A strong Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) sector serves not only as a base to support the most vulnerable and marginalized people’s basic needs and to build sustainable livelihoods and prosperous lives, but also to improve citizens’ involvement in societal decisions beyond and outside of elections. The involvement and capacity building of civil society actors plays a vital role in the achievement of several sustainable development goals, and the themes of participatory democracy and good governance, peace, security, and human development. The CSO sector is the main vehicle and driving force for active change towards improving the social and economic conditions of Egypt’s vulnerable and marginalized communities.
Egypt’s civil society capacity grew from 37,500 registered NGOs in 2012 to 50,571 in 2019, to 52,500 registered NGOs in 2021. However, the increase in NGOs number and funding is not necessarily matched with an increased impact on targeted beneficiaries and the broader community. Research and publications show that by the mid-1990s, Egypt boasted the largest CSO community in the southern global community, including the Arab world. However, at the same point in time, approximately a quarter of the NGOs registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs were in fact inactive. In addition, despite the large number of CSOs in the country, a fifth of Egypt’s population lives in poverty.[1]
In reality, current and future CSOs developmental role in Egyptian communities is facing challenges due to their fragile capabilities and their weak influence in their communities. The problem that was described by LaTowsky, Robert J. in his paper “Egypt’s NGO Sector” back in (1997) is still the apparent in 2022. LaTowsky’s extensive study of Egypt’s NGO sector in the past few years makes clear that “lack of financial resources” is not a chief impediment nor are the current laws governing the sector.[2] Even regulatory reform – while recommended on specific points – would not itself significantly strengthen the capacities of Egypt’s NGO sector to support specific target groups and catalyse community self-help initiatives. Rather, the sector’s priority needs are enhanced leadership, management development, outreach, new program models, mutual support and community organizing. There are many organizations that are keenly interested to develop and emulate such success; they are hungry for appropriate and effective new program models that address priority needs and publicly valued services. However, there are presently very few resources or organizations to support them. Their needs would be best served by periodic but sustained technical assistance and a consultative approach to management support in the context of specific program implementation over several years.
The Strengthening Civil Society Capacity on Local Development, Governance, and Women Empowerment (Benaa) project concept is to improve the internal CSOs organizations’ capacity and capability for enhancing their understanding, performance in project implementation and provide them with needed tools regarding the local development , governance and Women’s empowerment , ensuring more involvement in the local development process and to promote governance and women’s rights, which will lead to better CSOs contribution to SDGs in the country and to end poverty and inequality among the less advantaged communities, with particular focus on women, youth and people with disabilities. The project will aim to transfer the main target group (CSOs) to learning organizations and hub for excellency in their area of technical focus. The proposed process for capacity building will ensures the sustainable involvement of all stakeholders and focus on two priority areas: local development and governance, and women rights and empowerment.
The project will work in four governorates out of these five identified governorates: Beni Suef, Fayoum, Luxor, Aswan and South Sinai.
[1] James G. McGann, The International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law, https://www.icnl.org/resources/research/ijnl/pushback-against-ngos-in-egypt.
[2] LaTowsky, Robert J. Egypt’s NGO Sector. (1997) A Briefing Paper. Education for Development Occasional Papers Series 1, Number 4.
Baseline Study_ToR – Benaa Project
Deadline for sending the technical and financial proposal 13 July,2023 Prior 5 pm.; submission is only accepted via using the below form.