7/9/2026
Resilient Civil Society (ReCiv)’s 2026 report
From the cost-of-living crisis and energy shocks to political instability, democratic backsliding and rapid technological change, organisations working across Europe (including companies) are having to navigate an increasingly uncertain environment. But what does this mean for civil society?
The new “Under Pressure?” report from the Resilient Civil Society (ReCiv) concludes that despite EU organisations facing significant disruption, many of them are finding ways to adapt and continue having a voice in public life.
Civil society is under pressure
The scale of the disruption is striking. 70% of the 600 organisations surveyed across Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and at EU level report having been affected by at least one major disruption over the past two years. For 55%, it was more than one. The cost-of-living crisis had the widest impact, affecting 61% of respondents, followed by political instability at 41%. Rapid technological change and energy costs also affected more than a third of organisations. But the effects are not evenly distributed: NGOs working in development and aid and human rights report some of the highest levels of vulnerability, while organisations in sectors such as wholesale and retail and real estate also face significant sustainability challenges. The report also finds important differences between countries, with organisations in France, Italy and at EU level reporting higher levels of perceived vulnerability than those in Denmark, Austria and Sweden.
Building resilience
Despite this pressure, the overall picture is not one of a civil society in retreat. Staffing, income, membership and support bases have remained stable or even improved on average over the past two years. So what is helping organisations weather the turbulence? One of the clearest answers is collaboration. Networking with peer organisations is the most frequently used resilience strategy identified by respondents, alongside planning ahead, developing crisis protocols and strengthening organisational capacity. Strong relationships with members and supporters also matter. Across different types of organisations, membership is identified as an important source of support during difficult periods, while peer networks, umbrella organisations, foundations and other partners can provide additional resources and solidarity. The message is clear: resilience is not simply about what an organisation can do on its own. It depends on the networks, relationships and constituencies around it.
Resilience is also about more than surviving a crisis. It is about retaining the capacity to shape what happens next. The majority of organisations surveyed have engaged in lobbying or advocacy around at least one of the major disruptions affecting them, from energy prices and the cost of living to environmental challenges, technological change and political instability. They have engaged directly with policymakers, but also with the public through campaigns, social media and grassroots mobilisation.
Yet here too, the playing field is uneven. NGOs, charities and citizen groups generally perceive themselves as less successful at influencing crisis-related policy than business and professional organisations. This is particularly visible in sectors such as human rights, education, consumer rights and development and aid. There is therefore an important lesson for policymakers as well as civil society: if organisations representing some of the people most affected by crises are struggling to have their voices heard, strengthening civil society resilience also means creating the conditions for more equal participation in policymaking.
Main lessons learned
There is an important lesson here for all of us working to strengthen civil society and democracy: resilience means having the networks, resources and capacity to adapt without losing the ability to organise, represent communities and influence decisions. The ReCiv findings point towards some practical priorities: investing in strategic networks before crises emerge, preparing for disruption rather than simply reacting to it, diversifying funding and strengthening relationships with supporters, and maintaining the capacity to engage policymakers and the public.
Policymakers have a role to play too, particularly in ensuring that smaller and more vulnerable organisations have the resources and space to build this capacity. Europe is unlikely to become less turbulent anytime soon. But the findings from ReCiv offer a reason for evidence-based optimism: despite the pressures surrounding them, European civil society organisations are not simply surviving crises. Many are adapting, collaborating and continuing to make their voices heard.
The report is part of the Resilient Civil Society (ReCiv) project and was authored by Michele Crepaz (Queen’s University Belfast), Wiebke Marie Junk (University of Copenhagen), Rasa Bortkevičiūtė (Vilnius University), Marcel Hanegraaff (University of Amsterdam) and Joost Berkhout (University of Amsterdam).