EBRD enhances civil society engagement with new approach

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  New approach driven by evolving challenges and opportunities across Bank’s regions
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  Plan will help mitigate risks and generate impact in economies where the EBRD works
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  Bank’s engagement with civil society as a key partner is reinforced

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has published a new approach to civil society engagement for 2024 to 2029. Under the approach, the Bank will work to mitigate risks, generate impact and advance its engagement with civil society. It will do this by pursuing four objectives: (i) supporting and engaging with civil society via meaningful mechanisms, (ii) responding to global crises where they affect EBRD regions by engaging with civil society, (iii) developing a safe and open civic space and (iv) strengthening the Bank’s internal incentives for civil society engagement, effectiveness and accountability.

To deliver these objectives, the Bank will exchange information, consult and partner with civil society organisations (CSOs) with a view to strengthening their capacity as advisers and implementing partners on EBRD projects.

The EBRD’s president, Odile Renaud-Basso, said, “Civil society organisations are key partners in our efforts to promote economic development and to build greener, more digitally advanced and inclusive economies. I was delighted to directly engage with several of them at the Bank’s recent Annual Meeting in Armenia. The new approach to civil society engagement will further enhance our cooperation on shared priorities for the places where the EBRD invests.”

Internally, the Bank will develop guidance for staff on how to ensure the safety of civil society and protect it from retaliation, how to manage complaints and requests from civil society and how to ensure inclusive and accessible consultations.

The new approach builds on revisions to the Bank’s previous roadmap which was used to support and engage with CSOs during the Covid-19 pandemic. It comes in recognition of the multiple new challenges civil society is facing in many countries and regions.

The EBRD will continue to explore partnerships with civil society in policy and advocacy, capacity building, operational collaboration and knowledge and best-practice sharing. The Bank is also an active member of a working group of multilateral development banks and international financial institutions focused on advancing existing civil society partnerships and creating new ones.

The EBRD will monitor the progress of its new approach and remain flexible, adjusting priorities and activities as appropriate, in response to changes in the operational and business environments in the economies where it is active.

The full document can be viewed here