Support the Authority for the Civil Society Organizations (ACSO)

Following the social, economic, and democratic transformation process in Ethiopia, the legal framework governing civil society has been reviewed in February 2019. A new Proclamation on Civil Society Organizations has hence been adopted, aiming to create an enabling environment for the growth and activity of CSOs. Following this new legislation, which redefined ACSO’s mandate, a 10-year transformation strategy has been defined in 2021 with the support of AFD, to support this change.

The institutional support to ACSO, which is the subject of this funding, aims to support the democratic transition in Ethiopia by fostering an enabling environment for the development and participation of civil society. This support aims to assist ACSO in its institutional and operational transformation process to implement the law and build its capacity. This will include:

• Technical support for the transformation of ACSO and the improvement of services to CSOs;
• A capacity-building program;
• The purchase of equipment and software.

This support is developed in parallel with direct grants to Ethiopian CSO’s dedicated to human rights, gender equality and media freedom, in order to simultaneously strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations to take advantage of the opportunities created by the new legal framework and develop human rights’ advocacy and defense.
 

This project will allow the following: 

• Dialogue and consultation between ACSO and CSOs is functional;
• ACSO staffs have developed their capacity to master the redefined processes, tools and approaches and to meet CSO expectations;
• ACSO's procedures and processes (CSO registration, monitoring and evaluation, archiving, reporting, database) are sound and functional;
• The new law is known and understood by CSOs;
• Sector stakeholders are informed of ACSO’s transformation.