The EU System for an Enabling Environment for Civil Society (EU SEE) brings together civil society organizations from 86 countries to monitor the enabling environment and contribute to early waing and action. The program is implemented by Hivos (lead),CIVICUS,Democracy Reporting Inteational,European Partnership for Democracy,Forus,and Transparency Inteational.
Why civil society is under pressure
All around the world,those in power are increasingly imposing restrictions on citizens to freely express themselves,to protest against systemic injustices and to form coalitions and organizations to defend fundamental human rights. This can be observed not only in countries led by authoritarian govements but in established democracies as well.
Under these circumstances,coordinated efforts by civil society and their allies to promote civic space and an enabling environment are more important than ever. EU SEE is supporting civil society to improve their ability to detect and respond to situations of a deteriorating or improving enabling environment conditions.
An enabling environment empowers citizens and increases their ability to exercise their civil and political rights by ensuring human rights being respected and upheld,including in particular,freedom of peaceful assembly,freedom of expression and safe access to information.
How we promote an enabling environment for civil society
Our overarching aim is to support civil society to improve their ability to detect and respond to changes in the enabling environment. The system sheds light on both progress and obstacles affecting the ability of civil society to do their work.
The EU SEE is articulated in two components:
Lot 1 (composed of CIVICUS,Democracy Reporting Inteational,European Partnership for Democracy Forus,Hivos,and Transparency Inteational) which aims to set up and implement
- inteal and exteal coordination and support,and
- the EU SEE Monitor and Early Waing Mechanism; and a separate mechanism
Lot 2 (composed of Oxfam,Protection Inteational,CIVICUS and Urgent Action Fund Latin America) which responds to the need for more flexible and timely financial support for civil society in situations of urgency by setting up the EU SEE Flexible Support Mechanism (FSM). The program is a €50 million project,where €30 million has been allocated to Lot 1,and €20 million allocated to Lot 2. Grants,ranging between €15.000 and €25.000,are allocated to selected grantee partners,per year and per country. The selection highly depends on contextual factors and additional criteria to be determined during the inception period.
Comprising of two complementary tools,it aims to deliver comprehensive and timely insights.
The Monitoring and Early Waing Mechanism (MEWM)
- Early Waing Mechanism: This tool will gather near-real-time data on event-based shifts in the enabling environment for civil society. Our network of national CSO partners will submit regular alerts,some of which will trigger the early waing mechanism and consequently impulse advocacy actions to respond to signs of restrictions.
- Country Assessments (Monitoring Index): These detailed regular assessments integrate existing indicators and information gathered by our network of national partners in unexplored dimensions,as well as the information collected throughout the year via the Early Waing Mechanism. These reports aid in identifying critical trends,challenges,and catalysts that may lead to either a deterioration or enhancement of the enabling environment.
DRI is part of the consortium under the Lot 1 component. DRI plays an important role in the consortium by leveraging its expertise in research and analysis to combat disinformation and promote democratic principles.u202fu202f
Specifically,DRI contributes to:u202f
- Developing and implementing the EU SEE Monitoring Index and Early Waing Mechanism,focusing on analysing digital threats to civic space, as well as build the capacity of CSOs to measure the digital dimension.
- Engaging in global campaigns and advocacy initiatives to foster an enabling environment for CSOs,particularly in the digital sphere.u202f
Through its involvement,DRI ensures that the project benefits from cutting-edge methodologies and insights into emerging digital challenges facing civil society.u202f
Following our shared values,feminist principles and human rights-based approaches,we will put the voices and efforts of a broad range of civil society actors at the centre of our action. The FSM will target approximately 690 different civil society actors,including formal and informal CSOs,networks,alliances,collectives and individuals engaged in defending and strengthening their enabling environment. The consortium will prioritise applicants that are typically excluded from,or are for various reasons,unable to access existing sources of funding and urgently need resources,including women,youth,BIPOC,and LGBTQIA+ people,groups of indigenous communities or protecting the environment and common goods,and particularly self-led groups or organisations.
In addition,the program will develop civil society partners’ capacity to promote an enabling environment through a multi-faceted leaing agenda and will amplify their voices in national,regional and global fora through knowledge exchange,policy dialogue and advocacy.
Target Groups
The Program targets local,national and regional CSOs and networks including marginalized groups at the forefront of civic space restrictions who will generate and/or gain access to up-to-date information conceing the enabling environment. It also targets EU actors (at partner country and headquarters level) who will gain timely access to up-to-date information on the evolving enabling environment in 86 countries.
Where
86 countries in Africa,Asia,MENA and Latin and the Americas
Period
January 2024 to December 2029u202f
Partners
Lot 1: CIVICUS,Democracy Reporting Inteational,European Partnership for Democracy,Forus, HIVOS Transparency Inteational and local civil society partners in each country
Lot 2: Oxfam,Protection Inteational,CIVICUS and Urgent Action Fund Latin America
Donor
Directorate General for Inteational Partnerships (DG INTPA),European Commissionu202f