Hivos and ISS strengthen their joint Knowledge Programme on Civil Society Building

Author(s): Jeroen Mimpen
Publication date: Friday 21 December 2007

Hivos and the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) have agreed to strengthen their joint Knowledge Programme on Civil Society Building (CSB). Thursday 20 December 2007, both organisations signed a new Memorandum of Understanding, showing a continued commitment to further develop the knowledge network on CSB and stimulate the development, dissemination and application of new and existing knowledge on civil society.

Hivos and ISS have been working together since 2005 in a joint effort to contribute to the debate on CSB. At the core of this collaboration is the interaction between practitioners and researchers to facilitate knowledge development, dissemination and application. This process – also called knowledge integration – has the potential to be of enormous value to the development sector involved in CSB. Both organisations have the ambition to contribute to the debate and further strengthen CSB efforts.

The main aim of the new 2008-2010 Knowledge Programme is to better understand and improve the contribution of CSB efforts to bring about changes in the unequal balance of power in favour of vulnerable and marginalised groups. The three specific objectives of the Programme are the following:
1. To foster new and innovative research on civil society building in the academic and development sectors.
2. To intensify the links between practitioners and researchers in order to stimulate dialogue and debate on civil society building.
3. To contribute to improving policy and programmes aimed at strengthening the capacity of civil society organisations.

The Knowledge Programme will focus on the following three main questions.
1. How can we understand the dynamics of civil society formation and the role of local actors in this process?
2. How do external actors contribute to this process?
3. How does civil society building as a process contribute to structural changes in unequal power balances in society?

By focusing on these three questions, the Programme will especially take the issues of gender, authority and leadership, innovation, and sustainability into account because of their cross-cutting importance.

The Programme is divided into two main research themes. These two themes are:
1. civic action for responsive governance;
2. social movements and citizenship.

The first theme focuses on the instrumental role of civic organisations as advocates for responsive governance, including the local and national level as well as traditional networks. Examples include the effectiveness of civil society networks and coalitions. The second theme focuses on social movements and the way external actors may effectively support these movements. Examples include the relation between indigenous movement and International NGOs, and the democratisation movements.

The Knowledge Programme includes – besides research activities – a large number of outreach and capacity activities as well as a specific focus on application and utilisation of new and existing knowledge. More specifically, activities include: regional consultative workshops, international network seminars, publications, a facilitating website, training, a database, and many other forms of knowledge integration.

More information? Please e-mail Jeroen Mimpen at j.mimpen@hivos.nl.