The Portuguese civil society sector is very fragmented and lacks strong and representative umbrella organisations to make its voice heard, and also, there is a need to bolster technical, financial and organisational capacities, and capacity building and sustainability of the sector has been of paramount concern for the FO for several years. A Survey on the NGO sector in Portugal commissioned in 2014 to a Portuguese University identified the main weaknesses: funding and allocation of resources; governance and management practices; and advocacy skills. In 2016, the independent Evaluation Study on the NGO Fund 2009-14 implementation in Portugal identified two areas deserving further support in the future (which had already been priorities in the 2009-14 NGO Fund): democratic values, citizenship and citizens’ participation; and human rights and equal treatment.

Based on the lessons learned, on the diagnosis and evaluations produced and on further analysis of key problems and challenges the Third Sector faces in Portugal, the following areas of support have been selected:

1. Democracy, active citizenship, good governance and transparency;
2. Human rights and equal treatment through combating any discrimination;
3. Social justice and inclusion of vulnerable groups.

One Outcome was thus set for each of the three aforementioned areas, plus an additional capacity building Outcome, reflecting the cross-cutting priority of the whole Programme that is strengthening the Civil Society and its organisations.

You can read the full document on Diagnosis and Programme Strategy here.