The EBRD and civil society

Overview
Working with the EBRD
Civil Society Capacity Enhancement Framework
Civil Society Steering Committee
Annual Meetings
Publications

Civil society organisations (CSOs) are key audiences and partners of the EBRD in the regions where it invests. They make valuable contributions to the development of our policies and strategies and the implementation of investment projects, they promote public dialogue, and they hold governments and policymakers publicly accountable.

The EBRD's engagement with civil society

For the EBRD’s purposes, civil society includes non-governmental organisations (NGOs), policy and research think tanks, social movements, labour unions, community-based organisations, women’s groups, business development organisations and other socioeconomic and labour market actors, including individual activists.

Our ongoing dialogue with civil society focuses on human rights and democracy, environmental and social issues, economic inclusion, gender equality, transparency, good governance, digital transition and business development issues related to the EBRD’s work in its regions of operations.

The EBRD's engagement with CSOs is designed to:

support the Bank's Article 1 mandate to foster transition towards market economics in countries that respect the principles of multiparty democracy and pluralism
support the EBRD’s Environmental and Social Policy
promote the EBRD’s commitment to transparency and good governance as stated in its Access to Information Policy
foster collaboration and partnership with CSOs through the Civil Society Capacity Enhancement Framework.

(Statistics shown are for the 2024 calendar year.)

Presidential meetings with CSOs

country/sector strategy consultations

Board meetings with CSOs

senior management meetings with CSOs

New approach to civil society engagement for 2024-29

The EBRD's new approach to civil society engagement for 2024-29 is driven by evolving challenges and opportunities across the Bank’s regions and focuses on the results and lessons learned from the Bank’s collaboration with the civic space.

Contact Civil Society Engagement team

General contacts

Address:

Five Bank St, London E14 4BG

Email:

CSO@ebrd.com

Information disclosure

The Bank interacts with civil society through several communication channels. It discloses information about its operations, projects, policies and strategies both proactively and on request, in line with its Access to Information Policy and international best practice. Project information such as project summary documents (PSDs) and environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) for category A projects is available online and via EBRD email alerts.

We inform our audiences about open consultation periods and welcome feedback on all forthcoming institutional strategies and policies during their development. If you would like to receive updates on consultations, please email CSO@ebrd.com and ask to be added to our distribution list.

We also publish this information on the Have your say on the EBRD's work page.

In addition, we also respond to public enquiries and complaints via email, preparing and coordinating responses in accordance with the Access to Information Policy.

Consultations and accountability

The EBRD periodically conducts formal consultations with civil society organisations (CSOs) on major institutional policies and strategies, in line with the Access to Information Policy and best practice.

We talk to CSOs about Article 1 issues relating to democracy, human rights and the enabling environment for such organisations in the EBRD’s regions of operations. We also discuss issues relating to transparency and good governance, economic inclusion, sustainable energy and resources, and digital transition – as regards both the Bank itself and our clients. The EBRD is a project-oriented bank, with the majority of our activities consisting of debt or equity investments in private-sector clients. We ensure that CSOs are able to discuss projects with banking teams, environmental and social experts, and compliance and evaluation specialists. If you are affected by a particular investment project or are interested in a project for any other reason, please contact us using the information request form.

CSOs and members of affected local communities are also able to raise complaints or grievances about EBRD-financed projects via the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM), which functions independently of the Bank’s other operations.

It is important to obtain CSOs’ input on key challenges and opportunities in the EBRD regions so that senior management are aware of their views. For that reason, we regularly organise high-level meetings bringing together the EBRD’s President, members of senior management and CSOs, both at our London headquarters and locally in the economies where we work. CSOs are also increasingly interested in broader policy issues relating to the EBRD’s operations, including our policy dialogue with governments.

Members of the EBRD’s Board of Directors regularly visit our economies of operations, meeting leading national and international CSOs that are active in those economies.

In addition, we also host consultation meetings with CSOs during the development of forthcoming EBRD strategies and policies. If you would like to be involved in such meetings, please send an email to CSO@ebrd.com.

Operational collaboration

Since 2013, the Bank has proactively cooperated and shared knowledge and expertise with local community groups and CSOs through its Civil Society Capacity Enhancement Framework (CSCEF). The beneficiaries of this programme are diverse in nature, working in areas such as energy and resource efficiency, renewable energy, water and wastewater, sustainable transport and agribusiness, small business development, economic empowerment of young people, rural populations and women, support for refugees, and good governance in the public and private sectors. The CSCEF, which is managed by the EBRD’s Civil Society Engagement team, uses technical cooperation funds to provide training, mentoring and small grants to grassroots and community-based groups, professional and business associations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academic and training institutions, think tanks, social enterprises and other civil society actors.

This innovative framework allows the EBRD to collaborate with and support a wide range of CSOs in the economies where it works, with a focus on four main areas:

- transparency and good governance

- sustainable energy and resources

- gender and economic inclusion

- digital transition.

Partnerships

The EBRD fosters partnerships with civil society to support the effective implementation of projects and amplify its impact. Since 2019, the Bank has signed strategic partnership agreements with international NGOs, establishing enhanced cooperation with like-minded organisations to improve each institution’s ability to deliver on its mandate and achieve its objectives.

In order to further enhance its engagement with civil society, the EBRD has also established a Civil Society Steering Committee for advisory purposes. Comprising representatives of international NGOs and CSOs from across the EBRD regions, that committee will be an additional forum for dialogue between the Bank and civil society, deepening the EBRD’s engagement with key stakeholders.

Annual Meetings and other events

The Bank engages in ongoing dialogue with civil society, both at a high level through exchanges with the EBRD President, senior management and the Board of Directors about strategic issues and at a working level in relation to specific projects – for example, through the flagship Civil Society Programme at the EBRD’s Annual Meeting and Business Forum. We also organise ad hoc meetings based on feedback received during consultations, particularly where we see trends emerging in a particular region.

Overview

The CSCEF was set up in 2013 as an innovative tool to encourage cooperation and collaboration with the EBRD’s civil society stakeholders.

We know that civil society groups often operate under constraints, with limited resources and capacity, and that they are not always able to engage with the EBRD, our private-sector clients and governments in an effective and sustainable manner. This capacity-building initiative aims to bridge that gap.

The CSCEF seeks to enhance local CSOs’ capacity to serve as:

(i) vehicles for raising awareness and stimulating new patterns of social behaviour

Tools: large-scale training sessions and workshops for a wide range of civil society stakeholders to enhance technical knowledge and communication skills; small grants to enable trainees to reach out to the general population

(ii) centres of excellence for the transfer of knowledge and skills

Tools: tailor-made training and mentoring for individual not-for-profit organisations, including think tanks and business associations; development of platforms for multi-stakeholder dialogue, consultations and networking

(iii) social enterprises which use market mechanisms to deliver on their social missions

Tools: a combination of advice and institutional/financial support to enable not-for-profit civil society stakeholders to increase revenues and reinvest them in the improvement of economic opportunities for disadvantaged communities (currently under consideration)

The CSCEF focuses on four main areas:

Sustainable energy and resources

In order to contribute to the Bank’s investment and policy dialogue efforts and help to deliver climate action and an environmentally sound and sustainable transition, the Bank is enhancing local CSOs’ capacity to promote residential energy efficiency, climate resilience, sustainable transport and other related issues in the context of the Bank's Green Economic Transition (GET) approach.

Economic inclusion

As part of the Bank’s efforts to foster economic inclusion and gender equality, the EBRD helps civil society stakeholders to promote work-based learning initiatives, participatory resource management, social entrepreneurship and other aspects of transition and development. In this way, we increase economic opportunities for young people and rural communities, while taking account of gender equality considerations.

Good governance and transparency

In the context of the Bank’s Investment Climate and Governance Initiative, we work to enhance CSOs’ capacity to set standards in the areas of oversight and integrity, as well as their ability to provide expert input into policymaking in areas such as transparency, the fight against corruption, the enhancement of the business climate and the monitoring of public procurement. We are also strengthening the role that CSOs play in the promotion of citizen participation and the facilitation of multi-stakeholder dialogue, thereby helping civil society to contribute more effectively to good governance and transparency.

Digital transition

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the EBRD recognised the important role that CSOs played in terms of emergency management, public oversight and reconstruction, with support for the digital transition of the civil society sector being identified as a critical factor supporting the post-pandemic recovery. While the Bank was already implementing civil society projects with digital components before the pandemic, collaboration with civil society in this domain has strengthened significantly in the post-pandemic period, identifying specific areas where the EBRD can help CSOs and affected communities to build resilience and capacity.

Scale and impact

Since mid-2013, 29 CSCEF technical cooperation projects with a total value of more than €9 million have been implemented in over 20 of the EBRD’s economies of operations, improving the skills of thousands of members of civil society through tailored training and mentoring.

Crisis response and civil society

Civil society and Covid-19

The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on the work of the EBRD.

The war on Ukraine

We confirm our unwavering support for Ukraine at this critical moment in its history.

Türkiye earthquakes

In February 2023, a series of violent earthquakes struck southern and central Türkiye and northern and western Syria.

In order to further enhance its engagement with civil society, the EBRD has established a Civil Society Steering Committee for advisory purposes.

The Steering Committee serves as an additional forum for dialogue and communication between the Bank and CSOs, helping the EBRD to deepen its civil society engagement. Through this committee, we hope to foster a spirit of cooperation, trust and mutual respect between civil society and the EBRD, as well as facilitate the exchange of best practices, knowledge and expertise.

In November 2022, a pilot committee was set up to help us design the engagement mechanism within the Steering Committee and assist with the selection of the committee proper. In December 2023, after a rigorous process, the members of the new Civil Society Steering Committee were selected. The current Steering Committee's mandate runs until the end of 2025, and the selection process for the next Steering Committee will take place at that time.

The Steering Committee assists the Bank with its country and sector strategies, helps to organise the Civil Society Programme at the EBRD’s Annual Meeting and supports the expansion of the Bank’s CSO network.

See the links below for details of the Steering Committee’s current terms of reference and composition.

For more information, please contact the EBRD’s Civil Society Engagement team at CSO@ebrd.com.

Related downloads

Terms of reference of Steering Committee

PDF format / 0.43 MB

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The EBRD and civil society

Information disclosure

Consultations and accountability

Operational collaboration

Partnerships

Annual Meetings and other events

Overview

Sustainable energy and resources

Economic inclusion

Good governance and transparency

Digital transition

Scale and impact

Crisis response and civil society

Civil society and Covid-19

The war on Ukraine

Türkiye earthquakes

The EBRD Civil Society Programme at the 2025 Annual Meeting

The EBRD Civil Society Programme at the 2023 Annual Meeting

The EBRD Civil Society Programme at the 2022 Annual Meeting

The EBRD Civil Society Programme at the 2021 Annual Meeting

Online Meeting with Civil Society and EBRD Board of Directors at the 2020 online Annual Meeting

The EBRD Civil Society Programme at the 2020 Annual Meeting was cancelled.

The EBRD Civil Society Programme at the 2019 Annual Meeting

Panel discussions

Investing for impact and financial returns: trade-off or trade-on?

Just transition in the Western Balkans and beyond – avoiding ‘stranded communities’ in cooperation with civil society

Gender and economic inclusion – paving the way to equal opportunities

Public procurement open to businesses and local communities

EBRD policy, strategy and project discussions

Civil Society Programme at the EBRD 2017 Annual Meeting

The Role of Cypriot Civil Society in Promoting Economic Development for Reconciliation

The Role of Civil Society in Promoting Transition Resilience

Civil Society and Green Cities

Civil Society Programme at the 2016 Annual Meeting

Civil society fostering transition

From dialogue to closer cooperation

Approaches to inclusion

Brochures and publications

Guide for supporting civil society organisations’ digital transformation

Civil society engagement brochure

Digitalisation and its discontents

A year working on public control mechanisms