Civil Society Sector is the framework Programme through which the support to civil society organisations between 2014 and 2020 as part of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) will be implemented. A total of 190 million euro financial aid, out of 4.5 million euro total agreed budget for the given IPA period, is accounted for supporting civil society. Civil Society Sector, with that, has established the ground to programme this support for civil society with a long-term strategy and vision.
The Sector Planning Document developed by the Ministry for European Union Affairs sets forward the general structure for this ground. In line with that any work with or for civil society should serve to the following four main objectives:
With the work supported under this heading, it is aimed to strengthen the cooperation between public sector and civil society organisations. With the help of the transparent mechanisms to be established, consultation with CSOs at local, regional and national level will be supported for policy development and good governance.
It is aimed to contribute to a more transparent and accountable environment for civil society with the supported projects to facilitate the establishment, operation, funding and monitoring of CSOs. Furthermore, improvement of CSO funding for capacity building and sustainability will also be supported.
CSOs will become more effective in shaping, implementing and monitoring public policies with the support to strengthen their capacity for networking and active participation in public debate. Improvement of CSO-private sector cooperation will also be supported.
Establishment of long-term partnerships and cooperation between CSOs in Turkey and in EU member states will be supported. There will also be work to help CSOs own the dialogue process.
The Ministry for European Union Affairs, based on a 15-years of experience gained through its CSO-focussed approach and projects implemented in this area, will be the lead institution responsible for the programming and implementation of Civil Society Sector.
Developing a sectoral framework for civil society under the EU Financial Aid brings along a set of important opportunities as well.
Through the projects to be implemented by public institutions, civil society and their relation wwith CSOs will be on the agenda of the public sector at all times
With the implemented projects the logical and strategic grounds for legislation will be established
The best practice examples and methodologies of MEU for Public CSO cooperation will be expanded to other public institutions
Through the grant schemes to be implemented by the MEU, a wider group of CSOs will be reached and supported for capacity building
The grant schemes will be implemented regularly, with established and valued brands, and easier to follow
The capacity building activities under the Civil Society Sector will not be limited to that of grant schemes but will be expanded to regular training programmes, mentorship or innovative capacity building support with the help of an effective cooperation amongst related public institutions, universities and civil society.
Civil Society Sector will be the impulsive force for communication, coordination and cooperation amongst organisations and institutions working in the civil society sector.
Based on this, the work under the Civil Society Sector will be the base for important developments in this area.
Basically there will be two main types of projects will be supported under Civil Society Sector:
Such grant schemes are planned to be implemented as systematic programmes that launches call-for-proposals in given periods every year and that are easy to follow. With that, a call-for proposal launched in 2017 for civil society dialogue and capacity building is planned to be repeated in 2018 or 2019 with a similar approach and calendar.
Through the programmes to be implemented by public organisations and institutions with active roles in civil society, they will be supported to have more chances to get together with civil society. With the increased participation of CSOs in project activities, Public-CSO cooperation will be enhanced and the ground for preparatory work for improving the legal environment will be established.