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This year sees a re-orientation of my research engagement, principally in relation to concept development and empirical study in relation to civic space. Less explicit as research at this stage is systematic involvement with design of a learning and evaluation system for a small NGO.

Exploring Civic Space
There seems to be a worldwide trend towards regimes imposing restrictions on the freedoms enjoyed by citizens as well as the resourcing and functions of civil society actors and processes, such as peaceful assembly. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as closure of civic space. Conceptually, this imagery pushes a need to revisit what citizenship and civil society are all about. Practically, heterogeneity calls for study of ways in which closure is occurring or room for expression is actually opening up for different types or classes of civil society actor. A study that I co-lead with colleague Dr. Kees Biekart of the International Institute of Social Studies will explore the concept and operational reality experienced by civil society organisations when they engage with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) across an open to closed spectrum of spaces seen in six different countries.

Learning and Evaluation Design Suitable for Small NGOs
There is significant evidence that monitoring and evaluation systems designed for big civil society organisations are seldom suitable for small ones. My voluntary involvement with a local CSO opens up a case study opportunity to co-design and implement a learning and evaluation system tailored to ‘smallness’. The next eighteen months should provide evidence of what does and does not work. There is an open invitation for collaboration directed to a more comparative approach.