The democracy support community implements a wide range of programming to promote more competitive and representative multiparty systems. Traditionally, these political party programs have focused on improving the capacity of party activists and political leaders to: conduct citizen outreach; represent different societal groups, including marginalized communities; develop and pursue public policy proposals; recruit and nominate candidates; compete in elections; and form governments.
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) developed a Fundraising Guidebook for political parties and movements in Serbia to ensure privacy, safety, and transparency when raising funds, both for the parties themselves and for potential donors. When a political party is not represented in a local, provincial or national assembly, it receives no financial income from the state, and most parties will limit their political activities as a result.
This factsheet contains a summary of the NDI and CEPPS guidance note Promoting More Policy-Focused Parties Through Civic Organizing. The guide examines the conditions under which civic organizing can help promote more policy-focused, citizen-centered political parties. It features a new theory of change, four case studies and four recommendations for designing future party programs. The full publication and executive summaries can be downloaded here.
Birgitta Ohlsson
Birgitta Ohlsson serves as the National Democratic Institute’s director of political parties. Born in 1975, she has over twenty years of experience as a leader at the national level in political parties, leadership, feminism, civil society and foreign policy She entered politics formally in 1999 when was elected president of Liberal Youth of Sweden. In 2002, she was elected for as a member of the Swedish Parliament, where she served until 2018, serving in numerous leadership roles, including in the Committee on Foreign Affairs and as her party´s spokesperson.