Civil society


Civil society promotes good governance, rule of law, and citizens’ rights. Understood as the total of non-governmental organisations and institutions that manifest the interests and the will of citizens, civil society forms a sort of bridge between the government on one hand and the broad population on the other. More political sections of civil society serve to inform citizens, who will then make better choices. They also give citizens a platform to participate in politics and thereby make governments more accountable. Non-political organisations and institutions contribute by building social capital, trust and shared values and awareness of the interconnectedness of interests and society as a whole. Promotion of civil society development therefore ties in with our aim of involving local communities in all aspects of development.

Highlighted projects

Project in Bolivia: "Mesures de apoyo a la elaboración de una hoja de ruta por el compromiso con las organizaciones de la sociedad civil"


The overall objective of the project was to obtain a better understanding of the Civil Society in Bolivia in the current situation by allowing the production of a "Roadmap for engagement with Civil Society Organisations" for the period 2014-2017.

The implementation of a mapping study of Bolivian Civil Society Organisations which has covered the sectors democracy, human rights and gender justice, and four sub-sectors; local economic development, environment and water, fight against drugs and drugs trafficking.

Project in Israel: "Evaluation of the partnership for peace programme and inputs for the design of a new civil society programme in support of the Middle East Peace Progress"


The global objective of this evaluation was to provide substantial inputs to the EC for the design of a new cross border civil society programme in support of the Middle East Peace Process, based on the achievements of and lessons learned from the Partnership for Peace in the context of an instable and evolving political scenario.

In order to achieve the objective, the team has:

Provided an overall independent assessment of design, implementation, results and impact of the EU PfP programme as a whole.

Documented and analysed lessons learned from the PfP (Action Fiche, Calls, Guidelines and Projects) and corresponding recommendations.

Provided an outline structure and options for a new civil society programme in support of the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP).

Provided practical recommendations for a better design and more effective implementation of future Calls for Proposals within a new civil society MEPP programme.

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