The Global Standard is an initiative of well-established civil society networks from around the world. The overarching aim of this initiative is to strengthen the effectiveness of CSOs worldwide by devising a collective accountability standard. The networks will over three years cooperate to learn from each other, gain a truly global view on CSO accountability, improve their codes and reduce transaction cost. The project is a bottom-up process, carving out the significant existing overlap on core parameter for CSO accountability in all participating codes. The Global Standard will be used as a key reference standard for the nine networks and serve as a global point of orientation for CSO accountability globally. The three overarching goals of this project are: Improve CSO accountability codes and practice; Reduce transaction costs (convergence between multiple existing codes) and Contribute to a more enabling environment for CSOs.
BCSDN has been identified as the 9th partner of this initiative and has been introduced to all partners on the partnership meeting held in Bogota, Columbia from the 21-24 April. The partnership meeting served as an opportunity to work on the political statement of the commitments presented in the draft standard, improving the structure and the rationale. The standard is to be consulted through the 9 networks in the second half of 2016.
This project is led by the International Civil Society Centre and is funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).