Building a vibrant and responsive civil society in Central Asia

The Civil Society Support Program in Central Asia is a five-year, $18 million program implemented by Eurasia Foundation to cultivate a vibrant and responsive civil society throughout the region, including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and build a new generation of forward-looking civil society leaders (2019-2024).

Objectives

Over the course of implementation, the Civil Society Support Program will achieve four inter-related objectives:

• Foster a cohort of civically responsible young leaders.
• Strengthen civil society’s role in promoting greater public transparency and accountability.
• Enhance civil society’s ability to quickly respond to emerging opportunities.
• Build the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) to be financially viable and responsive to constituents.

Youth

In recent years, young people across Central Asia have become more civically engaged than previous generations, using social media to advocate for and advance civic initiatives. The Civil Society Support Program will launch the Central Asia Young Leaders Academy, where over 450 young leaders will receive mentoring, training and small grants to lead community projects.

Policy Research and Advocacy

The Civil Society Support Program will facilitate a Policy Research School to strengthen the capacity of CSOs, think tanks and independent researchers to participate in policy development and act as watchdogs in monitoring the public sector. In line with international best practice, the program will offer mentoring, on-the-job training as well as peer-to-peer exchanges as part of the Policy Research School.

Resource Support

The Civil Society Support Program is designed to provide civil society actors with the resources they need to strengthen their work and address the priorities of their communities. To this end, the program will provide competitive grants, which will be targeted to specific practices and themes. In order to allow civil society to identify where they see the greatest need for investment, the Civil Society Support Program will also offer a flexible grant mechanism to solicit and support timely project ideas.

Institutional Development and Sustainability

The program will build the institutional capacity of civil society organizations by developing the skills, tools and capacities needed by CSOs to diversify their funding sources and increase engagement with their constituents. The Civil Society Support Program will address CSO sustainability with a comprehensive approach that encompasses financial viability, organizational capacity, and relationships with constituents and other stakeholders. The program will also conduct tailored institutional assessments, provide training through the CSO Development School and offer institutional development grants to help CSOs across Central Asia more effectively serve their communities beyond the life of the program.