The work of civil society organisations extensively promotes Finland's development policy objectives. At the same time, it strengthens the civic space and the enabling environment for civil society as well as democracy and the rule of law.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs supports development cooperation carried out by civil society by granting funding to Finnish civil society organisations and international non-governmental organisations. In addition, some embassies support civil society actors with so-called funds for local cooperation. In 2019-2021, Finland funded the development cooperation of civil society organisations with a sum of EUR 362 million, which accounted for 10 per cent of Finland's official development cooperation.
A significant part of the civil society organisation funding is allocated to long term development cooperation programs of Finnish civil society organisations.
The expertise of local partners is central in the activities of the organisations. Civil society organisations also have long-term and versatile experience in different operating environments. The activities extend to areas that are difficult to reach and also to countries where there is no other Finnish funding.
Civil society organisations promote the rights of numerous different population groups around the world. For example, the work of the civil society organisations strengthens the sexual and reproductive health and rights of persons with disabilities and the teaching of minority languages in both early childhood education and comprehensive school. Furthermore, civil society organisations reinforce the rights of migrant workers and prevent the use of child labour.
Civil society organisations support the participation of citizens and population groups in decision-making, politics and social debate. Finland supports the activities of human rights defenders in countries where sexual and gender minorities experience discrimination and violence. Civil society organisations play a key role in peacebuilding, especially at the community level.
The performance and impact of work by civil society organisations is continuously strengthened. As circumstances change, civil society organisations are able to adapt quickly. This is because civil society organisations and their partners usually have strong expertise in their own sector and knowledge of the operating environment.
The ability to adapt rapidly is important, especially in the event of conflicts and natural disasters. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, civil society organisations were able to continue achieving results through adaptations such as developing distance learning and providing accessible information on the COVID-19. The sustainability of the results is promoted by strong local ownership and cooperation with local authorities.
Based on annual reports and evaluations, Finnish civil society organisations have succeeded in strengthening their results based management and their monitoring, evaluation and learning mechanisms. Even so, in the future, civil society organisations should strengthen impact assessment that extends beyond the immediate scope of the programme or project and the assessment of long-term impact. In addition, they must continue to invest in the development of results data disaggregated by sex, age and disability.
