Disruption is affecting civil society organisations (CSOs): Shrinking space for civic participation hinders their work in many countries; climate change, persistent poverty and growing inequality make it harder for CSOs to achieve their missions; and the rise of the internet disrupts the business models of many traditional CSOs.

At  the  same  time  CSOs  are  needed  more  than  ever.  As humanity reaches and increasingly oversteps the limits of the resources our planet provides and the pollution it absorbs we urgently have to embark on the transition towards a sustainable, fair and equitable world. Governments on their own will not be able to undertake this transition. Effective CSOs have to help charting the way, setting positive examples and bringing citizens on board.

Whether today’s CSOs will be able to contribute to the transformation very much depends on whether they are capable of fundamentally changing themselves. CSOs that are unwilling to react may fade away as a consequence. How successfully CSOs will embrace change will determine whether they will remain relevant and useful in the future.

Disrupt&Innovate – a project by the International Civil Society Centre – provides a platform for civil society professionals and activists to discuss the topics that will determine the sector’s future.

The platform takes its starting point in the book The Hedgehog and the Beetle – Disruption & Innovation in the Civil Society Sector, written by the Centre’s Executive Director Burkhard Gnärig. Please read the book on this platform, or buy a copy of the book (paperback or E-Book).

In our weekly blogs we will sketch different aspects of the fundamental changes many CSOs are facing and consider how they may respond. The blogs aim to encourage discussions among CSOs and in the wider sector.

We invite you to contribute your thoughts, share your experience, develop ideas and propose ways to seize the opportunities and overcome the challenges the civil society sector is facing.

To learn more, please visit: Disrupt & Innovate (Future Civil Society Organisations)