotion of
best practice, as exemplified in the IANGO Accountability Charter, which has over 60 signatories.

The project presented in this application, will also draw on other areas of programmatic experience as
well as linking with CIVICUS’ extensive global network of members and partners in disseminating
findings and corroborating results:

• An analysis of the country reports emerging from the previous global phase of implementation
of the Civil Society Index programme (action research carried out in over 50 countries, see
annex 2) revealed commonalities across countries in terms of concerns over mechanisms for
self regulation within the civil society sector. In addition to improved application of internal
procedures and processes, where they existed, the need to enhance external accountability
and gain/maintain public trust was also stressed. CSW has also drawn lessons from the Civil
Society Index programme in developing the Early Warning System methodology.
• It is anticipated that national associations, platforms and umbrella bodies that represent civil
society interests at the national level will be important partners in the project. Many of these
national associations are members of a CIVICUS co-ordinated Affinity Group for National
Associations, a global network of over 60 associations aimed at fostering cooperation across
borders and increasing the effectiveness of national associations, to deepen peer-learning

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and knowledge-sharing, capture best-practice and promote civil society and citizen
participation.
• CIVICUS’ currently has a growing membership of over 450 organisations and individuals,
drawn from over 100 countries around the world. They are part of a broad and influential
network of organisations at the local, national, regional and international levels, and from
across the spectrum of civil society, that partner in CIVICUS’ activities. Many of them will be
directly facing the challenges identified above and partnering with them in the project, for
discussion, learning and onward dissemination of results to their own constituencies, will be
an important opportunity to exponentially increase impact.

CIVICUS employs a broad and inclusive definition of civil society and specifically seeks to promote
the participation of traditionally marginalised and/or vulnerable groups (e.g. women, children and
youth, indigenous groups, and those affected by HIV/AIDS) and the organisations they form to
represent their interests.

Following the adoption of the CIVICUS Gender Policy in 2006, CIVICUS is currently in the process of
mainstreaming gender across the organisation, in both programmes and operational structures. This
project is founded on a rights-based development approach; it promotes basic human rights including
freedoms of association and expression, and the right of all women and men to participate in decisions
that affect their lives. The project will place specific emphasis on strengthening women’s voices and
on supporting the equitable participation of women and their organisations in the full range of project
activities and will emphasise the importance of ensuring equitable participation as a key component of
enhanced LTA practices.

5. Project Aim and Objectives

The aim of the grant is to promote civil society as a key actor in good governance and credible partner
in decision making.

The objectives of this project are:

• To raise global awareness about the extent of ‘civic space’ available for civil society actors in
countries around the world through the production of comparative research, including
documenting where and how rights of association, expression and engagement are not being
recognised and identifying future threats to civil society; and
• To enhance the legitimacy, transparency and accountability of civil society organisations
through knowledge dissemination and capacity building.

6. Project Activities

The project involves two complementary areas of work:

- one looking at the rights of civil society organisations and actors to form associations, express
their views and engage with other stakeholders (particularly government);
- the other looking at the responsibilities of civil society to operate in a legitimate, transparent
and accountable way.

6.1 RIGHTS: Early Warning System

CIVICUS will work with key partners to conclude the piloting and roll out of an Early Warning System
(EWS) for threats to civil society’s freedom to operate. The EWS, developed in partnership with the
International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, seeks to identify the steps towards the shrinking of civic
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CIVICUS Grant Application November 2008

space in order to effectively respond to restrictive laws and practices before they are enacted.
Information from target countries, provided by an informal network or group of experts at the national
level, will be captured on a regular basis to assist in identifying trends in the expansion or shrinkage of
civic space. The programme will then aim to increase international solidarity and awareness and of the
threats to civil society, contributing to increased pressure on governments to guard against such
restrictions and uphold the rights of civil society actors to operate freely. By doing so, the project aims
to enable greater contribution by civil society in the achievement and monitoring of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), as well as other efforts to promote development and good governance

The objectives of the EWS are to:

• raise global awareness regarding the extent of space available for civil society in countries
around the world, as well as future threats to this civic space;
• make this information available to inform CIVICUS and its partners’ efforts to defend civil
society rights;
• equip diverse stakeholders (including civil society, media, inter-governmental bodies,
governments and donors) with a timely assessment of civic space in selected countries. This
can be used to assist with efforts to defend civil society, effective in-country programme
planning and implementation, and reporting by the media.

During the pilot period, which runs until March 2009, six countries are being monitored (the
Philippines, Solomon Islands, Vietnam, USA, Ethiopia and Lebanon). During the full implementation
the number of countries will be expanded in number and diversity, to 20 in 2009-2010 and to 40 during
2011-2012. The criteria for choosing these countries will include: geographic diversity, diversity in size
of country, and most importantly, diversity of perceived space for civil society, including very restrictive
countries.

The national network members will likely include key representatives of: human rights NGO, National
Human Rights Institution or Ombudsman office, development or service-oriented NGO, peoples’
movement, union, media, faith-based group, research institute, diplomatic political affairs, UN agency,
business. They will be regularly consulted regarding freedoms of expression, assembly and
association, as they relate to civil society. The results will be collated by a national partner
organisation in each country into a monitoring report, highlighting any threats that have been
identified.

Under the EWS, CIVICUS will also conduct analysis of legal developments, as passing new legislation
or amendments to laws appears to be an increasingly common way by which civil society work is
restricted. At least four reports will be produced per year on analysis of the legal environment for civil
society and assistance provided to local lawyers on advocating against discriminatory use of laws.

In addition, in 2009, CIVICUS intends to run a research project, examining the threats faced in
particular by women’s CSOs in Africa, focusing on case studies in two countries. The results will be
shared for learning and used for awareness raising, both locally and internationally.

Once the information has been documented and analysed, it will be disseminated through e-CIVICUS,
the CSW Monthly Bulletin, an electronic monthly newsletter on threats to civil society (current
subscription 9,000) and through other reports. Specific publications will also be released at strategic
times/key dates. Media articles and releases will be developed as required (at least 5 per year), in
collaboration local partners. Local partners and network members will also be encouraged to write
articles for publication.

CIVICUS will then work with the partners to respond to the threats identified, either locally or
internationally, depending on what is felt to be most appropriate in their context. Responses could
include: international awareness campaigns and media releases, letters of appeal, fact-finding and
solidarity missions, as well as the mobilisation of the CIVICUS membership. Assistance will be given
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CIVICUS Grant Application November 2008

to local lawyers and activists in preparing submissions to international bodies, such the UN Human
Rights Council and special mechanisms, such as the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights
Defenders, and in lobbying of governmental representatives where strategic opportunities arise, such
as around meetings of regional bodies.

CSW are also in the process of developing a database that will help capture reported threats, track
trends in the target countries and identify the levels of threat that exist. Once the database has been
tested and refined the plan is to make it available as an online tool (in addition to the regular narrative
updates posted on CIVICUS’ website and included in electronic newsletters).

As the EWS grows, networks for peer support and shared learning will be developed between partners
in participating countries. These will be facilitated chiefly online, as well as in conjunction with existing
CIVICUS meetings such as the CIVICUS World Assembly. Country partners will participate in annual
international workshops to discuss the progress of the project and the refinement of the methodology,
as well as to receive training and to strategise for co-ordinated responses to threats. In 2010 and
2011, there will also be regional EWS workshops. This will assist in fighting the isolation often faced
by civil society actors when civil society is under threat in their country.

The EWS findings will be used by CIVICUS to assist in prioritising other activities. It is hoped that the
research will also be used by a wide range of other stakeholders, including international and local
advocacy groups and donor agencies, interested in the issues of civil society’s freedom to operate as
a critical partner in addressing human development challenges.

Outputs will include:

- summaries of threats to civil society space in a range of countries from around the world
- information on civil society space in each country packaged for media purposes
- expanded web-based resources on civil society space
- expanded civil society networks and other stakeholders, active on issues related to civil society
space

6.2 RESPONSIBILITIES: Legitimacy, Transparency and Accountability

CIVICUS will work with key partners, targeting in particular national umbrella groups, to build the
capacity of CSOs to respond to challenges to their roots, authority and right to speak on behalf of
constituencies. The programme is an effort to mainstream the legitimacy, transparency and
accountability (LTA) of CSOs and to build public trust in them by improving their individual and
collective governance. It builds on past CIVICUS commitments to promote ethical practice and agreed
codes of conduct for CSOs, including functional and effective CSO boards and other formal oversight
and accountability mechanisms.

The objectives are to:

• To identify LTA challenges and needs of CSOs and conduct critical analyses for action and
interventions;
• To effectively utilise existing expertise on LTA issues within civil society and other sectors to
enhance the LTA of selected CSOs in developing countries
• To promote peer-learning and knowledge sharing on LTA amongst CSOs.
• To collate and share information on the subject of LTA that is both topical and relevant
• To promote awareness of LTA issues within the civil society sector.

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CIVICUS Grant Application November 2008

In 2008, CIVICUS has conducted a needs assessment, the results of which will inform future
interventions, in particular the nature of information to be collated, the focuses and number of
“communities of practice”, and the skills building strategies. The activities will fall under four areas:

Analysis: The paucity of knowledge on the reasons why, despite an expressed desire to improve, LTA
mechanisms in CSOs remain weak needs to be addressed for appropriate intervention strategies to
be devised. CIVICUS will work with CSOs to identify the challenges that they face in the development
and implementation of LTA structures and identify their needs, in terms of knowledge and skills. The
findings will be summarised and shared and will inform future project activities.

Information Sharing: In order to ensure participants addressing LTA challenges have access to
sufficient and appropriate materials, information will be collated and shared through the project
networks and made freely available via on-line media, such as the CIVICUS website. CIVICUS will
also seek to contribute to the international debate on LTA issues and encourage partners to do the
same through contributing to publications and dissemination of the strategies and innovative ideas
emerging from the project. In addition, CIVICUS will seek to promote awareness of LTA issues within
the wider civil society community by profiling LTA issues to other members and partners.

Networking/Peer-Learning: In order to encourage networking, peer-learning and promote effective

communication and collaboration between CSOs on LTA issues, partners will be linked through
“communities of practice” with regional/sectoral focuses. CIVICUS plans to create five
regional/sectoral networks of CSOs in 2009 (with the aim of attracting a diverse group of about 20
organisations as members in each) that will share best practices on improving LTA systems and
identify innovative solutions for common problems. These “communities of practice” will liaise through
an interactive website, e-forum, face to face meetings, learning exchanges and workshops, which
CIVICUS will support them to carry out.

Acknowledging that some CSOs have financial and human resource constraints, limited amounts of
seed funding will be made available for these exchange activities and for targeted training events.
Funds will be granted under strict criteria including the potential for wider impact and innovative
learning resulting from the activities. It is anticipated that the knowledge gained will then be shared
within the organisations and with their own members and partners, as well as accessed by non-
partner organisations through the website.

Regional and international workshops will be convened with the “communities of practice”, or held in
conjunction with events organised by other leading institutions, to encourage discussions on shortfalls
in LTA mechanisms and provide skills building where required. In the third year, there will be a
workshop with representatives from the participating organisations that will assess the impact of the
project, identify lessons learned and draw up plans for the next steps for them to propel their activities
forward.

Skills building: As well as peer-support, the project will provide the opportunity for partners to join
workshops, where tools, frameworks, theories and practical case studies can be explored according to
identified needs.

In the second and third years, the project will focus on the development of the “communities of
practice” and the skills building and information sharing activities.

A particular point of emphasis for CIVICUS is “downward accountability” or accountability to the

marginalised communities, such as women, youth, ethnic/language and religious minorities and the
poor, which CSOs are claiming to represent. For example, the profile of women in most forms of civic
engagement is very low, both in membership and in leadership. Therefore, gender equity issues and
the inclusion of traditionally marginalised groups will be highlighted as key considerations when
discussing legitimacy.
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CIVICUS Grant Application November 2008

The project aims to share information and skills particularly with CSOs in the global south and support
them to identify their own priority areas of action and next steps. At the end of the 3-years, it is
envisaged that the knowledge transferred to the partners, as well as the networks that will have been
created through the “communities of practice”, will provide sufficient basis for partners to continue self-
sustaining LTA activities with minimal support. It is anticipated that the project will then enter a new
phase with new partner organisations, so the on-line resources and e-forum debates will remain on-
going sources of support for the initial partners if required, and to which they may well be able to add
information that will be of help to others.

Outputs will include:

- Website with tools, e-forum and other on-line resources;
- Five networks of practitioners, leading to improved communication and cross-learning amongst
CSOs on LTA mechanisms
- Papers and articles, contributing to enhanced knowledge and understanding of the concepts of
LTA and status of civil society practices;
- A series of regional and international meetings on LTA issues and peer learning exchanges
between participants.

7. Partners

CIVICUS seeks to achieve its programmatic goals in an integrated manner that capitalises on its
character as a global network. In all its programmatic activities, CIVICUS works in partnership with,
and builds the capacity of, key partners, members and other intermediary organisations at global,
regional and national levels.

As a membership organisation with over 450 members in more than 100 countries, CIVICUS’
programme directions reflect the views of these diverse organisations, which include those from a
variety of sectoral backgrounds (particularly in development and human rights) and a variety of types
of organisations (from small community-based organisations, to large international NGOs, faith groups
and unions). Many of our members are networks in their own right and as such contribute the
perspectives of thousands of CSOs globally. Not only do these contributions nuance and therefore
strengthen our approach, but also strengthen the way CIVICUS is perceived. Being headquartered in
the global South also assists in this, enabling CIVICUS to build comparative knowledge not available
to those working nationally, and to work across multiple countries and constituencies without being
labelled as “western” or “neo-colonialist”, as some of Northern-based organisations are when working
in similar circumstances.

Many of the partners for the above described activities will be drawn from the CIVICUS’ membership
base. The focus will be on CSOs with national or regional scope that express a need for support
based on their experiences within their country, sector or their own membership. While CIVICUS has
ongoing relationships with a variety of bodies in different countries, more detailed partnerships will be
developed with appropriate organisations where necessary and, particularly for CSW work, with
diaspora from a priority country.

8. Danish Involvement

In delivering this project, CIVICUS is proposing to partner with Danish organisation and CIVICUS
member, the Project Advice and Training Center (PATC). As a national platform for Danish NGOs,
remitted to strengthen Danish civil society and bring Danish organisations into international networks
and visa versa for mutual learning opportunities with Southern partners, PATC’s partnership would be
a valuable addition to the project. Engagement mechanisms could include:
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CIVICUS Grant Application November 2008

• Involvement by PATC members and colleagues in information gathering and dissemination

activities that inform and result from the project, including participation in international solidarity
campaigns;
• Participation by PATC and Danish members as project partners through directly participating in
the various project activities, in particular the LTA “communities of practice”;
• Secondment of PATC staff member to spend some time working within the project, to be
based at CIVICUS (the possibility was previously raised of combining this with some time
spent at a national partner organisation also based in South Africa);
• Identification of existing PATC/DANIDA partner organisations in the global South to be
included as partners in this project.

PATC are also requested to act as a conduit for the DANIDA resources requested under this
application.

Benefits to PATC and DANIDA include increased knowledge base and access to research on the
status of civil society at global, national and local levels, which can be shared with members and
colleagues working with partners around the world to support in-country programme planning and
implementation. CIVICUS can also directly support the capacity building of PATC and DANIDA staff
and their key partner organisations in Denmark through running workshops on the project components
and other areas of CIVICUS’ work.

CIVICUS will also seek the involvement of Danish organisations and their partners, as well as Ministry
of Foreign Affairs delegation staff where appropriate, in the gathering of information to inform project
activities and invite them to share the findings within their organisations and with partners.

9. Budget

CIVICUS occupies a unique space in civil society as a global ‘broker’ for civil society issues. In the
current context, we are finding that there is growing demand for our work. However, in fulfilling this
role we face a number of challenges, one of which is accessing sufficient resources to carry out our
mandate.

DANIDA is requested to contribute DKK 3,000,000 towards this project over three years, i.e. DKK
1,000,000 per year. A three-year grant is requested to enhance organisational stability and facilitate
planning.

Full budget available separately upon request.

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