Overview

Through its Civil Society Impact project, USAID provides direct grants to civil society organizations (CSOs) to expand their technical and organizational capacity and continue their local work to advance economic governance, bolster gender equality, empower youth, and protect the environment. The project also directly supports organizations working to prevent sexual and gender-based violence, protect and promote citizens’ rights, and combat trafficking in persons.

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Implementing Partner: Multiple local CSOs; Total Estimated Cost: $13.5 million; Performance Period: June 2021 – June 2026

Objectives

USAID’s Civil Society Impact project aims to:

  • Develop capabilities of civil society organization staff.
  • Address democratic and economic governance issues.
  • Improve inter- and intra-civil society coordination and information dissemination.
  • Increase joint civil society advocacy.

Areas of Focus

  • BOLSTER CSOs: This project helps expand the civil society operating space, increase the credibility of CSOs, bolster organizational capacity, and support vulnerable CSOs to help preserve a diverse and functional civil society ecosystem.
  • PREVENT SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE: The Civil Society Impact project fosters national, regional, and local collaboration and networking among government and non-government institutions to better enable them to implement sustainable interventions to prevent violence and address the needs of survivors of abuse. 
  • COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING: This project builds the capacity of both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders at national, regional, and local levels in 12 districts throughout 6 provinces of Sri Lanka to protect and promote the rights of victims of human trafficking. 

Expected Results

  • Enable the expansion of civil society operations through strengthened self-governance and advocacy, improved public communications capacities to improve public perception, and improved public understanding and confidence in the role of civil society.
  • Increased awareness of and support for victims of sexual and gender-based violence, discrimination, and labor trafficking.
  • Continued advocacy and activism for a more inclusive society by decreasing violence and trafficking inflicted on vulnerable populations.
  • Improved access, awareness, and support services for CSOs and victims of violence and trafficking.