Objectives, scope and expected results. The target audience of the report is the members of the XXX Network, mainly the EU and the 14 Member States who launched XXX initiative to improve impact of democracy support through improved coordination. The goal of the consulting mission is to propose concrete ways forward for XXX to consolidate efforts to strengthen civic space in partner countries and globally. In so doing, it will analyse the overall (diplomatic, political and especially operational) responses of the EU, MS, and other relevant stakeholders (countries and international organisations) to shrinking civic space, and identify, in light of previous studies and research, concrete options and best practices for EU and XXX members to effectively respond to the current challenges of shrinking civic space. The analysis will focus on concrete experiences in partner countries, considering the range of regime contexts, from democratic to authoritarian, including hybrid regimes that fall in between these extremes.
