The INSPIRES consortium is seeking applications from local civil society organizations for a capacity building process to strengthen their resiliency in the face of potential impacts of growing restrictions on civic space.

This is an opportunity for local civil society organizations and is a part of a larger initiative under the USAID-funded Enabling and Protecting Civic Spaces (EPCS) – Illuminating New Solutions and Programmatic Innovations for Resilient Spaces or INSPIRES activity.  

Goal: The Resiliency+ Process will take selected organizations through a structured assessment and capacity building process to increase their organizational resilience over a period of 12 months. Participating organizations will have a better understanding of their internal organizational vulnerabilities and will be able to identify and mitigate potential external threats impeding growth, endangering staff and reducing sustainability. Selected organizations will be paired with a Resiliency Coaching team who will provide ongoing accompaniment.

Funding Information

Beyond selection for this support, organizations will also be eligible to apply separately for flexible response grants of up to $10,000 through the INSPIRES initiative to further enhance specific interventions provided.

Eligibility Criteria

• Requirements: Organizations in Ecuador, Georgia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and Serbia will be considered for the Resiliency+ process. To be eligible for consideration, an organization must have at least four years of operational experience, since the Resiliency+ Process provides tailored resiliency support and assumes a certain level of general organizational development. Additionally, it is vital for each applicant organization to commit to dedicating staff time to this accompaniment process. The R+ approach involves a small team of staff from different functional teams from your organization who will participate in the assessment and capacity strengthening activities over a period of 12 months.
• Selected organizations must demonstrate civic space factors affecting their daily work, such as legal environment restrictions, financial constraints, negative narratives about civil society, and fragmentation of civil society. A diversity of organizations will be considered, including but not limited to rural/urban, male/female-led, and small/large. Organizations of various types and thematic focus are encouraged to apply.

For more information, visit INSPIRES consortium.