Ethiopia's civic actors have historically faced significant challenges. In 2019, the country initiated a political and social transformation, introducing a new Civil Society Proclamation that broadens the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in advocacy and self-regulation. Despite this positive step, Ethiopia continues to struggle with internal conflict, intercommunal violence, and other development issues.

This initiative aims to strengthen local and grassroots CSOs through a sub-granting scheme and tailored support. The goal is to empower these organizations to engage effectively in policy dialogue and advocacy at all governmental levels and perform their monitoring functions. These often-overlooked CSOs are essential to Ethiopia’s development and democratization. The action will support 60 CSOs, with about 15 benefiting in each region, and will actively promote women-led, youth-focused, and disability-centered CSOs.

Objectives

Local and grassroots CSOs in Addis Ababa, Tigray, South Ethiopia, and Central Ethiopia are empowered to engage effectively in governance and development.

More specifically:

• Strengthen local and grassroots CSOs, especially those focused on women, youth, and people with disabilities, through sub-grants and capacity-building support. This will enhance their ability to conduct policy dialogue, advocacy, and development plan monitoring at various levels.
• Improve networking and collaboration among these CSOs, enabling them to share knowledge, monitor government processes effectively, and strengthen their presence in civil society.

Approach

The project employs a CSO-Incubation Model, distinct from traditional capacity-building programs that usually target established organizations. This model is specially tailored for grassroots organizations that have limited experience but significant potential to tackle social issues.

This approach focuses on nascent organizations often overlooked by mainstream initiatives, offering them early-stage, individualized support in a nurturing environment. A defining feature is comprehensive one-on-one mentorship, addressing unique challenges such as policy development, legalization processes, and targeted advisory services.

Additionally, the project includes the development of a civil society space tracker. This tool will empower grassroots CSOs to monitor the civil society environment and engage stakeholders, by conducting a contextual analysis of barriers to grassroots engagement. The tracker will monitor changes in civil society space, serving as a strategic tool for dialogue and advocacy.

Activities

Sub-granting Scheme Activities

• Calls and Applications
  • Advertise and disseminate calls.
  • Select and screen expressions of interest.
  • Evaluate final applications.
• Grant Management
  • Sign grants, monitor, evaluate, and report on progress.

Capacity Strengthening for Grantees

• Assessment and Planning
  • Assess technical, financial, and operational capacities of CSOs.
  • Develop tailored capacity development plans and training manuals.
• Training and Collaboration
  • Conduct capacity strengthening training sessions.
  • Facilitate peer learning to share capacities among sub-grantees.

Networking and Collaboration Enhancement

• Network Assessment and Support
  • Assess existing networks to identify collaboration opportunities.
  • Establish and strengthen new and existing networks.
• Resource Connection
  • Connect grantees and their networks to an online repository of resources.

Empowering CSOs to Claim Civil Society Space

• Policy and Partnership Development
  • Conduct policy analysis to identify engagement barriers.
  • Develop coordination protocols and partnerships with similar programs to expand civil society space.