CIVIL SOCIETY IN DEVELOPMENT - together for global justice

Transcription

1 CIVIL SOCIETY IN DEVELOPMENT - together for global justice CISU s STRATEGY

2 CISU s STRATEGY Civil society in development together for global justice Passed by CISU s General Meeting on 26 April Our strategy for sets out how CISU, alongside our member organisations, will work based on CISU s vision and mission: The vision is that strong popular modes of organisation and communities work to secure people s rights, promote global justice and combat the causes of poverty. To achieve this, CISU s mission is to back Danish organisations national and global efforts for a just and sustainable world. CISU serves as a platform for exchanging experiences and sharing knowledge. We build capacity, promote mutual learning and innovative thinking, and strengthen popular participation in development cooperation. We administer public funds and seek to ensure resources for a multiplicity of organisations and interventions. CISU defends member organisations shared interests and the space for civil society work. Based on its existing solid foundation, CISU thus intends to: Strengthen member organisations capacity to undertake partnerships and networking in order to lay the groundwork for their work at home and abroad. We have gathered this under the heading of capacity. Strengthen focus on the roles, responsibilities, spaces and framework conditions for a diverse civil society rooted in the population, all of which we refer to as opportunities. Strengthen civil society interventions and cooperation to fight poverty and its numerous causes. We call this interventions. The three aforementioned working areas for are closely interlinked. As a knowledge-based organisation, CISU learns from its member organisations and from society in general. This learning is processed and disseminated, thus strengthening member organisations and their interventions, while also underpinning CISU s work to ensure backing for civil society organisations involvement in development cooperation. 1 / Capacity Strong Danish organisations capable of making a difference in partnerships and networking CISU s three strategic goals spring from such interaction between capacity, opportunities and interventions, and are presented in the following pages. 2 / Opportunities Focus on civil society s diversity, roles, responsibilities and framework conditions 3 / Interventions Fighting poverty and its causes

3 In cooperation with members, CISU has created a solid framework for mutual learning, turning practice into shared knowledge and a strong professional foundation by means of capacity building. This has led to a tremendous variety of competent contributions to partnerships and high-quality interventions around the world. This takes place in parallel with the continued spread of broad popular participation in development cooperation in Denmark. This is CISU s core and foundation which we continue to build upon. 1 / CAPACITY Strong Danish organisations capable of making a difference in partnerships and networking Strategic goal: A large number of diverse, Danish-based, popular organisations are capable of entering into mutually committed partnerships and networking with civil society organisations in poor countries, and of being visible and collaborative actors in Denmark. In the period , CISU will focus particularly on member organisations building and using experiences, capacities and support in order to: enter into flexible, relevant and innovative partnerships with organisations in poor countries, focusing on mutual contributions and gains enable them and their partners to enter into a greater array of relevant cooperative relations and networks both at home and abroad improve the quality of civil society interventions in fragile situations enable them and their partners to act in a Danish, European and global context strengthen participation, accountability, non-discrimination and transparency within their organisation, work and partnerships CISU promotes this together with members by developing and offering: the latest professional including research-based knowledge of the development context regarding civil society both at home and abroad paths and tools to cooperate with new types of partners, such as more informal associations and social movements, private enterprises and firms with socioeconomic goals, non-profit foundations, etc. knowledge of trends and innovative thinking, not least that derived from members and their practices dissemination of knowledge regarding the causes of poverty and new approaches to fighting them, including the rights-based approach differentiated capacity development which will also continue to ensure services for inexperienced member organisations and volunteers, providing space for knowledge sharing, exchange of experiences, cooperation and joint action methods and tools to work with information and communication, creating balanced and nuanced messages, including through social media methods and tools for organisational development, with one of the aims being to assist members to carry out their own work, alongside their partners, based on principles of legitimacy, transparency and accountability, and to foster involvement of volunteers in organisations and interventions As an organisation, CISU will continue to enhance its own conditions for all members to participate and exert influence, building strong platforms for user influence and conducting needs analyses in the various areas of intervention.

4 In recent years, CISU has concentrated its outward-looking professional and political endeavour on fostering recognition of civil society s numerous roles, its responsibilities, popular foundation and influence. We have also sought to secure good framework conditions and backing for civil society work at home and abroad. Moreover, CISU has begun to disseminate knowledge of specific opportunities and limitations faced by civil society in those countries where CISU s member organisations and their partners are working. We intend to carry on and expand this effort. 2 / OPPORTUNITIES Focus on civil society s diversity, roles, responsibilities and framework conditions Strategic goal: Decision-makers, professionals and the Danish population back Denmark s engagement in development cooperation and recognise that strong civil societies with popular roots have a multiplicity of roles and responsibilities in development cooperation locally, nationally and globally. In the period , CISU will focus particularly on cooperating with member organisations in order to: draw attention to the diversity of partnerships, interventions, experiences, and the broad popular foundation which membership organisations have as participants in development cooperation strengthen the wide popular foundation and backing for civil society interventions and development ensure that Denmark continues to support civil society interventions as a key element of development cooperation offer members, their partners and other relevant actors specific knowledge of opportunities and limitations in the space for civil society wherever they work CISU promotes this by developing and offering: knowledge, viewpoints and influence on the professional as well as the public debate over civil society s role in development cooperation, not only in Denmark, but wherever in the world it may be possible in cooperation with partners, networks and other relevant actors knowledge of opportunities for members to take part in professional development and public debate on civil society interventions, both in Denmark and across the EU our own platforms, through which member organisations can participate in professional and political debates, and where the relevance of their interventions can be documented by CISU our capacity, professional knowledge and commitment at the service of professional and political organisations, networks, platforms and authorities involved in civil society interventions stronger channels for member organisations and their contributions, which CISU will pass on to relevant forums, not least for those members who lack access and/or resources to seek influence on their own support for member organisations and their partners to be able to champion their own causes and to inform about their operating conditions in Denmark, the EU and internationally CISU will continue to draw on experiences and knowledge gained through its member organisations practices in order to develop the shared political understanding and framework for civil society s roles and interventions, and to protect civil society s interests in professional and political forums in which CISU is represented.

5 CISU believes that strong popular organisation is a precondition for people s active participation in social processes, experience of fellow citizenship and opportunities to take on their share of practical and political responsibility for the development of society. Accordingly, independent and diversified communities that legitimately represent the interests of various population groups are an important condition for people to join forces to combat the causes of poverty and ensure a more just world. The fight against poverty and its causes takes myriad shapes in the interventions of Danish civil society organisations and their partners, and we observe the results of this work on a daily basis. It is CISU s mission to support Danish civil society organisations endeavours to combat poverty, and this continues to be our core business. 3 / INTERVENTIONS Stepping up the fight against poverty and its causes Strategic goal: Danish organisations and their partners work actively for development that secures people s rights, fosters global justice and combats the causes of poverty locally, nationally and globally. In the period , CISU will focus particularly on supporting member organisations and their partners to: continue to enhance their contributions to the development of independent, representative and diversified civil societies as well as to poverty reduction develop and improve their efforts to combat local, national and global causes of poverty gain access to knowledge of support facilities and of the context in the countries in which they work gain knowledge of and access to the various types of financial support and advice from CISU in order to implement their interventions document and communicate the developmental effects of their partnerships and interventions CISU promotes this by developing and offering: information on new approaches to fighting poverty through civil society interventions collection and dissemination of knowledge of national, regional and international opportunities for networking, financial support and capacity building, as well as contextual information wherever in the world it is relevant and feasible differentiated financial support facilities to carry out interventions within the overall framework of the official Danish Civil Society Policy. This entails flexible and accessible support whose requirements must be tailored to the scope of activities, so that all organisations can access support regardless of the extent of their experience and of whether they are driven by volunteers or employees responsive, constructive and cost-conscious fund management and advisory services regarding implementation in order to support the interventions of member organisations and their partners collection and dissemination of knowledge and examples of specific developmental effects achieved by members and their partners, and of their contributions to developing civil society organisations and new forms of cooperation collection and dissemination of specific examples and practices regarding efforts to address contextual, structural and global chains of cause and effect Working together, we will use knowledge of members and partners results to continuously develop capacity building services and support facilities.

6 CISU s VALUES The values lay the groundwork for our day-to-day work. They frame the way we view the world and enter into relationships. Our credibility depends on our being seen to adhere to our own values. Diversity We wish to secure a wide array of approaches within civil society work, because an effective civil society is characterised by a variety of approaches and types of actors. Openness We strive for transparency in all our acts and decisions. Accountability We assume responsibility for our own acts and decisions, and expect the same of others. Participation We offer everyone equal opportunity to take part, because all people have something valuable to contribute. Respect We deal with people on their own terms and support them in working for their own objectives. We let our views be challenged and learn along the way. Cooperation We cooperate widely, because it is an inspiring, necessary and constructive path to sustainable results. Volunteering We create room for voluntary involvement in civil society, because people s free will and voluntary dedication is the driving force behind committed civil society work. Photos by Pernille Bærendtsen, Simon Bredal Juul and Tune Nyborg NORDIC ECOLABEL Read more about CISU on cisu.dk BUCHS.DK