This post is written by Clara Bosco, Senior Advisor on Civil Society Resourcing, CIVICUS.
The problem: Civil society’s essential roles are seriously hampered by a rapidly worsening operating and resourcing environment around the world.
Why it matters: A vigilant, vibrant and diverse civil society is key to preserve democratic values in our societies and to build a greener, just and inclusive post-covid world.
The solution: Introduce long-term policies, investments, measures and mechanisms at all levels aimed at building the support infrastructure needed by the sector to thrive.
"A well-resourced, networked and autonomous civil society is an essential public good which governments and other actors should recognise, protect and enable."
In country after country, civil society responses to the Covid-19 pandemic confirmed once more the value and range of roles that civil society plays in our communities. A long-time cornerstone of strong democracies, civil society, in all its forms and functions, is becoming even more essential as we keep navigating times of uncertainty, social conflict and polarisation, and as we build a post-pandemic world. A well-resourced, networked and autonomous civil society is an essential public good which governments and other actors should recognise, protect and enable.
We are in the midst of a historic event that is changing many aspects of our world, and preserving a vigilant, vibrant and diverse civil society is more important than ever.
The pandemic exposed and exacerbated many of the big social and political fissures that were already deepening within countries (along racial, class and rural/urban fault lines), between countries (in terms of health systems preparedness, and resources available to respond to the economic aftermath), as well against the thriving global minority of ultra-rich (what Oxfam calls the “billionaire variant”). Progressive social movements have been calling out the various inequalities at play during the pandemic showing that we may seem to be in the same storm, but we are not at all in the same boat.
"Our societies are going through deep transformations: the post-pandemic world could be one that is greener, knowledge-based, with greater equality and trust in institutions, or one where exclusion, conflicts and polarisation can expand even more rapidly."
These last few years are now compared to the 19th century’s epidemics and, in terms of impact over people’s daily life, to big wars. What we can learn from the past is that situations of great uncertainty can lead to disparate socio-political effects: on one hand, accelerating expansion of basic services (for example with the introduction of public health systems after the 1918 Spanish flu) and the claiming of rights by those who made sacrifices; but, at the same time, prolonged states of emergency have also been used to legitimise concentration of powers and favoured the surge of totalitarian regimes. We are now seeing similar dynamics at play: a persisting state of emergency with Covid-19 (and the possibility of another pandemic) lingering, the disruptive effects of climate change, and democratic freedoms regressing in all corners of the world.
Change is coming
Our societies are going through deep transformations: the post-pandemic world could be one that is greener, knowledge-based, with greater equality and trust in institutions, or one where exclusion, conflicts and polarisation can expand even more rapidly.
Civil society has the potential to steer these transformations in a democratic way: enabling forms of participation that mobilise different actors around a desired future, critiquing existing systems and injustices, developing and socialising new narratives through political education and awareness-building, and contributing to the articulation, from the ground-up, of new ideas and alternative political propositions. Think of how, in the midst of the pandemic, the propulsive role of the Black Lives Matter movement is changing narratives and perceptions about systemic racism around the world; or how the climate protest have made demands for climate action a mainstream issue; or even the civic mobilisation that led to a radically inclusive constitutional reform process in Chile.
Sadly, around the world, the operating environment for civil society groups has been worsening for years.
The CIVICUS Monitor platform estimates that in 2021 9 out of 10 people lived in countries where civil liberties are severely restricted, including in mature democracies. In many contests, the pandemic exacerbated rights violations as States used the crisis as an excuse to legitimise unjustified restrictions on freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association, or to keep civil society out of planning and implementation efforts.
The fightback
Of course, to play its roles effectively, civil society must be adequately and flexibly resourced. The conditions and possibilities for mobilising resources and support are important yet overlooked determinants for the sector, and encompass a complex web of dimensions as diverse as - to name a few - the regulatory and tax environment for raising funds and receiving grants (including from abroad); public narratives, practices and incentives promoting giving to the sector; the availability of domestic support schemes aimed at building the sector’s support infrastructure – including incentives for unusual collaborations and innovative interventions in various domains.
Worryingly, the prolonged lockdowns had a devastating impact on the sector and unmasked the precariousness and incongruences of the current resourcing landscape and practices: many groups -NGOs, grassroots and social enterprises alike – are struggling to secure the (dwindling) resources they’ve historically relied on, and many cannot even access the stimulus & rescue packages offered to others during the crisis. Many are unsure whether they’ll exist in the near future. Left unchecked, this situation poses a risk to the survival and autonomy of important parts of the sector, with devastating long-term consequences for our societies and democratic values.
A chance to reverse the trend must not be missed. National and local governments are crucial.
The future, now
Compelling narratives and ambitious policies are needed to stimulate larger segments of trust and support to progressive civil society from state actors, the private sector and the general public. National and local governments are crucial, not only to ensure compliance with international obligations, but especially as they are the primary actors that can underwrite the scale of investments and measures needed, while making sure these equitably benefit diverse civil society groups.
It is urgent for public institutions to step in more intentionally, supporting civil society through an aligned set of long-term policies, investments, measures and mechanisms. The determination already demonstrated by the unprecedented governmental responses to Covid-19 must now be directed towards long-term investments for civil societies. As a starting point, public institutions could:
- Create avenues for engagement with diverse civil society groups to jointly identify a few outcomes that would make most sense in their country or context
- Use the full range of levers available to them - acting as investors, funders, regulators, catalysers - to achieve these key priorities. This includes mobilising different actors (such as the private sector) to collaborate around agreed priorities.
- Recognise that strengthening civil society’s support infrastructure means ultimately securing mechanisms, enablers and spaces they themselves need to work with, and are vital for the societies they serve
The paper, Rebuilding for Good, published by the Affinity Group of National Associations (AGNA), Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and CIVICUS offers a practical guide for governments and features concrete examples of enabling policies, actions and investments adopted in various States prior to and during the pandemic. The examples and practical recommendations featured are very inspiring, and while not all of them might be applicable in certain contexts, they show the many ways governments can concretely enable civil society to stay relevant and resilient and, by doing so, equip our societies with the arenas for participation, exchange, confrontation and solidarity needed to face the next series of challenges to come.
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