Over the past few years, the EU’s policy framework for engaging with Civil Society Organisations has been thoroughly reviewed. The 2012 Communication invited each European Union Delegations to concretise its strategic approach towards CSOs in a “Civil Society Roadmap”. CS roadmaps are meant to improve the impact, predictability and visibility of European Union actions, and to ensure consistency and synergy of support to CSOs through the various sectors covered by EU external relations. They are also meant to progressively trigger coordination and sharing of best practices with EU Member States and other international actors active in the support to CSOs.
EPRD is happy to participate in this process for several years already and is proud to be able to continue its support through a newly signed EU contract “Support Facility to EU Delegations in the update, implementation and monitoring of their Country Roadmaps for Engagement with Civil Society Organisations”.
In the first two editions the EU Delegations elaborated 120 First Generation Country Roadmaps, which are meant to activate and ensure structured dialogue and cooperation with CSOs in order to improve the impact, predictability and visibility of EU actions. New facility will now provide further strategic and operational support to DEVCO and EUDs and, while extending the activities developed and outputs produced by the two first RM facilities, will also pave the way to the second generation of CS roadmaps coming in 2017.
The project of the 2,2 mln € value is set to start in January 2016. EPRD is the leader of a consortium composed of CIDEAL, DRI, ECNL and Coalition Factory.