In July 2024, IFMA, the Maecenata Institute, and ISTR hosted a World Café, as part of the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) biennial international conference in Antwerp (16-19 July 2024). The event aimed to foster a collaborative community of researchers and civil society actors, united by the common goal of strengthening civil society research in Europe and enhancing the contributions of CSOs to European societies and democracies.

The World Café, which brought together 30 researchers and practitioners, provided a valuable platform to build on existing ideas and discussions, define key objectives and activities, identify funding opportunities, and strategise the role of research in supporting civil society organisations.

This event followed a collaborative effort between ISTR, Maecenata, and IFMA to facilitate exchanges and collaborations on research about CSOs at the European level. A series of two webinars were hosted in autumn 2023 to discuss the state of the art and possible collaborations, in terms of activities and ways of working.

Building on these efforts, IFMA is now launching a series of European webinars. The theme of this first edition is “Civic Freedom, Democracy, and CSOs.” To learn more about the event, click here.

In 2022, the French Institute for Civil Society Organisations, in partnership with the Maecenata Foundation, the Institute for Social Research, and the Mouvement Associatif, launched a working group on Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Europe. This working group brought together 40 researchers and practitioners with diverse expertise from 16 European countries. Their aim was to illuminate the role of CSOs in Europe, their contributions to society and democracy, and their needs.

The working group was tasked with identifying the knowledge needs of European CSOs, compiling a state-of-the-art report, and issuing recommendations for a European research agenda on CSOs. This working group culminated in the organization of a European webinar on CSOs and Democracy in Europe, the publication of a white paper “For a better knowledge of civil society organisations in Europe”, and the compiling of a collaborative digital library.

Following this start-up phase, our long-term goal is to bring together researchers from all disciplines whose teaching, research and practice is connected to the various manifestations of the third sector and democracy, including civil society organizations, volunteering, social movements, social economy, and social innovation in and connected to European countries and its neighbours. 

Our vision is to have spaces where researchers and practitioners can meet and share about research agendas and findings, and were researchers can find support to conduct and share research in ways that engage with European civil society organisations and contribute to supporting a striving civil society in Europe.