Newly launched Civic Strength Partners helps the global social sector strengthen for the future.
October 7, 2025, Washington, D.C. - Accountability Lab, Development Gateway: An IREX Venture, and Digital Public have joined forces to announce the launch of Civic Strength Partners (CSP), a partnership matching service and support network for organizations navigating moments of change. The initiative started in response to cuts to foreign assistance and the impact on aid organizations, along with other challenges that social change groups now face around the world, aiming to help them in making decisions and shifts that strengthen their resilience.
CSP offers trusted guidance, tailored advice, and access to the people and infrastructure that preserve what matters most, to protect legacies and position organizations for what’s next.
Meeting the Moment of a Sector in Transition
Earlier this year, surveys on the impact of foreign assistance cuts showed that more than 60% of respondents had a very limited funding runway, with 50% of the organizations surveyed indicating they were considering restructuring, merging, or closing within months. “We are finding that organizations, by necessity and reaction and adaptation to a very different environment, are finding new ways to work together and new ways to reconsider what it is they are doing,” said Sean McDonald, co-founder of Digital Public.
Since March, CSP has connected with over 200 organizations interested in mergers, strategic partnerships, or other transformations, with more than 15 pairs of organizations currently working towards solutions. “We thought that this would be a really critical opportunity to be able to contribute to the field and help our partners and various organizations that we admire to find their next chapter and continue to amplify their impact,” stated Josh Powell, CEO of Development Gateway.
Strengthening a Community-Led Ecosystem
With the support of donors, including The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Hilton Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Laudes Foundation, Echoing Green, and the True Cost Initiative, CSP has created a shared fund of approximately $1,200,000 to support organizational partnerships and transformations. In addition, CSP has created a pooled fund of expertise to provide technical support, and a dedicated team to triage, match-make, and accompany these processes. As Accountability Lab Co-CEO Cheri-Leigh Erasmus noted, “this immediate term work is providing rich learning and narratives that could really shape how we think about resilience in the sector.”
CSP is ready to further build and collaborate with civil society, partners, and service providers to help us chart the next steps in service of a thriving social change ecosystem. To learn more or connect with our team, visit civicstrengthpartners.org.
About the Partners
Accountability Lab was founded in early 2012 as an effort to work with young people to develop new ideas for accountability, transparency and open government. It has evolved into a global network of local Accountability Labs that are finding new ways to shift societal norms, solve intractable challenges and build “unlikely networks” for change. Our global translocal network includes Accountable Now.
Since 2000, Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) has built tools, systems, and dashboards that make development data easier to gather, use, and understand. They enhance transparency and efficiency in agriculture, health, education, extractives, information management, and cross-cutting global policy fields. DG’s partnerships with governments, institutions, and communities help ensure they have the information needed to make evidence-based decisions.
Digital Public started in 2016, with a focus on designing, developing, and implementing infrastructure to enable communities to govern the technologies shaping their lives. Today, it designs and supports public participation in governing digital transformation, helping communities, governments, non-profits, and technology companies engaged in digital transformation to design contextual, legal, digital infrastructure for participation and governance.
CSP offers trusted guidance, tailored advice, and access to the people and infrastructure that preserve what matters most, to protect legacies and position organizations for what’s next.
Meeting the Moment of a Sector in Transition
Earlier this year, surveys on the impact of foreign assistance cuts showed that more than 60% of respondents had a very limited funding runway, with 50% of the organizations surveyed indicating they were considering restructuring, merging, or closing within months. “We are finding that organizations, by necessity and reaction and adaptation to a very different environment, are finding new ways to work together and new ways to reconsider what it is they are doing,” said Sean McDonald, co-founder of Digital Public.
Since March, CSP has connected with over 200 organizations interested in mergers, strategic partnerships, or other transformations, with more than 15 pairs of organizations currently working towards solutions. “We thought that this would be a really critical opportunity to be able to contribute to the field and help our partners and various organizations that we admire to find their next chapter and continue to amplify their impact,” stated Josh Powell, CEO of Development Gateway.
Strengthening a Community-Led Ecosystem
With the support of donors, including The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Hilton Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Laudes Foundation, Echoing Green, and the True Cost Initiative, CSP has created a shared fund of approximately $1,200,000 to support organizational partnerships and transformations. In addition, CSP has created a pooled fund of expertise to provide technical support, and a dedicated team to triage, match-make, and accompany these processes. As Accountability Lab Co-CEO Cheri-Leigh Erasmus noted, “this immediate term work is providing rich learning and narratives that could really shape how we think about resilience in the sector.”
CSP is ready to further build and collaborate with civil society, partners, and service providers to help us chart the next steps in service of a thriving social change ecosystem. To learn more or connect with our team, visit civicstrengthpartners.org.
About the Partners
Accountability Lab was founded in early 2012 as an effort to work with young people to develop new ideas for accountability, transparency and open government. It has evolved into a global network of local Accountability Labs that are finding new ways to shift societal norms, solve intractable challenges and build “unlikely networks” for change. Our global translocal network includes Accountable Now.
Since 2000, Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) has built tools, systems, and dashboards that make development data easier to gather, use, and understand. They enhance transparency and efficiency in agriculture, health, education, extractives, information management, and cross-cutting global policy fields. DG’s partnerships with governments, institutions, and communities help ensure they have the information needed to make evidence-based decisions.
Digital Public started in 2016, with a focus on designing, developing, and implementing infrastructure to enable communities to govern the technologies shaping their lives. Today, it designs and supports public participation in governing digital transformation, helping communities, governments, non-profits, and technology companies engaged in digital transformation to design contextual, legal, digital infrastructure for participation and governance.
