Initiative to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations to deliver Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda
Project description
Title: Initiative to strengthen civil society organisations
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Mexico
Lead executing agency: Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID)
Overall term: 2015 to 2018
Context
By signing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Mexico has committed to promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development; to providing access to justice for all and to building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels (SDG 16 of the 2030 Agenda). Active participation by civil society, a key driver of sustainable development, is crucial for meeting this goal.
Civil society organisations do have certain skills and networks, but they still require strengthening, particularly in terms of their institutional capacity. Furthermore, there is a need to diversify their sources of financing, to foster networking and to strengthen their influence on public policy-making. Moreover, in comparison with Argentina and Brazil, for example, Mexico only has a relatively small number of registered non-governmental organisations, most of which are concentrated in and around the capital.
Objective
Civil society organisations strengthen their institutional capacities and pro-actively contribute to a national strategy for realising Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Approach
Together with the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is working to strengthen the institutional, technical and strategic capacities of Mexican civil society organisations. Once strengthened, these organisations are intended to pro-actively participate in the realisation of Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Mexico. The project is being implemented on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
IFOSC (Initiativa para el Fortalecimiento de la Sociedad Civil) is an initiative that aims to strengthen civil society organisations. It prioritises three fields of activity:
- Technical cooperation to strengthen the institutional capacity of civil society organisations
- Support for the pro-active participation of Mexico’s civil society organisations in the development of a national strategy for realising Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda
- Funding for projects by civil society organisations targeting SDG 16
IFOSC has formed a steering committee in which BMZ, AMEXCID and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) decide jointly on the initiative’s focus and monitor its implementation. In addition, an advisory committee consisting of governmental and non-governmental institutions is being set up to support IFOSC-implemented measures and to advise on their orientation.
The initiative supports joint strategy planning and promotes concerted participation by civil society organisations in the formulation, ratification and implementation of Mexico’s national strategy for realisation of SDG 16. It aims to disseminate information, both about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and about measures for achieving SDG 16. Furthermore, it supports networking and dialogue events involving other governmental and non-governmental actors.
As part of the tender procedure ‘Alliances between civil society organisations for SDG 16’, BMZ, AMEXCID and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) jointly selected six projects in early 2016 that are run by civil society organisations. Some of these organisations are campaigning for official information on land and water use to be made more transparent while others are helping to give women and indigenous peoples better access to the legal system or are working to safeguard human rights and to prevent people from being exploited.