Info Note - EU Country Roadmaps for Engagement with Civil Society

In ‘The roots of democracy and sustainable development: Europe’s engagement with Civil Society in external relations (Communication 2012 - 492) it was stated that the EU and the Member States should develop country Roadmaps for engagement with CSOs, to improve the impact, predictability and visibility of EU actions, ensuring consistency and synergy throughout the various sectors covered by EU external relations.

Therefore, in 2014, a worldwide effort began to develop these EU Country Roadmaps for Engagement with Civil Society. Conceived as a joint initiative between the European Union and Member States, Roadmaps were introduced to strengthen Europe’s engagement with Civil Society.

To date, 107  Country Roadmaps, have been finalised and are being implemented through
 multi-faceted policy dialogue, operational
 support to CSOs and various researches. In some EU Delegations, Roadmaps are already beeing updated into a second generation of actions to guide their engagement until 2020.

Important lessons have emerged. Many delegations are using the Roadmaps as en entry point to reach out to a broader range of CSOs (rather than their usual interlocutors and grantees) in a more strategic engagement. Several delegations use the Roadmaps to engage in broader processes of dialogue, going beyond the question of financial support.

Roadmaps are expected to also play an important role in facilitating the mainstreaming of civil society in all relevant aspects of policy dialogue and operational support, particularly in the focal sectors of EU cooperation in partner countries.

The progress made by developing the Roadmaps is encouraging. The Info Note EU Country Roadmaps for engagement with Civil Society gives seven reasons why Roadmaps matter together with numerous examples of the use of Roadmaps in many countries around the world.