Institut Francais du Monde Associatif

The French Institute for Civil Society Organisations, based in France, aims at meeting CSOs’ needs of knowledge and has three core activities: identifying CSOs’ needs of knowledge, supporting research in response to these needs, and disseminating research findings to CSOs. As such, we operate as a knowledge hub on CSOs, and provide a bridge between CSOs and research

Enhancing knowledge about the civil society sector is challenging yet paramount to comprehend the specificities of CSOs, promote their contribution to society and democracy and navigate transformations within their ecosystem.

To address this challenge, we are dedicated to embarking on the mission of supporting the development of academic research relevant to civil society by focusing on three primary activities:

Identifying knowledge needs
By identifying the knowledge needs of CSOs, we offer new avenues to enhance the skills of CSO leaders, inform advocacy strategies, strengthen dialogue with stakeholders, and guide public and private funders’ strategies and their support of CSOs.

Supporting new research
We launch and implement research programmes to support new research addressing the knowledge needs of CSOs. Our grantees research projects are chosen for their scientific rigor and their tangible value to civil society organisations.