Enabling Civil Society in Development and Humanitarian Assistance
OECD Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance
PUBLISHED: JULY 2021, UPDATED JUNE 2023
The DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance is the first international standard focused on the actions of providers to enhance their collaboration with civil society actors as contributors to the 2030 Agenda and to strengthening democracy. It provides a framework to support, guide and incentivize development co-operation and humanitarian assistance providers in advancing their policies and practices in ways that reinforce civic space and civil society actors, at home as well as in partner countries.
The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) adopted the Recommendation on 6 July 2021. The DAC Recommendation was developed through an extensive consultation process with the 30 DAC member countries, within the OECD, and with other stakeholders including the DAC-CSO Reference Group.
Read ICNL’s post on how donors can take immediate action to implement the Recommendation’s provisions here.
In December 2021, ICNL, together with the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), convened partners at the OGP Global Summit to discuss opportunities to use the OGP process to advance implementation of the Recommendation. You can view the full video of the session here.
Key Findings from a Survey of the DAC-CSO Reference Group
In April and May 2023, ICNL co-led the administration of a survey of civil partners, to identify key initiatives by donors and civil society to implement the Recommendation. A two-pager summarizing the survey results can be found here.
