The Enabling Environment at the Policy Forum on Development

An enabling environment (EE) refers to the conditions necessary for civil society in order to play their roles as active, effective and necessary actors of development.

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Right to assembly

Only if a set of conditions is in place to engage in a sustained and effective manner, development actors are able to fulfil an added value in their societies. This set of conditions is referred to as an enabling environment. It includes elements that are related to legal, regulatory and policy frameworks as wells as to political, socio-cultural and economic factors.During the last Policy Forum on Development that was held in Brussels at the end of March, the progress in enhancing an enabling environment was discussed among all participants.

According to Antonio Tujan, of the CSO Platform for Development Effectiveness, there are three levels when it comes to providing an enabling environment for development actors. The first level is the recognition of rights and freedoms of CSO’s by a legal regulating environment. The second level is the possibility for policy influencing. If this is to be ensured, full access to information is needed. The last level for providing an enabling environment is the availability of support for CSO’s from donors as well as from private sector actors.  Antonio Tujan acknowledges that there is often still only a limited space for consultation. “Although in my country the Philippines, and some others, the space for consultation is good, this is quite rare in many other countries”.

When it comes to measuring the enabling environment, Ziad Abdel Samad of the Arab NGO Network for Development told the Forum that there are five dimensions to measure this. “We need to look at how CSO’s are informed, how they can operate and what are their restrictive factors. We then also need to consider whether they have access to resources and if there is freedom of expression. The last dimension we need to consider is whether there exists the right to peaceful assembly."

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Also for the EU, the promotion of a conducive environment in partner countries is a priority. The Country Roadmaps focus on issues of basic legal rights, organisational and financial sustainability and participation of civil society in public life. The EU created different tools to monitor and keep track on civil society. The Country Roadmaps are a strategic tool for this as they are pointing out what the strategic goals are. The Country Roadmaps for engagement with civil society are complemented by the EU Human Rights Country Strategies ad various geographical policies.

The EU supports civil society by consulting and having dialogues. It is also expressing its support, by being present and visible in the partner countries. The EU furthermore supports capacity development for CSO’s and for evidence based advocacy as well as through strengthening existing platforms, coalitions and alliances. At the same time, it is engaging with authorities through political dialogue, by facilitating multi stakeholder dialogue and by leveraging international expertise which together will contribute to a more enabling environment.

For more information and documentation on the last Policy Forum on Development you can visit :

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/mwikis/aidco/index.php/Policy_forum_on_development