[4]The Egypt Civil Society Support Program (ECSS) is a three-year program designed to build the organizational capacity of Egyptian civil society organizations.
Funded by USAID/Egypt’s Democracy and Governance Program, ECSS is implemented by a consortium led by Management Systems International [5] and including FHI360 [6] and IREX. The project provides technical assistance to individual Egyptian non-governmental organizations and the broader civil society to strengthen their ability to advocate for citizen interests and engage in effective activities in their communities.
• Mentor Egyptian civil society organizations working in a wide range of sectors
• Provide organizational development assistance through the sharing of tools, technical assistance, customized training, and resource sharing
• Develop the capacity of partner civil society organizations to use media tools to share their activities with their constituencies and the broader community
Egyptian civil society has been growing steadily in recent years, but is experiencing dramatic new opportunities and challenges in the evolving context of the “Arab Spring” in the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to the external pressure of the still complex legal and regulatory environment in which civil society operate, organizations face internal challenges as well. While the number and diversity of the organizations populating Egypt’s CSO sector appears impressive with more than 27,000 registered NGOs, the sector is highly fragmented and most have weak structures and relatively little orientation toward sustainable development. Many civil society organizations have limited financial resources, weak management skills, an absence of transparency and accountability, a lack of internal democratic governance, and insufficient technical know-how and professional staff capacity.
• Tailored organizational development plans enable organizations to define their own development priorities and create an organizational strategy for addressing those priorities.
• Training on the use of traditional and digital media provides CSOs with access to new media technologies and tools, including video, social media, and mobile platforms.
• NGOConnect.Net, an interactive portal dedicated to connecting and strengthening civil society organizations, networks and support organizations in Egypt and around the world, enables CSOs to share best practices, build linkages, and participate in distance learning activities.
• Communities of Practice conferences designed to promote sharing of innovation and best practices convene representatives from various CSOs around civil society issues in Egypt, such as governance, program management, financial management, human resources, strategic planning, communications, and grant writing/fundraising.
• Financial Management training
• Monitoring and Evaluation capacity-building assistance