Civil Society Support Program

The goal of the project is to increase the engagement of Ethiopian civil society with all levels of government to improve the delivery of services to the poor and hard-to-reach. The project facilitates dialogue between the government and civil society to jointly address development problems. Project activities include: (1) ensuring that public services are available to hard-to-reach citizens and poor communities; (2) providing women and girls with a voice on governance issues; and (3) increasing the legitimacy and accountability of civil society organizations through capacity building. Irish Aid is the lead partner in this multi-donor initiative while the British Council provides project management services. Other donors include the Netherlands Sweden Norway Denmark and the United Kingdom.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased number of civil society organizations in Ethiopia who operate in line with principles of accountability and legitimacy and are able to respond to development priorities identified by the poor especially the hard-to-reach; and (2) increased number of civil society organizations with diverse mandates have the capacity to dialogue and relate to a broad range of stakeholders.