News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The U.S. publishes an enormous amount of data on foreign assistance—including detailed information on budgets, spending, and results—as well as what could be considered electronic libraries of documents on projects, evaluations, and contracts. Just finding all the information—scattered across a multitude of websites—can be daunting. That task is made all the more difficult when different
Read more →#LiftUpPhilanthropy is a global and open campaign to raise the strategic importance and value of the development of philanthropy. It aims to raise funders’ awareness of the importance of investing in the support ecosystem, or infrastructure, that allows philanthropy to develop in growth, quality and diversity. Funders interested in the development of the field, philanthropy
Read more →Around the world, space for civil society is closing, requiring donors to respond with new, innovative approaches. Current donor approaches have at times made civil society organizations more vulnerable to attacks and restrictions in different country contexts, notes a CSIS Human Rights Initiative report that examines the flow of financial support to civil society, and
Read more →The European Commission has put forward ambitious yet realistic proposals for a modern EU budget that reflects rapid developments in innovation, the economy, the environment and geopolitics, amongst others. For the next long-term EU budget 2021-2027, the EC is proposing to increase the external action budget to €123 billion, to significantly simplify its structure, and
Read more →On 7 June, The European Commission has announced today €1.5 million in humanitarian aid to address the increasing needs of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants stranded in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This brings Commission humanitarian funding to €30.5 million to address the needs in Western Balkans since the start of the refugee crisis. EU humanitarian aid
Read more →On 2 May, the European Commission released its communication on the Multi-annual Financial framework (2021-2027). Despite the ever-changing environment for development aid, the communication sets out that €123 billion, representing approximately 10% of the total EU budget, is allocated to external action. CONCORD, the European Confederation of development NGOs, welcomed the budget dedicated to external
Read more →When foreigners give money to political organizations, both the donor and the recipient often become suspect. Governments around the world that fear criticism, oppose human rights, or otherwise reject the agendas of these groups are increasingly trying to ban foreign backing of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Ron Krebs and James Ron of the University of Minnesota
Read more →Civil society and the ability to exercise the core civic space freedoms have been under threat for many years. This challenge has been the focus of much study and diagnosis. The more complex question, however, is what can be done in response. In late 2016, the Government of Sweden commissioned the Swedish International Development Cooperation
Read more →The European Union will deploy a new financial weapon next week to try to rein in what Brussels sees as illiberal nationalism rising in the east of the bloc and threatening its democratic foundations. A big electoral triumph on April 8 for Victor Orban in Hungary and a battle to save the independence of courts
Read more →Since 2008, the Civil Society Facility (CSF) has supported 633 organisations in the region and 136 EU-based organisations, through 362 projects. The global objective of the evaluation was to assess the performance of the financial support provided by the CSF in EU pre-accession assistance — supporting civil society in candidate and potential candidate countries —
Read more →As the European Union and member states are busily designing the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework, development cooperation does not seem to have a place in the plan. The MFF will shape the priorities of the EU’s official development aid until at least 2027. This is a vital opportunity for the EU to honor its
Read more →While slogans like “think globally, act locally” have been around for decades, still so much decision making about philanthropy and development aid happens by stakeholders outside them. Even those funders that care deeply about championing local leadership and initiatives often struggle with giving up power. This paper intends to address this struggle with real-world examples.
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