FCS Resource Centre

For the past 18 years, FCS has been working as a center for CSOs, government, and other stakeholders to access all information on the work of civil society. The CSO resource center hence is an FCS initiative to expand on this role and serve more CSOs. It is a learning hub to enhance knowledge. The center hosts a library and archive offering the opportunity for stakeholders, development actors, and the public to acquire information and knowledge on the CSO sector and its operations; Laws governing the CSO sector and compliances; CSOs and their interventions and impact on communities in Tanzania. As a knowledge hub, the center also provides a library in the center gives access to printed materials, publications, posters, and books from an array of information sources.

Over 20,000 CSOs are operating in Tanzania. The resource center is a one-stop center with all necessary and relevant information regarding Tanzanian Civil Society Organizations, their operations, particularly regulatory frameworks, and coordination by relevant government institutions and offices. The center helps CSOs understand statutory requirements better and subsequently become more compliant with the laws, policies, and procedures governing their operations. The center supports CSO’s access information on Registration, compliance, and Local Government authorities permit as detailed below;

• Registration: The civil society resource center provides adequate information on required procedures for the registration of CSOs in Tanzania with ease of access to required documentation.

• Compliance: In October 2018 the Government issued new regulations that require all organizations registered under the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, the Elderly, and Children to comply with. This means organizations ought to submit to the office of the registrar the agreements/ contracts whether in person or via email to ensure compliance hence the center guides CSOs on compliance issues, particularly in the legislative frameworks in the CSO sector.

• Permits to work in local governments: increasingly CSOs are required to seek permits issued by PO-RALG to implement projects in their localities. The civil society center provides adequate information and required procedures on how to address issues with relevant authorities in Dodoma.

The resource center provides safe spaces for constructive dialogues, building partnerships, and greater engagement between CSO actors, development actors, and officials from various government ministries, agencies, parliamentarians, and alike, for the improvement of CSO operations and achievements of the civil society sector. The center envisions providing conference facilities for organizations to host events at its premises eventually.

The center provides a platform for mentorship, apprenticeship, and coaching for smaller, grassroots CSOs and youths to practically build their capacity on the best practices and lessons obtained from years of the evolution of civil society in Tanzania.

The center seeks to enhance and strengthen CSO’s engagement with the Government for the greater achievement of development for citizens across Tanzania. Engagement between these actors creates and deepens sustainable growth fuelled by civil society’s effective engagement in efforts to achieve Tanzania’s development vision. GOV and CSO collaborations and engagement enable CSOs to effectively serve excluded, marginalized, and vulnerable populations in the interest of development in Tanzania.

The hub links academic and research institutions. Through the center, researchers, lecturers, and students access key research documents. The Centre encourages interdisciplinary discussion, facilitates intercultural awareness, and promotes intellectual exchange, principally through educational interaction and academic research. The end goal is for greater collaborations between CSOs, Researchers, and Academicians.