Survey on the future evolution of organised civil society in the EU

The role of civil society organisations has evolved significantly and will continue to change in the future. Their capacity to contribute to political and societal development will depend on a variety of factors, including funding, technological development and the increasing role of social media.

This survey seeks to analyse the main challenges for CSOs at national and European level, the trends and drivers of change, and future prospects for relations between policy-makers at national and European level and CSOs. The survey is part of the study that will develop a set of scenarios looking forward to 2030 setting out possible futures for CSOs, along with an overview of the possible consequences of those changes in terms of CSOs' relations with public authorities. The survey is conducted on behalf of the European Economic and Social Committee by European Network of National Civil Society Associations and CNVOS Slovenia. The survey has 8 questions and will take app. 15 minutes of your time. We kindly ask you to answer them and help us with the study. Your responses will be confidential.

Thank you in advance!

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* 1. Please, state your organisation’s country of origin. If your organisation is an European network (with members from several different EU member states), please tick this option.

European Network

Country:

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* 2. Which external factors, developments, trends or events have affected your organisation (the achievement of goals and objectives, staff, financial situation, day-to-day functioning, etc.) the most in the last 5 years? Please, think broadly in terms of general trends in the areas of policy, economy, social protection, demographics and technology.

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* 3. Which external factors, developments, trends or events will affect the future of your organisation the most in the next 15 years? Please, think broadly in terms of general trends in the areas of policy, economy, social protection, demographics and technology.

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* 4. Which of those factors (or others) will in your opinion have the highest impact on organised civil society as a whole and its development in the next 15 years?

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* 5. Will civil society organisations in 2030 in your opinion be in a better or worse condition than today? Why?

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* 6. Which of the factors you mentioned above will, in your opinion, in the next 15 years have the greatest impact on the relations between organised civil society and decision-makers (please select max. two for each level)?

On national level:

On EU level:

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* 7. Will relations between organised civil society and decision-makers in 2030 be better or worse than today:

	better	worse
On national level:	On national level: better	On national level: worse
On EU level:	On EU level: better	On EU level: worse

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* 8. From several influencing factors that are already seen at play, we have selected 9. Please assess them according to their importance for the future development of civil society organisations.

	1 – not important	2	3	4	5 – very important
Rise of populism & protectionism	Rise of populism & protectionism 1 – not important	Rise of populism & protectionism 2	Rise of populism & protectionism 3	Rise of populism & protectionism 4	Rise of populism & protectionism 5 – very important
Population ageing	Population ageing 1 – not important	Population ageing 2	Population ageing 3	Population ageing 4	Population ageing 5 – very important
Increase of social inequalities	Increase of social inequalities 1 – not important	Increase of social inequalities 2	Increase of social inequalities 3	Increase of social inequalities 4	Increase of social inequalities 5 – very important
Migrations	Migrations 1 – not important	Migrations 2	Migrations 3	Migrations 4	Migrations 5 – very important
Decrease in size and scope of welfare state and its role in providing public services	Decrease in size and scope of welfare state and its role in providing public services 1 – not important	Decrease in size and scope of welfare state and its role in providing public services 2	Decrease in size and scope of welfare state and its role in providing public services 3	Decrease in size and scope of welfare state and its role in providing public services 4	Decrease in size and scope of welfare state and its role in providing public services 5 – very important
Trending new economies (circular, collaborative, functional …)	Trending new economies (circular, collaborative, functional …) 1 – not important	Trending new economies (circular, collaborative, functional …) 2	Trending new economies (circular, collaborative, functional …) 3	Trending new economies (circular, collaborative, functional …) 4	Trending new economies (circular, collaborative, functional …) 5 – very important
Rise of social media and »instant activism« (enabling quick and broad outreach and mobilization on one hand, but on the other hand, the mobilisation is often too narrow without broader long-term impact)	Rise of social media and »instant activism« (enabling quick and broad outreach and mobilization on one hand, but on the other hand, the mobilisation is often too narrow without broader long-term impact) 1 – not important	Rise of social media and »instant activism« (enabling quick and broad outreach and mobilization on one hand, but on the other hand, the mobilisation is often too narrow without broader long-term impact) 2	Rise of social media and »instant activism« (enabling quick and broad outreach and mobilization on one hand, but on the other hand, the mobilisation is often too narrow without broader long-term impact) 3	Rise of social media and »instant activism« (enabling quick and broad outreach and mobilization on one hand, but on the other hand, the mobilisation is often too narrow without broader long-term impact) 4	Rise of social media and »instant activism« (enabling quick and broad outreach and mobilization on one hand, but on the other hand, the mobilisation is often too narrow without broader long-term impact) 5 – very important
Emphasis on open on-line consultations as main and often only method of governmental collaboration with the public in decision-making	Emphasis on open on-line consultations as main and often only method of governmental collaboration with the public in decision-making 1 – not important	Emphasis on open on-line consultations as main and often only method of governmental collaboration with the public in decision-making 2	Emphasis on open on-line consultations as main and often only method of governmental collaboration with the public in decision-making 3	Emphasis on open on-line consultations as main and often only method of governmental collaboration with the public in decision-making 4	Emphasis on open on-line consultations as main and often only method of governmental collaboration with the public in decision-making 5 – very important
Shrinking of civic space (restrictions to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom of expression via imposition of unnecessary administrative burdens, negative state or political campaigns against CSOs etc.)	Shrinking of civic space (restrictions to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom of expression via imposition of unnecessary administrative burdens, negative state or political campaigns against CSOs etc.) 1 – not important	Shrinking of civic space (restrictions to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom of expression via imposition of unnecessary administrative burdens, negative state or political campaigns against CSOs etc.) 2	Shrinking of civic space (restrictions to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom of expression via imposition of unnecessary administrative burdens, negative state or political campaigns against CSOs etc.) 3	Shrinking of civic space (restrictions to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom of expression via imposition of unnecessary administrative burdens, negative state or political campaigns against CSOs etc.) 4	Shrinking of civic space (restrictions to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom of expression via imposition of unnecessary administrative burdens, negative state or political campaigns against CSOs etc.) 5 – very important
Decrease in active membership and involvement in CSOs	Decrease in active membership and involvement in CSOs 1 – not important	Decrease in active membership and involvement in CSOs 2	Decrease in active membership and involvement in CSOs 3	Decrease in active membership and involvement in CSOs 4	Decrease in active membership and involvement in CSOs 5 – very important
Shifts in public funding for CSOs (emphasis on funding service provision and entrepreneurial initiatives vs. funding for advocacy/policy influencing and operational/institutional financing)	Shifts in public funding for CSOs (emphasis on funding service provision and entrepreneurial initiatives vs. funding for advocacy/policy influencing and operational/institutional financing) 1 – not important	Shifts in public funding for CSOs (emphasis on funding service provision and entrepreneurial initiatives vs. funding for advocacy/policy influencing and operational/institutional financing) 2	Shifts in public funding for CSOs (emphasis on funding service provision and entrepreneurial initiatives vs. funding for advocacy/policy influencing and operational/institutional financing) 3	Shifts in public funding for CSOs (emphasis on funding service provision and entrepreneurial initiatives vs. funding for advocacy/policy influencing and operational/institutional financing) 4	Shifts in public funding for CSOs (emphasis on funding service provision and entrepreneurial initiatives vs. funding for advocacy/policy influencing and operational/institutional financing) 5 – very important