Sida have been tasked to find a new model for its support to civil society organisations and an Invitation to civil society organisations for partnership with Sida was published on the 7th of May as part of this process, the call closed on 27th of May and the review process is ongoing.
The call for expressions of interest was issued to prepare for the government's new CSO strategy. The strategy, adopted in September 2024, is valid between 2025-2029. Sida expects to sign agreements with new and previous partners to Sida or Swedish Embassies by the first half of 2025.
The timeline for the review has been updated (September 27)
Sida has received the new CSO strategy from the government. The guidance in the strategy is detailed and Sida will need more time to analyse the content. Tentatively, Sida will be able to get back to organisations based outside ODA countries with a decision by the end of October. The decision concerns whether the organisation is selected to submit a full application and preliminary funding level for the application.
For organisations based in ODA countries the timeline is unchanged, however might be revised if deemed necessary.
New tentative date for applications is 1 February 2025 (updated September 27)
Application deadline for organisations which are previous partners to Sida or Swedish Embassies.
Transition to the new model
According to the government's decision (2024-09-19) on the Strategy for Sweden's development cooperation with civil society 2025-2029, Sida must ensure a responsible transition from the current model for distributing funds via SPO to the new model that appears in the annex to the strategy.
The decision further states that Sida, during a transition period, can continue to provide support within the current system in parallel with the rollout of the new model. To give Sida's current partners the best possible conditions for planning or phasing out their operations and enabling a seamless transition to the new strategy, Sida assesses that the agreements with partners within the strategy can be extended or continue to run during the transition phase. However, the level of support to current partners during the transition phase needs to be adjusted to allow for phasing in support according to the new model, which applies to the CSO strategy 2025-2029. The adaptation will be distributed equally with about the same percentage reduction for all. Sida will therefore not terminate agreements with current partners as of January 1, 2025.
Sida’s civil society strategy makes up approximately ¼ of Act CoS’s income. Whilst the announced changes in how Sida allocates funding under this strategy could potentially have a significant impact on our ability to continue at current levels of funding of partners, we would like to underline that Act CoS has a strong and diverse funding base. We also have the full backing of the wider Church of Sweden.
Act CoS will not terminate any ongoing agreements with partners as of 1st of January 2025 due to decreased funding from Sida. However, the level of support might need to be adjusted. Our local partnerships are key to our work, and we look forward to continuing the work together with you.