Enhancing Civil Society Engagement for Transparent, Accountable, and Inclusive Local Governance and Economic Sustainability

The program promotes civil society engagement in EU Member States and aims to strengthen transparency, accountability, and inclusion in local governance structures. It targets non-profit organizations, non-governmental institutions, as well as public authorities implementing innovative projects to foster social cohesion, democratic participation, and economic sustainability. Through targeted grants, local networks are to be reinforced, participation processes encouraged, and sustainable economic models advanced. This measure thus contributes to resilient and inclusive development of rural areas and supports programs in the fields of employment & social affairs, agriculture & rural development, as well as development cooperation.

For an application, registration in the PADOR system is required; the applicant’s headquarters must be located in an EU Member State and the program guidelines must be strictly adhered to. The evaluation will focus in particular on the relevance and impact of the project, the capacity and experience of the applicants, as well as cost-effectiveness. Required documents include the Application Form FA, Annexes B (Budget), C (Logical Framework), H (Declaration of Honour), and the PADOR Offline Registration Form (Annex F). The deadline for submitting all complete applications is 3 February 2026 at 11:00 Brussels time. This funding offers the opportunity to sustainably empower local actors and establish more inclusive governance structures in the long term.