Rights and Democracy (R<(>&<)>D) Program - strengthening the lobbying and advocacy capacities of Civil Society Organisations. Based on the experience acquired through previous CSO’s support activities, EKN Maputo has redesigned its support strategy for CSO’s. The EKN support to CSO’s will now be delivered through one single programme, the Rights and Democracy programme, with a stronger regional focus on the focus areas in EKN’s MACS: the Zambezi Valley, Cabo Delgado province and the city of Beira. The R<(>&<)>D programme aims to create a vibrant civil society that holds government and private sector accountable, by strengthening CSO’s’ capacity for lobbying and advocacy. It prioritizes local CSO’s, representing groups that are marginalised or excluded from the development process, with a specific emphasis on youth. The programme identifies three outcomes: 1.        greater awareness, evidence-based reporting and safeguarding of human rights and protection of HR defenders; 2.        women and youth are empowered to advocate for their rights and engage effectively in policy formulation and scrutiny; 3.        greater citizen engagement and participation in local democracy, local governance and local development, enhancing account ability and transparency. The outputs are formulated as follows: 1.         enhanced leadership, management and performance of CSO’s to mobilise actions and campaigns on human rights and governance issues; 2.         strengthened collaboration and coalitions among CSO’s, allowing timely access to relevant and actionable evidence to inform campaign and advocacy initiatives; 3.         increased effectiveness of CSO’s to promote change through leveraging pro-accountability coalitions, including with the state and private sector entities, around democracy, accountability <(>&<)> rights issues (including women’s and youth rights). To achieve its goals, the R<(>&<)>D programme will provide short and long-term funds to a limited number of CSO’s, capacitate them and promote collaborative approaches by CSO’s. The collaborative approaches will include the support to networks, movements and the so called ‘Pro- Accountability Initiatives’ (PAI’s). Additionally, the programme will promote collaboration with academia, research institutions and journalists to provide credible information and data to create the evidence base required to underpin and strengthen the advocacy, lobbying and campaigning actions of CSO’s and PAI’s. The programme provides the following funding modalities: 1.   Annual and Multi-Annual funding for CSO’s, networks and movements. 2.   Fast track support for sporadic strategic citizen action and human rights related events. 3.   Capacity building interventions (tailored made trainings, mentoring, promotion of exchange of experience between local, national and regional CSO’s). 4.   Research, evidence and learning grants. The R<(>&<)>D programme is managed and coordinated by a national CSO, Centro de Aprendizagem e Capacitação da Sociedade Civil (CESC). CESC will establish a dedicated Programme Management Unit, located in the capital of Cabo Delgado province, Pemba. The direct beneficiaries of the project are mature and emergent CSO’s as well as informal networks, active in the fields of human rights (specifically the rights of women, youth and LGBTI) and good governance, strengthening the linkages between them. The programme will be funded through the Civic Space Fund (successor of the Accountability Fund), which is part of the policy framework Strengthening Civil Society- Power of Voices 2021-2025. The total budget is EUR 5.625.000 for a period of 4,5 years. Approximately 26% of grant disbursements will go to organizations based outside Maputo.