Civil Society has become an increasingly important political and social actor in Georgia. Therefore, support to and engagement with civil society in all of its diversity is an essential part of the EU programming in Georgia. The Civil Society STAR Initiative is the major project implemented with the EU and KAS support and targeting several key dimensions of civil society development: its environment, organizational and institutional capacities, linkages to other actors and the broader public, social activism, and public participation. 

The ultimate goal of the project is to strengthen civil society as an independent, sustainable, transparent, and accountable development actor across Georgia. To this end, we have an ambition to mobilize around 80% of the active CSO-community in Georgia (800 CSOs, including approximately 150 CBOs, as well as initiative groups, and other forms of grassroots). Our special targets are youth and schoolteachers (up to 3000 and 600 individuals respectively), up to 5000 social activists and citizens, including the elderly and those from vulnerable groups. The project also targets approximately 200 public authority representatives (including all levels of authorities), 100 business entities, and 250 media representatives. The action will involve eight universities across the country, both public and private.

While supporting civil society in becoming a relevant development actor, we apply a holistic approach consisting of three interrelated dimensions, each corresponding to one specific objective. 

First, within the external dimension, we contribute to a further improvement of the political and financial framework for civil society; in particular, by advocating for a transparent and trustful state funding for CSOs, by promoting and piloting innovative alternative funding mechanisms such as community foundations or crowd-funding, and by promoting the further development of CSR culture.  

Second, within the intermediary dimension, our action strives to strengthen links between CSOs and their constituencies through promoting civic values, public communication about the work of CSOs, and working with the society on its actual needs. 

Third, within the internal dimension, we will capacitate individual organizations as well as CSO networks for better fulfilling their functions and becoming role models for accountability and transparency.

The Initiative strives to produce five types of outputs linked with the abovementioned three specific objectives. 

First, we support the authorities, that they meet their commitments within the Open Government Partnership Initiative and improve the regulatory framework for CSOs’ sustainable development, in particular regarding transparent and trustful public funding for civil society. 

Second, we will pilot new funding mechanisms for a civil society like community foundations and crowd-funding, boost the cross-sector partnerships especially among CSOs and businesses, and improve CSR culture in the country. 

Third, our action will increase trust in and recognition of CSOs by other stakeholders and the broader public. 

Forth, the capacities of individual civil society actors will be enhanced in the organisational and core operational areas,

And fifth, the CSO networks will become more impactful and therefore resilient in all regions of Georgia.